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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
US Airstrike Hits Suicide Bombers Targeting Kabul Airport
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
25 23:39 JohnQC [7] 
9 23:57 Thuling McGurque7901 [17] 
11 15:45 magpie [11] 
4 15:49 magpie [12] 
6 17:07 ed in texas [13] 
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2 17:06 ed in texas [5] 
2 06:45 Procopius2k [14] 
1 09:23 Bertie Crains2651 [5] 
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1 08:49 Besoeker [10] 
2 09:54 M. Murcek [11] 
3 18:28 Retard Strength [17] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
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6 18:19 Thuling McGurque7901 [14]
7 17:46 Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 [9]
4 18:39 swksvolFF [8]
4 15:44 swksvolFF [8]
8 22:57 Blackbeard Barnsmell6454 [17]
9 17:07 Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 [17]
2 02:58 g(r)omgoru PB [6]
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4 16:51 CrazyFool [6]
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1 17:19 ed in texas [5]
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Page 3: Non-WoT
13 21:30 SteveS [9]
6 14:56 DarthVader [10]
6 18:11 NN2N1 [12]
5 15:34 Rex Mundi [5]
2 20:58 Blackbeard Barnsmell6454 [8]
4 14:07 magpie [6]
17 20:16 Thuling McGurque7901 [13]
2 09:41 Bertie Crains2651 [8]
3 17:56 ed in texas [4]
6 19:45 Saltie Fork [9]
Page 4: Opinion
5 16:50 Rex Mundi [4]
3 20:49 magpie [6]
8 09:36 badanov [6]
2 20:06 badanov [9]
6 18:11 Rex Mundi [6]
Page 6: Politix
2 15:05 Sloluper Munster6900 [14]
13 16:54 CrazyFool [3]
6 15:11 M. Murcek [4]
13 15:57 swksvolFF [13]
8 12:34 trailing wife [8]
7 15:58 SteveS [9]
2 18:50 Rex Mundi [11]
Afghanistan
Gen. McMaster puts blame for Afghanistan disaster squarely on Biden - ‘self-defeat’
[HOT AIR] The Sunday morning political shows were not kind to Joe Biden and his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Any and all criticism leveled at his decisions is warranted, especially since the death of 13 military members, ages 20 — 31 at the Kabul airport. There is no hiding from that tragedy at Camp David or in the basement of one of his Delaware homes.

One critic who keeps showing up is retired General H.R. McMaster who served as National Security Advisor in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018. His time in the administration was bumpy and after he left, there was talk that he called Trump a "dope" which was denied by others present at the dinner at which the remark was allegedly made. McMaster ended his frequent appearances on FNC that he enjoyed as a member of the Trump administration and went over to CNN and MSNBC. They were happy to welcome someone who they thought would criticize Trump. Now, however, it is impossible to notice he is back on FNC. He is a vocal critic of Biden’s handling of the withdrawal of Afghanistan which must be a shock to his new friends in the Biden-friendly media. This morning he was interviewed by Chuck Todd on Meet the Press. His opinions have not changed from one network to another.

McMaster says the war in Afghanistan ended in "self-defeat". He said everyone involved in the war management during the last 20 years bears some responsibility but it didn’t have to end this way. He calls it "a one-year war fought twenty times over." The decision for withdrawal has been a costly one. McMaster said that Biden "doubled down" on Trump’s original plan and "failed to reverse" it. The fact is, too, that Trump’s agreement with the Taliban — an agreement that wasn’t a formal agreement — was already null and void due to Taliban conduct before Biden set his withdrawal operation into play.

"And of course, what’s sad about it is this war ended in self-defeat, Chuck. I mean we had a sustainable effort in place several years ago, that if we had sustained it, we could have prevented what’s happening now," McMaster told host Chuck Todd. "But instead, what we did, Chuck, is actually we surrendered to a jihadist organization and assumed that there would be no consequences for that. And we’re seeing the consequences today." McMaster calls it a surrender to a jihadi organization. He’s not wrong.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/30/2021 04:57 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA

#1  Success has many fathers ...
Posted by: g(r)omgoru PB || 08/30/2021 5:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Killing OBL and as many of his associates was the mission. After he was dead, it was time to head home. The Marshal Plan for the place was the self inflicted grievous wound pandering to the vanity of a segment of the ruling class. The gangrene is now spreading.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/30/2021 6:43 Comments || Top||

#3  so like bodieden put all those fire bases in the bottom lands surrounded by high ground and made fucked up coded maps put on cnn that remedials could follow not to mention the fake chat room crap and on and on and count your fucking bullets FUCK THEM ALL!
Posted by: Sluse Grealet9429 || 08/30/2021 8:22 Comments || Top||

#4  McBastard stabbed Trump in the back and now he's stabbing Joe in the ankles. Makes you wonder if he's got any loyalty to anyone but his own face in the mirror.

Ma$turbation: $ex with someone you truly love...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/30/2021 9:06 Comments || Top||

#5  Yes, if he moves in next door, someone else can handle the welcome wagon duties.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/30/2021 9:13 Comments || Top||

#6  The Pentagon was lying for years about how it was going in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Papers prove it. McMaster, as one of the ringleaders, certainly knew it.
Posted by: Blinky Pholuling8616 || 08/30/2021 9:31 Comments || Top||

#7  "The First Casualty of War is Truth"

This now familiar adage has been credited to Aeschylus, Hiram Johnson, Arthur Ponsonby, Kipling, and others.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/30/2021 9:37 Comments || Top||

#8  If only Bush had had the courage to stand by his 'Mission Accomplished' statement back in 2003. Declare victory and leave.
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/30/2021 15:24 Comments || Top||

#9  Starting to fall into the Ignominious As Planned.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/30/2021 15:35 Comments || Top||

#10  Contrast General C.Y.A McMaster with a memo prepared by General Dwight Eisenhower in case the D-Day invasion failed:
"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."
Posted by: SteveS || 08/30/2021 15:42 Comments || Top||

#11  KillingOBL and as many of his associates was the mission.
Really? Okay, it was the official reason. The only reason that made sense to me was: Deterrence. Starting in the 1960's a lot of bad actors decided that supporting terrorists gave them a deniable "Poor Man's Weapon of Mass Destruction". They couldn't afford a nuclear program but they could afford something that allowed them to threaten (in a fake Mafioso accent) "If youz does dat then somethin' bad will happen. Capisce?"

A 'Punitive Raid' on Afghanistan and toppling the Taliban would seem an appropriate response to that tactic -- and a warning to other people contemplating it. Unfortunately we got bogged down in that 'Nation Building' horsepuckey.
Posted by: magpie || 08/30/2021 15:45 Comments || Top||


Taliban to complete cabinet in two weeks
[ToloNews] Acting minister of information and culture and spokesperson of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Zabiullah Mujahid said that their cabinet is too likely to be completed in the upcoming two weeks.

Mujahid said that police chiefs for all the 34 provinces have been appointed and the entire cabinet is to take shape sooner.

Prior to that, a member of the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
’s negotiating team in Doha Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai
...Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Head of the Taliban political office in Doha. He was a member of Rassoul Sayyaf's group in the war against the Soviets....
had said that all the posts have been occupied temporarily and are given to acting ministers, heads, chiefs, and provincials governors.

Abbas had added that after forging the government; all posts will be given and occupied based on intelligence and experience.

On Saturday, August 28 the Taliban appointed acting minister of higher education and acting chief of Afghanistan’s Olympic committee.

Earlier, the Taliban had nominated acting ministers of information and culture, public work, and minister of education along with mayors of a number of cities and provincial governors to nearly all the provinces.

It has been 15 days since the Taliban takeover but the country is still in a sheer political vacuum. The Taliban leadership is currently based in Kabul and is busy negotiating over the upcoming government.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/30/2021 00:39 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA

#1  Numerous fatalities?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/30/2021 1:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Former goverment people who have taken up residence in the caves vacated by the taliban.
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/30/2021 11:19 Comments || Top||

#3  The previous parliament used to have knife fights, brawls and murder attempts. This one will be more peaceful I think.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 08/30/2021 13:28 Comments || Top||

#4  Fresh blood makes a lousy adhesive when doing carpentry work?
Posted by: magpie || 08/30/2021 15:49 Comments || Top||


Taliban: Male and Female Students to Study in Separate Classrooms
[ToloNews] Abdul Baqi Haqqani,
...sometimes written as Shaikh Abdulbaqi Haqani...
who has been newly appointed as the acting minister for the Ministry of Higher Education, says that in the new government, classrooms for female students will be separate from those of males.
"Separate...unlit caves and basements. Islamic..."
Talking with officials of public and private universities and employees of the higher education ministry on Sunday, Haqqani said Afghan girls have the right to study but they cannot study in the same classrooms with boys."

He added that a safe educational environment will be provided for female students.

Meanwhile,
...back at the barn, Bossy's udder had begun to ache...
the former Ministry of Higher Education, Abbas Basir, at the same event said that the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
has promised to preserve the past two decades' achievements in the education sector and in the higher education ministry.

"The higher education ministry has made better progress than any other departments in terms of system-making," Basir said.

Union officials from private universities, however, said most of the laws have been imposed on the private universities and they urged the new acting minister to address this problem in the next government.

"The big problem is in the laws and we want the ministry’s officials to rewrite them soon," said Tariq Kuma, head of the union of private universities.

The new acting higher education minister said that universities will be reopened soon and that the salaries of lecturers and the ministry’s employees will be paid.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/30/2021 00:39 || Comments || Link || [13 views] Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA

#1  BL rules!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru PB || 08/30/2021 5:25 Comments || Top||

#2  ^😂😂😂
Posted by: Wren || 08/30/2021 6:36 Comments || Top||

#3  ^😀
Posted by: g(r)omgoru PB || 08/30/2021 6:37 Comments || Top||

#4  My old high school had Boys and Girls doors - labels engraved in the stone over them, boys on the west side, girls on the east.
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/30/2021 15:35 Comments || Top||

#5  First we will have separate classes and then we will close the girls'...
Posted by: magpie || 08/30/2021 15:50 Comments || Top||

#6  "So, which ditch do you study in?"
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/30/2021 17:07 Comments || Top||


Noor, Dostum to form new front for negotiating with Taliban
[SHAFAQ] A band of veteran Afghan leaders, including two regional strongmen, are angling for talks with the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
and plan to meet within weeks to form a new front for holding negotiations on the country's next government, a member of a group said.Khalid Noor, son of Atta Mohammad Noor, the once-powerful governor of northern Afghanistan's Balkh province, said the group comprised of veteran ethnic Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum
...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier...
and others opposed to the Taliban's takeover.

"We prefer to negotiate collectively, because it is not that the problem of Afghanistan will be solved just by one of us," Noor, 27, told Rooters in an interview from an undisclosed location.

Atta Noor and Dostum veterans of four decades of conflict in Afghanistan, both fled the country when the northern city of Mazar-i Sharif fell to the Taliban, the hardline Islamist group, without a fight.

The U.S.-backed government and military folded elsewhere as the Taliban swept into Kabul on Aug. 15.

However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
the backroom discussions are a sign of the country's traditional strongmen coming back to life after the Taliban's stunning military campaign.

It will be a challenge for any entity to rule Afghanistan for long without consensus between the country's patchwork of ethnicities, most analysts say.

Unlike their previous period in power before 2001, the predominantly Pashtun Taliban did seek support from Tajiks, Uzbeks and other minorities as they prepared their offensive last month.

Despite a commitment to negotiations, Noor said there was a "huge risk" that the talks could fail, leading the group to already prepare for an armed resistance against the Taliban.

"Surrender is out of the question for us," said Noor, the youngest member of the erstwhile Afghan government's team that held talks with the Taliban in Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
Ahmad Massoud, leader of Afghanistan's last major outpost of anti-Taliban resistance, last week also said he hoped talks with the Taliban would lead to an inclusive government, failing which his forces were ready to fight.

It remains uncertain how much popular support is actually enjoyed by leaders like Atta Noor, widely accused of corruption, accused of multiple acts of torture and brutality, and described in a U.S. State Department report as a "quintessential warlord".

The Taliban, already a formidable military force, are now in possession of an estimated 2,000 armoured vehicles and up to 40 aircraft, among other arms left behind by fleeing Afghan forces, potentially bolstering their firepower.

Still, Noor said the Taliban would not be able to hold out against a popular resistance.



Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA

#1  Bring their own food tasters and cameramen...
Posted by: magpie || 08/30/2021 1:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Talk in a neighboring country. Otherwise file your will today.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/30/2021 6:45 Comments || Top||


How Kabul lives under the Taliban: myths and reality
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Alexander Kots

[KP] Life in the Afghan capital changed dramatically after the Taliban came to power.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: badanov || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [17 views] Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA

#1  Interesting.
Posted by: Secret Master || 08/30/2021 16:24 Comments || Top||

#2 
Posted by: Groque Hapsburg2905 || 08/30/2021 16:33 Comments || Top||

#3  all of this is once again dancing around the root cause. like blaming a gun for 'gun violence'

the taliban and other assorted groups are just a gun. the trigger finger is islam.
Posted by: Retard Strength || 08/30/2021 18:28 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Has Libya's Al-Watiya airbase Become a Turkish Military Operation Headquarters?
[LIBYAREVIEW] The al-Watiyah base, located just 27 kilometers from the Tunisian border and 125 kilometers from Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, is one of the few military bases that escaped destruction during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
) intervention in 2011. This is also why it is now considered one of the most important sites in Libya.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Misrata Military Commander Salah Badi: Turkey Controls Libya's Foreign Policy Today
[LIBYAREVIEW] Libyan Military Commander Salah Badi
...a Misrata militia commander, self-appointed colonel and a member of the Wafa Islamist bloc. He was cashiered from the Libyan army in 1992 because he was nuts...
has said The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
is in control of the western part of Libya, calling on Ankara to withdraw mercenaries and troops from the war-torn country.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [15 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Libyan Parliament Speaker Ageela Saleh: The Turkey-Libya Security agreement is not valid
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Libyan Oil Minister Suspends NOC's Chairman
[LIBYAREVIEW] The Libyan Minister of Oil and Gas of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Mohammed Aoun, issued a decision, suspending the Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanalla.

In two letters addressed to the Head of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) and the Head of the NOC, Aoun attributed the reason for the suspension to the fact that Sanalla had undertaken a foreign work mission without his permission or approval. In addition, he said that Sanalla obstructed and prevented Jadallah al-Awkali from carrying out his duties as assigned by the Minister of Oil and Gas on August 24th.

According to the letters, Aoun demanded that Sanalla be referred for investigation and that al-Awkali continue to serve as the designated NOC Chairman.

However,
the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach...
al-Awkali sent a letter to Aoun informing him that he was unable to take up his position, as Sanalla informed his office manager that he is continuing his work from outside the country.

This has resulted in al-Awkali attempting to distance himself from the decision, to avoid disrupting the work of the NOC, amidst the ongoing confusion.
Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Bus Trips Between Tripoli and Tobruk Resume in Libya
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Mozambique Insurgency - Focus Needs to Shift to Preventing Criminality At Sea
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (IS-Mozambique)


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia Signs Military Cooperation Pact with Nigeria
[Breitbart] Russia has agreed to provide Nigeria with military equipment and troop training as part of a cooperation pact recently signed by the two nations, Nigeria’s embassy in Moscow announced Wednesday.

“The Agreement on Military-Technical Cooperation between both countries provides a legal framework for the supply of military equipment, provision of after sales services, training of personnel in respective educational establishments and technology transfer, among others,” the Nigerian embassy in Moscow said in a statement issued August 25.

The director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Dmitry Shugaev, met with Nigerian Defense Minister Bashir Magashi on August 23 in Moscow, where the two signed the document in front of a bilateral delegation. Other Nigerian government officials, including Nigerian Ambassador to Russia Abdullahi Shehu, Nigerian Chief of Naval Staff Auwal Gambo, and various representatives from Nigeria’s army and air force attended the signing ceremony, according to ChannelsTV, a Nigerian news outlet.

While inaugurating Russia’s 7th annual International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2021” on August 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that “massive mutually beneficial portfolios of contracts for the supply of Russian military goods are concluded on the forum’s sidelines every year.” This remark suggests that the Russian-Nigerian military pact’s signing on the same day was scheduled to coincide with the opening of the Russian military expo outside Moscow. The exhibition is scheduled to last through September 4.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A Foreign Military Sales investment that will do doubt pay handsome dividends.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/30/2021 8:49 Comments || Top||


Economy
Why Americans will be paying for the cost of the war in Afghanistan for decades
[Market Watch] Taxpayers have already spent $925 billion in interest payments related to post 9/11 wars, according to a new analysis
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/30/2021 08:22 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Because there are, as always, GOPe idiots on TV saying we need to go back and throw even more blood and treasure at the permanent mess.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/30/2021 8:56 Comments || Top||

#2  I have even seen reporting of the "possible need to returning to AFG to get ISIS-K'.... or whatever it is being referred to.

Someone needs to start publishing a 'Small New Wars' or 'New Crisis' Journal.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/30/2021 9:01 Comments || Top||

#3  Now VDH is in the "we gotta go back" camp. At the rate this is going, there will be no sane voices left on the matter.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/30/2021 10:50 Comments || Top||

#4  If we go back it should be special forces targetting things for airpower the way we won in the first place. Minimal footprint. No nation building and 15,000 civilians.
Posted by: ruprecht || 08/30/2021 11:20 Comments || Top||

#5  Let the people who wanna go back go back. Just don't ask me to pay for it and don't expect any sympathy when they get their butts blown off.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 08/30/2021 11:30 Comments || Top||

#6  At this point I can't see how anybody suggesting we should continue to throw even more blood and treasure at the permanent mess can in any way be called rational or sane.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/30/2021 11:32 Comments || Top||

#7  "Going back"...from 30,000 feet possibly.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/30/2021 11:34 Comments || Top||

#8  I've reserved all of my respect and sympathy for the people who already served and sacrificed over there when our so-called leaders convinced them that it was a noble cause. By now we should have learned our lesson.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 08/30/2021 11:35 Comments || Top||

#9  To anyone who steps in with "but, but, we have to restore respect for US power, our credibility," I would say the only way you get that respect back is to utterly destroy the Taliban, Al-Quaeda, ISIS, and the whole rest of that ever expanding zoo / cesspool. Total annihilation.

Ain't. Gonna. Happen.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/30/2021 11:42 Comments || Top||

#10  Taxpayers have already spent $925 billion in interest payments

Ain't nothing compared to Queen Nancy's multi-trillion dollar robbery of the Treasury she's pushing. The American citizenry and any decedents are being sold into involuntary servitude.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/30/2021 12:12 Comments || Top||

#11  Just keep them out of our country. Is that too much to ask?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 08/30/2021 12:13 Comments || Top||

#12  Russians had a go. Americans had a go. Now it's China's turn.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/30/2021 12:15 Comments || Top||

#13  Grom, don't forget England had a go as well.
Posted by: ruprecht || 08/30/2021 13:08 Comments || Top||

#14  In 2001 the problem with Afghanistan was that it couldn't be bombed back into the stone age.
Posted by: European Conservative || 08/30/2021 14:03 Comments || Top||

#15  #1 Because there are, as always, GOPe idiots on TV saying we need to go back and throw even more blood and treasure at the permanent mess.
Posted by M. Murcek 2021-08-30 08:56|| 2021-08-30 08:56|


More US troops were KIA under Dem Pres Obama than any other president. Osama Bin Laden set his 9/11 US attack plan in the later part of Dem Pres Hillary Bill Clinton term and was executed just months into Bush's term due to dissarray in US intel sharing.
Posted by: Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 || 08/30/2021 14:51 Comments || Top||

#16  saying we need to go back

OK, but only at close to 50,000' to deliver their next load of explosive supplies ...
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/30/2021 15:20 Comments || Top||

#17  #13 Touché.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/30/2021 15:56 Comments || Top||

#18  Look at the bright side:
The Tahlli Bahn two. point. oh. have at least one person who can fly a Blackhawk, so it isn't all sitting around going to dust.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/30/2021 17:06 Comments || Top||

#19  Now VDH is in the "we gotta go back" camp.

Blow the bugle, draw the sword.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/30/2021 18:12 Comments || Top||

#20  Now VDH is in the "we gotta go back" camp.

No, he isn't - just read the article all thee way through.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/30/2021 18:17 Comments || Top||

#21  I didn't see that part, unless he said something outside the article or I missed it.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/30/2021 18:40 Comments || Top||

#22  From the article: In an ideal world, Biden would order a nocturnal retaking of Bagram, shift all U.S. evacuation efforts there, and provide air cover for incoming and outcoming flights as well as retaliatory strikes on terrorist enclaves as necessary. He would tell the Taliban that $80 billion of free military stuff was enough of bribes and that any more obstructive efforts will be met with bombs, not more cash and weapons.

But i guess that isn't what he meant when he wrote it.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/30/2021 18:56 Comments || Top||

#23  Took that as do something other that cuck out, but I see that now.

I would expect VDH to have read The Great Game.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/30/2021 19:01 Comments || Top||

#24  In an ideal world, Biden would order a nocturnal retaking of Bagram,

Control of Kabul was offered to the US by taliban. The Centcom General in charge refused. A post submitted for Tuesday.
Posted by: Greck Thoque4148 || 08/30/2021 20:07 Comments || Top||

#25  Just watching the news. It just makes me angry and disgusted all over again. The current leadership are a bunch of traitorous surrender monkeys. They all need to resign or be removed from office or rank in disgrace. Personally, I think they should be prosecuted. They don't deserve to be in office and represent the American people. God bless the rank and file for they did a good job. God bless those who went over there in good faith and did their jobs. God bless those who were injured and died. We should have not left in the way we did. We will pay the price for a long time to come.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/30/2021 23:39 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey cannot take new refugee burden, foreign minister says
[EN.ALGHADEERTV.NET] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
cannot take the burden of a new migrant wave from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday after talks with his German counterpart.

"As Turkey, we have sufficiently carried out our moral and humanitarian responsibilities regarding migration," Cavusoglu said, speaking in a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. "It is out of the question for us to take an additional refugee burden," Cavusoglu said.

Turkey currently hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees as part of a 2016 deal with the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
.
Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: Politix
Erik Prince hits back at Biden, says Blackwater contractors rescued him
[NYP] Erik Prince, the co-founder of defense contractor Blackwater, ​is responding after the White House took a shot at him for offering to fly people out of Afghanistan on charter flights for $6,500 a seat — recalling that his contractors once rescued Biden from Taliban territory.
The Big Guy just wants his 10%
Prince, a former Navy SEAL, added that the Biden administration’s ​bungling of the evacuation operation and the president’s refusal to extend the deadline have "shattered the confidence" of America’s allies. ​​

"So we have shattered the confidence of our European allies and every other ally around the world that America depends, whether you’re a CIA agent trying to recruit somebody to work for you or whether you’re a country that America wants you to compete with — to side with us versus something that the Chinese want — it will definitely figure into people’s thinking how quickly America abandoned its friends in Afghanistan and left in such a horribly chaotic and clumsy manner​," Prince told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson in an interview Wednesday night.​​

He also pointed out that Blackwater ​soldiers had to rescue Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel when they got lost in a snowstorm in 2008.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/30/2021 08:12 || Comments || Link || [17 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We'd all be better off if Prince hadn't rescued those three fools.
Posted by: Too Old To Work || 08/30/2021 8:40 Comments || Top||

#2  ^ True
Posted by: Frank G || 08/30/2021 9:09 Comments || Top||

#3  the Biden rescue was in Feb 2008

not really 'lost in snowstorm' - the helicopter carrying the VIPs chose to land rather than flying through the snowstorm

of course in the fall campaign, Biden pretended that he had faced hostile fire in various speeches

Posted by: Lord Garth || 08/30/2021 11:38 Comments || Top||

#4  "Run serpentine!" seems to occur frequently in the Dem's made-up history
Posted by: Frank G || 08/30/2021 12:41 Comments || Top||

#5  #1 Are you suggesting a shortage of fools?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/30/2021 12:42 Comments || Top||

#6  No there's plenty of them, g(r)om. They just don't recognize each other as such.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 08/30/2021 16:44 Comments || Top||

#7  You're addressing the general, Mullah. I was referring to the specific claim made by Too Old "We'd all be better off if Prince hadn't rescued those three fools." That is, IMO, some other fool would take Joe's place - and nobody would notice any difference.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/30/2021 16:50 Comments || Top||

#8  "Just read Fukuyama." "Too cool!
Though I wonder, my dude, who should rule
As we rest on our laurels,
Investing in quarrels
And pestilence?" "King and Queen Fool!"
Posted by: Thuling McGurque7901 || 08/30/2021 23:50 Comments || Top||

#9  ^ Regalia of the Saturnalia, or, Everyday Sheeple. Or, what the hell, something for everybody: War on Christmas?
Posted by: Thuling McGurque7901 || 08/30/2021 23:57 Comments || Top||


Granholm Chartered Military Jet to Ukraine as US Struggled To Evacuate Americans From Afghanistan
This privileged b*&ch would be crucified if it was a Trump admin official
[WFB] Trump administration officials faced allegations of wasteful spending for use of expensive military charters

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm earlier this week chartered a military jet to attend a diplomatic summit in Ukraine as the Pentagon struggled to evacuate Americans and allies from Afghanistan with limited time and operational resources, sources told the Washington Free Beacon.

Granholm's military flight took place amid the United States' frantic effort to airlift tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan ahead of the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
's Aug. 31 deadline and as the Department of Defense was forced to call in civilian airlines to bolster its strained evacuation fleet.

The secretary's use of a military jet—and particularly the flight's timing—may raise questions for the Biden White House, which is responsible for approving such flights. Trump administration officials faced allegations of wasteful spending for their use of expensive military charters for trips that did not have national security urgency.

Tom Price, who served as health and human services secretary under former president Donald Trump
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
, was forced to resign in 2017 after revelations that he took numerous overseas military flights and other private air travel, running up a $500,000 travel tab. Trump's former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt resigned in 2018 amid multiple controversies, including questions over his use of military flights that cost the government over $58,000. Former Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin was also scrutinized for taking military flights for unnecessary purposes.

"As President Biden recently said we are in a ’winter of peril,' so it’s disconcerting to see administration officials essentially taking joy rides on military aircraft. It's the definition of fraud, waste, and abuse," said Tom Anderson, director of the National Legal and Policy Center's Public Integrity Project.

The White House confirmed to the Free Beacon that Granholm used a military flight and defended it as "standard protocol" because Granholm was attending the event as a dignitary representative of the president.

Others questioned the justification. "Standard operating procedure does not apply during a national security crisis, these moments require judgment," one former Trump administration official told the Free Beacon. "The fact that the White House chose to send a cabinet member overseas on a non-mission essential visit, unnecessarily diverting State Department and DOD resources is ludicrous, not to mention an abuse of taxpayer dollars."

The official added that the flight military charters "require refueling and the support of personnel at military bases such as Ramstein Air Base, which is currently being used to transport and house thousands of people fleeing Afghanistan."

The Department of Energy declined to comment on the justification for the flight and how much it cost.

Granholm on Monday flew to Ukraine to attend the Crimea Platform Summit, a conference to support Crimea's independence from Russia.

Also on Monday, the Pentagon instituted an emergency program called the "Civil Reserve Air Fleet," which ordered civilian airlines, including American Airlines and Delta Airlines, to provide planes to help the evacuation efforts from Afghanistan. The program was last used during the early days of the Iraq war.

"It's a program that was designed in the wake of the Berlin airlift after World War II to use commercial aircraft to augment our airlift capacity," said President Biden.
Posted by: Frank G || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The secretary's use of a military jet—and particularly the flight's timing—may raise questions for the Biden White House, which is responsible for approving such flights.

No they won't - she's a female Democrat and thus beyond reproach.
Posted by: Raj || 08/30/2021 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  You get the impression that Ukraine is "the old country" for dem vampires. They have to return to the home soil every so often.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/30/2021 9:54 Comments || Top||


Iraq
President Salih stresses the region's need for a new system to confront crises
[SHAFAQ] The Iraqi President, Barham Salih, stressed the region's need for a new system to confront terrorism, economic fluctuations, and climate change.

Salih said in a speech during his participation in the al-Rafidain Forum in Baghdad, "the collapse of the regional system is behind the persistence of its crises."

"Iraq needs a serious dialogue that discusses the internal crisis objectively", considering the rampant corruption, mismanagement, poor services, and the people's questioning of the regime's legitimacy, are crises that cannot be tolerated.
Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  "Al Rafidain Peace Organization was founded in 2007 and works in fields of peacebuilding and gender issues in Iraq. Its work is focused on young people, children and women, particularly in universities and schools. The organisation considers monitoring and reporting on the reality of human rights and freedoms in Iraq to be an essential part of peacebuilding in Iraq."
Posted by: Bertie Crains2651 || 08/30/2021 9:23 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas Refuses Abbas' Condition for Acknowledging Int'l Resolutions
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", has rejected conditions presented by Paleostinian Authority (PA) President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
for achieving national unity and forming a consensus government. The Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
ruling group claimed that complying with Abbas’ terms meant surrendering to Israeli conditions.

"The requirements of President Abbas to form a government and achieve national unity are dependent on Zionist conditions and contradict the state of the Paleostinian national consensus," said Hamas Spokesperson Abdul-Latif al-Qanou.

"Any national dialogue should be based on Cairo understandings," affirmed al-Qanou.

Al-Qanou accused the PA President of having opposing positions to national consensus, violating signed agreements and practicing tyranny.

Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?

Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.

If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!...

the spokesperson defended Hamas by saying it had made concessions at every stage in the hopes of achieving national consensus.

Abbas has requested that Hamas to recognize international resolutions before engaging in dialogue over national unity.

Responding to a letter passed to him by prominent Paleostinian businessman Munib al-Masri, who met with the Hamas leadership in Gaza and abroad, Abbas wrote: "Hamas has to recognize the international resolutions in order to be a partner."

Al-Masri described his meetings with Hamas officials as "positive" and reiterated the movement’s intention to end the internal Paleostinian division and reach national reconciliation.

Abbas stressed that "there would be no dialogue with them (Hamas)" unless he is sent a letter by Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh
...became Prime Minister of Gaza after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank...
that is personally signed by him.

Reconciliation talks between Abbas’ Fatah, the second-largest party in the Paleostinian Legislative Council, and Hamas are at a standstill.

The last serious attempt to reboot talks took place last June when Egypt engaged in a one-on-one dialogue with the two parties before launching an inclusive national dialogue that was canceled at the last minute due to the differences between Fatah and Hamas.

The two sides differed over the elections, which were ultimately cancelled, the government, the Paleostinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and reconstruction of Gaza.


Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Israel Air Force opens 1st-ever specialized munitions dept. for unmanned aircraft
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 08/30/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Like the guy said, "The future is already here. It's just not evenly distributed".
Posted by: SteveS || 08/30/2021 0:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Still staffed by airmen doing the same jobs, it's not like there's a robot loading station.
It's to get the drones out of the area that manned aircraft cycle through. The chief differences are shorter runways and no crew rest facilities.
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/30/2021 17:06 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
22[untagged]
13Taliban/IEA
5Islamic State
4Commies
4Sublime Porte
2Arab Spring
2Houthis
1Govt of Syria
1Hamas
1Human Trafficking
1Pak Taliban (TTP)
1[untagged]
1Allied Democratic Forces
1al-Shabaab (IS-Mozambique)
1Antifa/BLM
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Iraq
1Govt of Pakistan

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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2021-08-30
  US Airstrike Hits Suicide Bombers Targeting Kabul Airport
Sun 2021-08-29
  Last British flight evacuating civilians from Afghanistan leaves Kabul
Sat 2021-08-28
  Biden Pledges to 'Hunt Down' Those Behind Airport Attack
Fri 2021-08-27
  Karzai, Abdullah house-arrested by Taliban in Kabul
Thu 2021-08-26
  Bomb explodes in northern gate of Kabul airport
Wed 2021-08-25
  Taliban Vows to Help Fight Climate Change
Tue 2021-08-24
  Firefight at Kabul airport kills Afghan guard
16,000 more leave Afghanistan
Mon 2021-08-23
  US Embassy Tells Americans: Do Not Go to Kabul Airport
Sun 2021-08-22
  9 Talbanis surrender to Resistance Forces in Andarab; 6 of them Paks
Sat 2021-08-21
  U.S. charges man who made bomb threat near U.S. Capitol
Fri 2021-08-20
  IMF suspends Afghanistan's access to funds
Thu 2021-08-19
  US freezes assets of Afghanistan central banks as Taliban takeover
Wed 2021-08-18
  Former Vice PR and Now President Of Islamic Republic Of Afghanistan 🇦🇫 Amrullah Saleh In Panjishir
Tue 2021-08-17
  Reports say Ghani in Oman to escape to US
Mon 2021-08-16
  Taliban Declares Victory and Announces ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' From Presidential Palace


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