Posted: Aug 18, 2021 3:36 pm
Tortured_Genius wrote:The_Metatron wrote:
Also seems to me, the Afghans have shown their mettle. As I write this, the going price for Afghans to abandon their posts and join the taliban is a hundred and fifty bucks. That's what they're taking to simply surrender their country.
After learning more about this, quite honestly this can be laid squarely at the door of Donald Trump. By not including the Afghan government in the "peace deal" he cut with the Taliban it was obvious to the Afghan troops on the ground that they'd be left blowing in the wind with no logistical or air support (that was being supplied by US contractors) and absolutely no political assurances for themselves or their families.
In such circumstances it's utterly unsurprising that so many would accept money and some promise possible safety for themselves and their family when the alternative was near certain death and the deaths of their loved ones. It was the only political deal the narcissistic fuckwit left for them.
It's bit more complicated than that. Today's clusterfuck was decades in the making.
Without
- the Soviet Union's warfare in Afghanistan turning into indiscriminate killings of civilians and intentional maiming of children
- the US's massive support of the Taliban's predecessors
- the Saudi Arabian finance of 2000 madrassas
I also think the decision by president Bush to invade Afghanistan instead of punishing Saudi Arabia (and perhaps Pakistan) for the 9/11 terrorism was a grievous mistake.