Oh, I had assumed they were American students with Afghan relatives. I apologize.
~Max
The U.S. still has NATO operations that they’re supporting in Syria and Iraq. There was a withdrawal from Syria in 2019 to ~200 troops, with support from other regions. Iraq has ~6k American soldiers there, with support from various bases in the Persian Gulf numbering somewhere around 65k.
I think that’s it for anything that is classified as an active combat zone.
Getting back to the original subject of Cheato’s bloviations:
Former President Trump on Monday railed against the news media for primarily covering Hurricane Ida as it slammed the Gulf Coast instead of focusing on the situation in Afghanistan amid U.S. withdrawal…
Boy, he’s just desperate to make Biden look bad, isn’t he?
I’ve seen unsubstantiated reports* that some veterans who were in-country have been discussing with contacts who are still there how to evacuate those who want to flee, presumably including these students.
*Given the situation, it would be a surprise if these reports were substantiated. At least before everyone who wants out is out.
I may have missed it, but I haven’t seen a mention of what before 2017 would have been a completely unremarkable fact about any Presidential administration:
Biden is coordinating relief efforts for disasters hitting mostly red-leaning states and not even hinting at the possibility of punitively deprioritizing those states’ needs in disaster response because they didn’t vote for him enough.
I mean, it’s like he thinks he has to be President of all the people, not just the ones who voted for him, or something. Have we forgotten so soon how cavalierly Donald Trump pissed all over that fundamental principle of democratic governance?
I know that Trump voters in the disaster-hit red states aren’t troubled by even the vaguest stirring of concern that such retaliation might be used against them, because in their minds Democrats are required to play by the rules and Republicans aren’t, and that’s just the way it is. But I’m surprised that there aren’t more non-Trump voters taking the opportunity to point out the disparity.
I agree, particularly in comparison to how things looked a couple of weeks ago. The main thing that has surprised me is how relatively civil the Taliban is being about all of this. The political arm clearly wants to be taken seriously by the international community and amazingly they have been able to keep the military arm from engaging in reprisals and mass executions. If it wasn’t for their backwards, theocratic, oppressive, medieval idiology, they might actually be better organized and able to get things done than the government they are replacing.
Unfortunately for them once we leave and take all the aid money with us they are going to have a really hard time keeping the country afloat. What with Covid, on the end of a severe drought, and outside NGO’s scared to enter the country, its going to get really really bad. The dog has caught the car and now needs to decide what to do with it.
Calling China! That’s your cue!
I’ve seen a number of reports that prognosticate it’s China’s turn in the barrel. The Taliban may see them as their best source of cash (can’t tap the British, Russians or Americans after all), and the Chinese are hoping the Taliban will crush any expat Uyghur uprisings. Afghanistan just can’t catch a break.
Probably the best outcome we could hope for is that the Taliban becomes a kindler, gentler 2.0 version. It would still certainly have a harsh form of governance - we have to be realistic about that. But perhaps they can do away with some of the most horrific abuses that occurred in the late 90s. That will depend, though, on how effectively they can govern, which in turn will depend on how they can manage to get along with other factions.
One problem any government in Afghanistan faces is outside intervention from parties that have their own agenda. I’ve thought that maybe the Taliban could somehow agree to let the old Northern Alliance factions exist in a state of autonomy, but I don’t know whether that’s possible, and whether those factions even want that. If they pose a serious threat to Taliban authority, then the Taliban is probably going to revert back to being the old Taliban.
We will always have an interest in the region as long as there are terror networks. We will have to decide the extent to which we intervene.
I think it’s worse than there being no political price to be paid. I think DJT rightly saw upside in his sociopathic efforts to punish the other side.
Something I said at the time:
Much of Trump’s base loves the callous disregard and rank antipathy with which he treats the politicians, citizens, the media, and states that don’t support him (more than half of the country). I don’t doubt that pathology is so deep in Trump that he would – literally – give life to his friends and let his innumerable “enemies” die.
Our President. The leader of the free world.
But doing the right thing isn’t always as effective as demagoguery. The Democrats can’t count on decency to carry the '22 and '24 elections.
Okay. After much searching I finally found one instance reporting on why at least one group of Americans was unable to leave. They didn’t reach the airport.
Mind you the only reference to this is someone calling themselves the GOP War Room or RNC Research, but the clip looks legit.
Clarissa Ward reported on Blitzer,
~Max
ETA: Looks like this is actually the official GOP posting the clip.
This matches what I have been hearing.
There are thousands of Afghan’s who wanted to get out, and had a good claim to refugee status but were left behind. There are a few hundred Americans who didn’t want to leave (e.g. had family in Afghanistan). There a relative handful who weren’t able to get to the airport and so were left behind. Biden has said he is going to do everything he can to get them out, but has not said how he is going to do it (nor should he given it may require some clandestine work).
I thought the President said the two hundred number is of Americans that have some intention of leaving. There was a separate number reported days ago for those Americans who presently want to stay in the country.
~Max
I found this
In remarks from the White House on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that most of the estimated 100 to 200 Americans who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave are dual citizens — “longtime residents that earlier decided to stay because of their family roots in Afghanistan,” he said.
So my estimates may have been out of date or misremembered.
The naysayers may have a point if I of all people, a Biden voter and never Trumper, am the only conservative posting all the bad/disgraceful things Biden does. He was caught on camera checking his watch at least a couple times during the dignified transfer ceremony, albeit in between the shuttles but I still think that’s highly disrespectful.
USA Today’s fact check originally denied that he had checked his watch multiple times but has since been updated.
~Max
Why is this disrespectful if he checked his watch in between shuttles and at the end of the ceremony? This is “saluting with coffee” level outrage, IMO.
It might provide better context if we knew how frequently he checks his watch in the course of a normal day. This might just be a habit he’s developed over a lifetime and it’s hard to break such habits. I wear a watch and find myself checking it throughout the day for no reason at all.
So he’s standing out there in solidarity with the gold star families. They’re out there on the tarmac too. As the shuttles come and go he has his hand over his heart. But in between he’s looking at his watch, it gives the impression that he is anxious to be somewhere else. Solidarity broken.
(I’m not saying he should resign or be impeached, it’s not nearly that disgraceful.)
@QuickSilver: Regardless of whether he is just the kind of person who checks his watch frequently. This is a ceremony involving the head of state and it is all about appearances.
~Max
Fair enough. What conclusion can we reasonably draw given appearances? Can reasonable people conclude that Biden doesn’t care about our military? That he has better places to be? That he’s running late for something more important?
Or can reasonable people conclude that this is just an odd tick of a 78 year old man with a lifetime of public service whose every public moment is recorded and scrutinized. Anyway, I’m pretty sure he got an earful from his communications director.
Given how tightly scheduled a competent President is every day, checking your watch between shuttles is only prudent. Joe probably knows what he had coming up, and was mentally reshuffling cards to get things done. Ceremonies like Dover take time and never run on schedule, so Joe was rearranging his daily priorities on the fly. Did it look good? No. Did it mean anything? Also no.