The Fall Of Kabul To The Taliban

[SuziQ]

Former CIA analyst and campaign adviser says Biden WAS told Afghan forces could collapse within days | Daily Mail Online

 

[LadyL]

British businessman salutes German military who helped him flee Kabul

 

[Dontknow?]

Oh crap. I've posted on the wrong thread 2 posts...corrected that thank goodness. Whew!

I'll add this to my other 2 posts that I miss posted to. Complicated Sharia law.

 

[sds71]

The leader of Afghanistan’s only region not to have fallen to the Taliban has said he would be willing to join a Taliban government, but only if the group proved itself to be inclusive and respect the rights of all Afghans.

Ahmad Massoud, 32, leads forces in the Panjshir valley and said that war was on the cards if the group attempted an attack on his region…

For the graduate of Sandhurst and Kings College London, resisting the Taliban is a family business.

His father, Ahmad Shah Massoud, led the Northern Alliance of tribes and militia groups as it battled the Taliban in the 1990s until his assassination by Osama bin Laden two days before 9/11. Now, many are looking to his son as Afghanistan’s only hope against The Taliban.

Panjshir Commander Ahmad Massoud readies for war while negotiating with Taliban

 

[Skigh]

Afghanistan evacuation: We're not going to save everyone we want, UK admits | Daily Mail Online

The UK will not be able to evacuate everyone it has promised sanctuary to from Afghanistan and the air bridge to Kabul airport may remain open for just a few more days, the armed forces minister has admitted today.

Britain has promised to evacuate some 7,000 UK citizens and Afghan staff from the country, in addition to 5,000 refugees, but James Heappey said today that 'that sad truth is, we don't have it in our gift to stay there until absolutely everyone is out'.

'The air bridge could last two more days, five more days, ten more days,' he added, insisting that the armed forces are 'working hard to maximise capacity' on every flight while revealing 963 people were taken out of Kabul on British flights yesterday with 1,000 expected to be flown out today.

 

[worldwatcher]

The leader of Afghanistan’s only region not to have fallen to the Taliban has said he would be willing to join a Taliban government, but only if the group proved itself to be inclusive and respect the rights of all Afghans.

Ahmad Massoud, 32, leads forces in the Panjshir valley and said that war was on the cards if the group attempted an attack on his region…

For the graduate of Sandhurst and Kings College London, resisting the Taliban is a family business.

His father, Ahmad Shah Massoud, led the Northern Alliance of tribes and militia groups as it battled the Taliban in the 1990s until his assassination by Osama bin Laden two days before 9/11. Now, many are looking to his son as Afghanistan’s only hope against The Taliban.

Panjshir Commander Ahmad Massoud readies for war while negotiating with Taliban

Too bad that that the armoury from the US was left behind for the Taliban, instead for the Northern Alliance of Ttibes.

While resistance is being fomented from the valley, here are 10 things you must know about the Panjshir valley.


1. The valley is located north of Kabul in the Hindu Kush. This was a resistance stronghold against the Soviets in the 1980s and then against the Taliban in the 1990s.

2. Amrullah Saleh was born in Panjshir province and was trained there.

3. Since it always remained the resistance zone, it was never conquered by any forces -- neither by foreign forces nor by the Taliban.

4. Panjshir valley means the valley of the five lions. The name acknowledges a legend that says back in the 10th century, five brothers managed to contain the floodwaters. They built a dam for Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, it is said.....

What is Panjshir Resistance? 10 things to know about alliance against Taliban


Here is more detailed news and update about the Taliban's new armoury.

'The ability to operate at night is a real game-changer': What's in the Taliban's new war chest?

 

[Vern]

A statement from Global Affairs Canada on Tuesday morning confirmed one flight landed in Toronto carrying Afghans who qualified to come to Canada under the government's recently announced special immigration measures for former interpreters and embassy staff who helped Canadians on the ground.

The second flight landed in Ottawa and included returning staff from the Canadian embassy in Kabul, which has been evacuated as the Taliban insurgents seize control of the country.

Trudeau said 807 Afghans who supported Canadians on the ground had been evacuated so far, and 500 of them have arrived in Canada for resettlement, but did not answer whether he plans to recognize the Taliban regime that has seized control of the country.

Trudeau added there are still Canadian citizens and dual citizens who remain on the ground in Afghanistan, and that the government is working to track them “as much as possible in the chaos.”

2 Canadian flights arrive in Ontario carrying staff, Afghans fleeing Kabul

A little ray of light in this for my family: My brother (a Canadian Military fire-fighter) received a phone call from one of the Afghan nationals who had worked for him at Camp Nathan Smith in Afghanistan who managed to make it onto that first flight out with his immediate family. Ayoub also let him know that one of the other Nationals and his family were in the airport and slated out of flight two. No word from them yet of arrival here in Canada. Our family, and extended family, will be doing everything we can for these families as we are well-aware that they have saved lives of our soldiers and fellow-Allied soldiers for almost two decades at great risk of death to themselves and their own families. I am so thankful that they, at least, are now safe.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

Reminds me of "Benghazi". Another disaster that could have been avoided.

Or what we did to the Kurds.

 

[Skigh]

Afghanistan crisis: Westerner says distressed woman tried to give her her baby as she fled Kabul | Daily Mail Online



The wife of a former Royal Marine commando who was evacuated out of Afghanistan last night on an almost empty plane has finally arrived home and revealed the dramatic details of her escape.

Kaisa Markhus, 30, touched down in her native Norway this morning and breathed a huge sigh of relief as she met her mother and father in Oslo.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline,she told of the chaotic scenes at Kabul Airport where a distressed mother tried to get her to take a baby with her and of the ‘lonely sadness’ of the rescue transport with only a handful of people on board.

‘There are thousands trying to get into the airport and once through the gates we found a large group of people, both Afghan and Americans, trying to get on board military aircraft. T

'There were crying children, who had become separated from their parents and at least three babies who must have been handed over to soldiers by their desperate mothers,' said Kaisa.

 

[TGIRecovered]

Live briefing on Afghanistan from NATO Secretary General

 

[Dontknow?]

Taliban carrying out door-to-door manhunt for Afghans on blacklist, report says

Taliban in door-to-door hunt for Afghans on blacklist, report says

MSNBC
@MSNBC
·
10m

Taliban are going door-to-door and screening names at Kabul checkpoints as they hunt for people who worked with U.S.-led forces or the previous Afghan government, according to an intelligence report submitted to the UN.

 

[shotgun09]

sigh...

Below is an excerpt from the Official U.S. Embassy in Kabul's website from yesterday.

U.S. government-provided flights are departing Kabul and will continue until the evacuation operation is complete. U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), and their spouses and unmarried children (under age 21) should consider travelling to Hamid Karzai International Airportwhen you judge it is safe to do so. The U.S. government cannot ensure safe passage to the airport.

We are processing people at multiple gates. Due to large crowds and security concerns, gates may open or close without notice. Please use your best judgment and attempt to enter the airport at any gate that is open."

U.S. Embassy Kabul (August 19, 2021) | U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan

'Use your best judgement, and attempt to enter?'
That sounds similar to " May the Force be with you"

Those poor people

 

[neesaki]

These poor people, desperately trying to leave. They have their papers but still aren’t allowed into the airport. It’s so wrong what is happening.
This CNN reporter, Clarissa Ward, is a very brave woman to be there.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/20...o/playlists/afghanistan-falls-to-the-taliban/
It's just constant: Clarissa Ward describes gunshots fired in Taliban- controlled streets - CNN Video

Another video with CNN Clarissa Ward. This one has no commercials.
Watch: Taliban Fighters Charge at CNN's Ward, Crew with Gun

Quote from article:
CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward on Wednesday delivered a report from the ground of Kabul, Afghanistan, following the Taliban’s takeover of the country.

Ward said she and her crew were “accosted” just outside of the Kabul Airport and she was forced to cover her face. After showing that a Taliban member took the safety off of his AK-47 and ran through a crowd of people, she aired a clip of a Taliban member charging her and a producer with the butt of a gun.

“You can see that some of these Taliban fighters, they’re just hopped up on adrenaline or I don’t know what,” Ward said. “It’s a very dicey situation.”

She added, “When the fighters are told we have permission to report, they lower their weapons and let us pass.”

Ward told Jake Tapper, host of “The Lead,” that she and her crew have been “exposed to all sorts of insanity.”

“And you can imagine, Jake, I mean, this is us. We are a news crew. We are clearly Western. And still, we were exposed to all sorts of insanity,” Ward emphasized. “If you’re an ordinary Afghan trying to get past those Taliban guards and trying to get into the airport, I mean, I just don’t see how you’re able to do it. I don’t see how you’re able to really get in unless you have some kind of a contact or a connection or you’re able to arrange something somehow.”

 

[Skigh]

Afghanistan: Taliban fighters 'set woman on fire for bad cooking' | Daily Mail Online


Women are being burned to death, forced to marry Taliban fighters and also shipped overseas in coffins to be used as sex slaves in the latest horrors to unfold in Afghanistan after just five days of Taliban rule, it has been claimed.

One woman was set alight by Taliban fighters on Thursday in the north of the country because they didn't like the food they forced her to cook for them, according to Najla Ayoubi - a former Afghan judge who now lives in the US.

Still more women are being packed into coffins and shipped abroad so they can be used as sex slaves while young girls are being forced to marry Taliban fighters, she told Sky News.

It comes after videos emerged of gun-wielding Islamists beating people with rifles, confiscating Afghan national flags and shooting a police chief to death, along with reports that minorities are being tortured to death with muscles carved from their bodies by vengeful jihadis.

On Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid had vowed there would be no revenge attacks and that the rights of women and minorities would be respected under a new and more-moderate version of the Islamist regime which ran the country in the 1990s.

But almost all of those pledges now appeared broken just over 48 hours later, after a separate UN report warned that Taliban fighters are going house-to-house looking for western collaborators to kill.

 

[Knox]

“Am I My Brother’s Keeper”

In the 20 years we have poured our all into that country they have been unable to form some kind of government.

I listened to President Biden today. We have spent trillions supporting them through four presidents.

What we are seeing today is heartbreaking but how long could we continue on?

Everything must have a beginning and an end.

From a high level view, what you say makes perfect sense and I agree.

But from a ground level humanitarian view, it's hard to stomach the death and suffering which is and will, take place for time and eternity under the rule of the taliban (I refuse to let auto-correct capitalize the name).

 

[Skigh]

Taliban fundraiser Khalil Haqqani, wanted by US for links to Al Qaeda, greets crowds in Kabul | Daily Mail Online


Khalil Haqqani, one of America's most wanted terrorists, has led prayers for Taliban fighters in Kabul where he was greeted by adoring fans.

The Taliban fundraiser, who also has links to Al Qaeda, has a $5million bounty on his head but was cheered on the streets of Kabul before he led prayers at the city's biggest mosque.

Haqqani is now an integral part of the Taliban's moves to set up a government and he had armed escorts as he entered the religious building.

 

[Dontknow?]

Reuters
@Reuters
3m

Biden to consider using U.S. troops to help get evacuees to Kabul airport

AFP News Agency
@AFP
·
27m

#BREAKING US has airlifted 13,000 people out of Kabul since Aug 14: Biden

 

[Skigh]

'This is one of the most difficult airlifts in history': Biden says | Daily Mail Online


President Joe Biden vowed Friday to 'mobilize every resource' to get Americans and Afghan allies out of Afghanistan - and took questions, from a pre-approved list of White House reporters, about the conflict for the first time in nine days.

'This is one of the largest difficult airlifts in history and the only country in the world capable of projecting this much power on the far side of the world with this degree of precision is the United States of America,' Biden said.

He insisted that the chaotic takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, leading to disarray at Kabul's airport as westerners and Afghans flee did not taint the U.S.'s global reputation.

'I have seen no question of our credibility of our allies from around the world,' he said.

 

[ringbearer]

'This is one of the most difficult airlifts in history': Biden says | Daily Mail Online


President Joe Biden vowed Friday to 'mobilize every resource' to get Americans and Afghan allies out of Afghanistan - and took questions, from a pre-approved list of White House reporters, about the conflict for the first time in nine days.

'This is one of the largest difficult airlifts in history and the only country in the world capable of projecting this much power on the far side of the world with this degree of precision is the United States of America,' Biden said.

He insisted that the chaotic takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, leading to disarray at Kabul's airport as westerners and Afghans flee did not taint the U.S.'s global reputation.

'I have seen no question of our credibility of our allies from around the world,' he said.

He must not read reuters lol

Headline:
UK lawmakers condemn PM Johnson and U.S. President Biden over Afghanistan


snipped from the link:

British lawmakers vented their anger on Wednesday at Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden over the collapse of Afghanistan into Taliban hands, calling it a failure of intelligence, leadership and moral duty.

UK lawmakers condemn PM Johnson and U.S. President Biden over Afghanistan

eta more from another link, below:


"I say this with a heavy heart and with horror over what is happening, but the early withdrawal was a serious and far-reaching miscalculation by the current administration," said Norbert Roettgen, the chairman of the German parliament's foreign relations committee. "This does fundamental damage to the political and moral credibility of the West."

Roettgen has known Biden for years and was reportedly optimistic about his electoral victory.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly said, "For those who believed in democracy and freedom, especially for women, these are bitter even," according to Politico, citing German media.

Sentiment in the United Kingdom echoed that of the Germans.

"Afghanistan is the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suez. We need to think again about how we handle friends, who matters, and how we defend our interests," tweeted Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chairman of Parliament's foreign affairs committee.

"It showed conclusively that the U.S. could limit our actions and change our policy," he wrote in an opinion article in the Times of London. He did not cite Biden by name.

European leaders dismayed by Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan

 

[Reasonable & Just]

He must not read reuters lol

Headline:
UK lawmakers condemn PM Johnson and U.S. President Biden over Afghanistan


snipped from the link:

British lawmakers vented their anger on Wednesday at Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden over the collapse of Afghanistan into Taliban hands, calling it a failure of intelligence, leadership and moral duty.

UK lawmakers condemn PM Johnson and U.S. President Biden over Afghanistan

eta more from another link, below:


"I say this with a heavy heart and with horror over what is happening, but the early withdrawal was a serious and far-reaching miscalculation by the current administration," said Norbert Roettgen, the chairman of the German parliament's foreign relations committee. "This does fundamental damage to the political and moral credibility of the West."

Roettgen has known Biden for years and was reportedly optimistic about his electoral victory.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly said, "For those who believed in democracy and freedom, especially for women, these are bitter even," according to Politico, citing German media.

Sentiment in the United Kingdom echoed that of the Germans.

"Afghanistan is the biggest foreign policy disaster since Suez. We need to think again about how we handle friends, who matters, and how we defend our interests," tweeted Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chairman of Parliament's foreign affairs committee.

"It showed conclusively that the U.S. could limit our actions and change our policy," he wrote in an opinion article in the Times of London. He did not cite Biden by name.

European leaders dismayed by Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan

Yeah. People who contributed plenty to Afghanistan's miseries themselves, through various decisions made. We all have things to own. But it's fun to pile on. Time to solve problems now.