The Fall Of Kabul To The Taliban

[GoneGoldfishin']

Per Sara Cook ( White House Producer CBS )

https://twitter.com/saraecook/status/1427693329249099795

The below note went out this afternoon to American citizens requesting to be evacuated from Afghanistan,
@alanacbs
reports. It instructs people to come to Hamid Karzai Intl Airport in Kabul, but says the US govt cannot guarantee their safety as they make the trip.
@CBSNews

To American Citizens,

Thank you for registering your request to be
evacuated from Afghanistan. The U.S.
Embassy in Afghanistan has confirmed that
an undefined number of U.S government-
provided flights will begin soon. Please
make your way to Harmid Karzai
International Airport at this time.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR
SECURITY AS YOU MAKE THIS
TRIP.

But then there is this:
"Our message remains for American citizens and for others who have expressed interest in relocation out of Afghanistan: shelter in place until and unless you receive a communication from the U.S. embassy," spokesman Ned Price told reporters."
State Dept tells Americans in Afghanistan to 'shelter in place' until they hear from embassy

Unacceptable chaos.

 

[shotgun09]

https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1427790131788980225

NYT Pentagon correspondent Helene Cooper says there is a "level of despair and depression" among those in the Defense Department that she has not seen before, as the U.S. scrambles to evacuate thousands from Afghanistan.

 

[neesaki]

I’m literally shedding tears over this horrific atrocity. <modsnip>
Crimes against humanity.
God help those poor Afghan people and our citizens who are stuck over there. And God help our country and the world.

Fox News correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera ripped the Biden administration for "bungling" the Afghan withdrawal, saying on "The Five" Tuesday that President Joe Biden and his top advisers appear to be "stoned and hiding" from the public after their exit strategy set off a catastrophe in Kabul over the weekend.
Rivera argued the disastrous withdrawal strategy and failure to secure Afghanistan should not be seen as a shortcoming of the thousands of brave American service members who were deployed there over the past two decades.
Instead, Rivera pointed to "self-important, Ivy [League] a----" whose failure to understand geopolitics has led to what is being seen as the Taliban retaking control of the country.
And I hasten to add the one thing we can never forget is the service and sacrifice of our GIs in that awful place for 20 years," Rivera added.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Honor their service, remember everything that they have sacrificed ... and don't let the incompetence and absolute bungling of this affect their legacy and the honor that we pay them."

Geraldo blasts Biden White House's 'bungling' of Afghanistan: 'Ivy League a---- unconnected to reality'

 

[dotr]

Aug 17 2021

Live Updates: Reassurances From Taliban, but Fearful Afghans Look for the Exits
''A surge of U.S. troops restored order at the Kabul airport a day after Afghans mobbed the runway in a frantic attempt to flee. Amid reports that intelligence warned of a speedy demise for the Afghan government, Democrats in Congress pledged to investigate the chaotic U.S. withdrawal.''

• An Afghan woman in Kabul: ‘Now I have to burn everything I achieved’

• ''A university student tells of seeing all around her the ‘fearful faces of women and ugly faces of men who hate women’
  
  
  
  People rush to their homes on Sunday after the Taliban entered Kabul. ''Photograph: Bashir Darwish/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock

 

[Dontknow?]

AFP News Agency
@AFP
·
41m

#UPDATES The US military has evacuated more than 3,200 people from Afghanistan so far, including 1,100 on Tuesday alone, a White House official says "Now that we have established the flow, we expect those numbers to escalate"

 

[MajorHoople]

I just read that the Taliban have taken over the building next door to Nowzad Rescue. Nowzad has 98 dogs, 89 cats, still there. They are being cared for by 25 amazing staff members who have refused to leave the animals. My thoughts are with all the decent people of Afghanistan.

I just saw this. I'm not sure how accurate it is since it's several hours old in a quickly changing situation:

Ex-Royal Marine is forced to put down dogs at his Kabul shelter | Daily Mail Online

"A former Royal Marine Commando who runs an animal rights charity in Afghanistan revealed today that he has lost contact with his wife and pregnant manager after they were crushed in a stampede at Kabul Airport.

Pen Farthing, who is founder of the Nowzad charity which is backed by celebrities including Ricky Gervais and Judi Dench, said he would hold Boris Johnson 'personally responsible' if his wife or staff members were injured.

Mr Farthing, who set up the organisation after befriending a stray dog while serving in Helmand in 2006, is urging the UK Government to fly 71 people linked to the charity from Afghanistan to Britain after the Taliban seized Kabul.

The 52-year-old, who wife is a Norwegian named Kaisa Helene, said the charity was working on plans to evacuate 100 cats and 100 dogs on a charter plane along with his team and their dependants which could cost £200,000.

But he said some of the older and injured dogs at the shelter are 'going to have to be put to sleep' because there is 'no other option' - and pointed out that the Taliban banned dog ownership when they were last in power.

Mr Farthing, who is currently in Afghanistan with his staff and has said he is determined not to leave the country without them, said in a Facebook video today: 'We're working on plans for those (the animals) - they are all still fine. The Taliban have actually moved next door though, but they haven't come to see us yet.'

And he tweeted today: 'My wife is at the north gate of Kabul Airport being crushed in the stampede to get with my 34 week pregnant country manager. The UK military will not come out to rescue them. Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab - anything happens, I will hold you personally responsible."

 

[TGIRecovered]

This situation is just horrific. Joe Biden got up there and blamed the Afghans for not fighting back and while I agree that they should have stood there ground, they were up against a newly equipped Taliban who are armed with the latest weaponry, courtesy of the USA!
Joe Biden ( really, whoever is calling the shots…its not Joe), and his administration ignored good advice from military experts and left all of the tools of war sitting there for Taliban to take!
They had to know that they were setting the Afghanistan military for slaughter. You don’t give the enemy all your guns and then go on vacation while the rest of the soldiers fight for their lives.

 

[Lilibet]

Some thoughts and history:

When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, I remember groaning inwardly at the futility. Had no one in the government learned from the nine years the Soviet Union spent in a guerrilla war in Afghanistan?
Soviet Union invades Afghanistan

Yes, the motives were different, the fighting foe was different, but the result seemed bound to be the same IMO.

Who are the Taliban?

And here we are almost twenty years later, untold amounts of suffering later, and any progress is about to be undone by the tenacious Taliban. Future terrorist attacks by Al Quaeda have just been postponed 20 years, not prevented by the U.S. invasion in 2001. It’s heartbreaking on so many levels, but inevitable IMO.

It’s important to remember that this is a tragedy stretching across and into four administrations. There was no way to get out gracefully, no matter who was in office. Biden drew the short straw. There will always be debate about how details were recently handled and whether intelligence was accurate or ignored, of course. And I know we’re all concerned about Afghans who worked with the U.S. being left behind. It doesn’t look good for them.

I appreciate being told up front by President Biden what we all saw…that the Taliban moved much faster than expected. Honesty is important, and honest reflection within government about the past twenty years might help prevent another waste of lives and money…although I don’t think we learn well from history. JMO

Something I haven’t seen mentioned on this thread…

While we watch events in Kabul with alarm and sadness, in all fairness to the U.S. government, Americans were urged to leave right away on August 7. I’ll be interested to learn how many left immediately and why so many still remained a week later.
U.S. urges Americans in Afghanistan to leave immediately

The United States is urging Americans in Afghanistan to leave the country immediately, saying the ability of the U.S. embassy in Kabul to help them is "extremely limited" due to security conditions and reduced staffing.

The embassy issued a security alert on Saturday encouraging Americans to fly out on commercial flights and said it can provide repatriation loans for citizens who can't afford to buy tickets.

The alert comes months after the State Department ordered government employees at the U.S. embassy in Kabul to leave if they can work elsewhere. It also comes as Taliban militants are attacking Afghan cities.
<snip>
The U.S embassy calling on Americans to leave Afghanistan immediately is expected to further undermine the already weakened morale of Afghans.

 

[SuziQ]

Taliban shoot and kill woman without a burqa and begin rounding up activists and government workers | Daily Mail Online

Liars and thugs. And I bet the free passage to the airport is to catch diplomatic friendly Afghans that show up at the airport. It is a total set up. The Taliban are snakes that can't be trusted. <modsnip>

 

[ringbearer]

The embassy issued a security alert on Saturday encouraging Americans to fly out on commercial flights and said it can provide repatriation loans for citizens who can't afford to buy tickets.

Repatriation loans? How generous.

 

[SuziQ]

This situation is just horrific. Joe Biden got up there and blamed the Afghans for not fighting back and while I agree that they should have stood there ground, they were up against a newly equipped Taliban who are armed with the latest weaponry, courtesy of the USA!
Joe Biden ( really, whoever is calling the shots…its not Joe), and his administration ignored good advice from military experts and left all of the tools of war sitting there for Taliban to take!
They had to know that they were setting the Afghanistan military for slaughter. You don’t give the enemy all your guns and then go on vacation while the rest of the soldiers fight for their lives.

Don't you love how he said they didn't expect the Taliban to move so quickly? Paraphrasing. They yanked the troops out in the middle of the night, I believe on July 2nd. The very next day the Taliban started taking over cities and regions. 6 weeks ago. They absolutely knew this was going to happen. But they drug their feet. I'm going to look at the state department website to see if they were giving out any advisories or warning.

 

[dotr]

Updated 10:35 PM ET, Tue August 17, 2021
Afghanistan latest news as Taliban forces take control: Live updates
''What you need to know

• With the Taliban in control of Afghanistan, most countries are evacuating their citizens and shutting their embassies temporarily.
• The fate of many Afghan people who worked with foreign governments remains uncertain. The Taliban has promised "amnesty," but details are still unclear.
• President Biden has spoken with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson — his first known call with a foreign counterpart since the fall of Kabul.
• CNN has compiled a list of organizations working to help Afghan refugees. Find out more here.''

''CNN reported earlier this week that the abrupt collapse of the Afghanistan government on Sunday had raised questions from several veterans of previous administrations about assets of the Afghan Central Bank and whether any of the money could end up in the hands of the Taliban.

The “vast majority” of the Afghan Central Bank assets are not held in Afghanistan, a US official familiar with the matter told CNN. The assets in the US have been essentially blocked by reach of the Taliban.

Separately, a Biden administration official said Sunday that any assets the Afghan government has in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban''.

 

[SuziQ]

On April 27, 2021. Our government knew there were problems and began evacuating non essential staff. Went ahead on July 2 to pull the troops out before even the embassy could be evacuated. Never mind all the American citizens and American friendlies.

Security Alert U.S. Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan (August 7, 2021) | U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan

 

[Dontknow?]

Ex-defense secretary: Trump's push to get US troops out of Afghanistan possibly 'undermined' deal with Taliban

Washington (CNN)Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that he was concerned that then-President Donald Trump "undermined" the US' 2020 agreement with the Taliban by pushing for US forces to leave Afghanistan without the Taliban meeting the conditions of the deal.

But, Esper told CNN's Christiane Amanpour, "my concern was that President Trump, by continuing to want to withdraw American forces out of Afghanistan, undermined the agreement, which is why in the fall when he was calling for a return of US forces by Christmas, I objected and formally wrote a letter to him, a memo based on recommendations from the military chain of command and my senior civilian leadership that we not go further -- that we not reduce below 4,500 troops unless and until conditions were met by the Taliban."
"Otherwise," Esper continued, "we would see a number of things play out, which are unfolding right now in many ways."

Trump fired Esper in November 2020 in the wake of the presidential election...

more

Trump's actions possibly 'undermined' his deal with Taliban, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper says - CNNPolitics

 

[KALI]

What kind of government forbids you to own a dog? What a bunch of sickos. Moo

I just saw this. I'm not sure how accurate it is since it's several hours old in a quickly changing situation:

Ex-Royal Marine is forced to put down dogs at his Kabul shelter | Daily Mail Online

"A former Royal Marine Commando who runs an animal rights charity in Afghanistan revealed today that he has lost contact with his wife and pregnant manager after they were crushed in a stampede at Kabul Airport.

Pen Farthing, who is founder of the Nowzad charity which is backed by celebrities including Ricky Gervais and Judi Dench, said he would hold Boris Johnson 'personally responsible' if his wife or staff members were injured.

Mr Farthing, who set up the organisation after befriending a stray dog while serving in Helmand in 2006, is urging the UK Government to fly 71 people linked to the charity from Afghanistan to Britain after the Taliban seized Kabul.

The 52-year-old, who wife is a Norwegian named Kaisa Helene, said the charity was working on plans to evacuate 100 cats and 100 dogs on a charter plane along with his team and their dependants which could cost £200,000.

But he said some of the older and injured dogs at the shelter are 'going to have to be put to sleep' because there is 'no other option' - and pointed out that the Taliban banned dog ownership when they were last in power.

Mr Farthing, who is currently in Afghanistan with his staff and has said he is determined not to leave the country without them, said in a Facebook video today: 'We're working on plans for those (the animals) - they are all still fine. The Taliban have actually moved next door though, but they haven't come to see us yet.'

And he tweeted today: 'My wife is at the north gate of Kabul Airport being crushed in the stampede to get with my 34 week pregnant country manager. The UK military will not come out to rescue them. Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab - anything happens, I will hold you personally responsible."

 

[SuziQ]

Twitter refuses to join social media peers in banning Taliban | Daily Mail Online

 

[SuziQ]

Afghanistan crisis: US intelligence warned that troops would capitulate to the Taliban in July | Daily Mail Online

 

[ringbearer]

Twitter refuses to join social media peers in banning Taliban | Daily Mail Online

From the link

• Twitter refused to join its social media counterparts in banning the Taliban from its platform but permanently suspended Donald Trump's account

That really sums up the "state of the union," doesn't it. Legit insanity imo

 

[TGIRecovered]

Twitter refuses to join social media peers in banning Taliban | Daily Mail Online

I have no affinity for Twitter. All of those social media sites are run by self-important narcissists who censor anyone who doesn’t follow their approved narrative. MOO But I will say that the one good thing about the Taliban tweeting is that it is a stupid thing to do. They are tweeting their locations and anticipated plan of action. Idiots. MOO

 

[dotr]

Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Kabul (August 16, 2021) | U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan
Aug 16 2021
''Event: The security situation in Kabul continues to change quickly, including at the airport. U.S. citizens should continue to shelter in place. U.S. citizens wanting assistance to depart the country should register for any option that might be identified to return to the United States. To receive assistance from the Embassy, U.S. citizens must complete this Repatriation Assistance Request for each traveler in their group. Spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens in Afghanistan who are awaiting immigrant visas should also complete this form if they wish to depart. Please do so as soon as possible. Please do so only once. You must complete this form even if you’ve previously submitted your information to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul by another means.
Do not call the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for details or updates about the flight. This form is the only way to communicate interest in flight options. We will notify you directly by email based on your registration as soon as departure options become available.
We will continue to provide periodic updates to this message.''

Travel Advice and Advisories for Afghanistan
''Still valid: August 17, 2021 23:35 ET
Afghanistan - AVOID ALL TRAVEL
Avoid all travel to Afghanistan due to the security situation, ongoing insurgency, terrorist attacks, risk of kidnapping and high crime rate.
If you’re already in Afghanistan, you should leave immediately if it’s safe to do so. Our ability to provide consular assistance in Afghanistan is extremely limited. We strongly recommend that Canadians register with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service and include personal and professional contact details.
Canadians wishing to depart Afghanistan should contact the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa.''
Updated: 18 August 2021
Afghanistan travel advice
''The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advise against all travel to Afghanistan. We recognise that commercial flights are not currently operating. We will contact British nationals who we are in touch with, with information of any flights we become aware of. If you are safely able to leave Afghanistan by other means, you should do so immediately.
We have temporarily suspended most operations at the British Embassy in Kabul in response to the deterioration in the security situation. The embassy site has relocated. FCDO consular assistance can only be provided remotely and is therefore extremely limited.
If you are in need of assistance, you should call +44 (0)1908 516666 and select the option “Consular services for British nationals”. You can also email help@fco.gov.uk.''