Wars & Rumours of Wars

wwkirk

Divine
Pentagon sends 3,000 troops BACK into Afghanistan to evacuate Americans: State Dept announces Kabul embassy drawdown as Taliban captures 11 cities in advance on capital



The Pentagon is sending troops back into Afghanistan to help evacuate some personnel from the US embassy amid the Taliban's surging encroachment on the capital city of Kabul, according to the Associated Press. By Thursday, Taliban fighters had captured Afghanistan's third largest city, Herat, giving them control of 11 of 34 provincial capitals. The militant group is said to be in the process of capturing Kandahar, the nation's second largest city behind Kabul.

Earlier, it was reported American negotiators were seeking assurances from the Taliban that the militant group will not go after the US embassy if they overtake Kabul. The effort, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American envoy in negotiations with the Taliban, seeks to avoid an evacuation of the embassy's nearly 4,000 employees, including, 1,400 Americans, two US officials told the New York Times. The State Department last week warned US citizens to get out of the war-ravaged nation immediately. Khalilzad arrived in Qatar on Tuesday to warn Taliban officials that their government would not be recognized


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Did Biden's military advisors not foresee this, or did he disregard them?
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Did Biden's military advisors not foresee this, or did he disregard them?

I think Biden's military advisors originally advised him not to depart from Afghanistan and he disregarded their advice...

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JahaRa

Noble
Not trying to push the gun issue. Just noting that if things turn bad, it could get really bad.

The concern of that particular foreign country is that the USA is number one on their hate list. Closely followed by all the other predominantly Christian countries.
So, we are allowed to have guns to protect ourselves. I don't know what country you are in, but things are no better in the UK than in the U.S..
 

HAL9000

Honorable
So, we are allowed to have guns to protect ourselves. I don't know what country you are in, but things are no better in the UK than in the U.S..

Believe me, in the UK things are much better when it comes to guns. I think you are being deliberately facetious.
 

JahaRa

Noble
Believe me, in the UK things are much better when it comes to guns. I think you are being deliberately facetious.
No, I am being argumentative. The UK is not better off. People still get shot with illegal guns, people get knifed, people blow up subways, people ambush cops, etc.
 

wwkirk

Divine
I think Biden's military advisors originally advised him not to depart from Afghanistan and he disregarded their advice...

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I'm sure many have said this before, but compared to the Taliban, the Afghan forces never had impressive fighting spirit. Their nearly instantaneous collapse doesn't surprise me at all.

It's up to a people, any people, to fight to preserve their own independence and freedom, if it really matters to them.* Outsiders can be no more than a boost in the long run.


* I believe a large percentage of those who have ostensibly been on the Afghan government's side, are either pro-Taliban, or at least not firmly anti-Taliban.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
U.S. Asks Taliban to Spare Its Embassy in Coming Fight for Kabul

American negotiators are trying to extract assurances from the Taliban that they will not attack the U.S. Embassy in Kabul if the extremist group takes over the country’s government and ever wants to receive foreign aid, three American officials said.

The effort, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American envoy in talks with the Taliban, seeks to stave off a full evacuation of the embassy as they rapidly seize cities across Afghanistan. On Thursday, the State Department announced it was sending home an unspecified number of the 1,400 Americans stationed at the embassy and drawing down to what the agency’s spokesman, Ned Price, described as a “core diplomatic presence” in Kabul.

(More on the link)

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wwkirk

Divine
U.S. Asks Taliban to Spare Its Embassy in Coming Fight for Kabul

American negotiators are trying to extract assurances from the Taliban that they will not attack the U.S. Embassy in Kabul if the extremist group takes over the country’s government and ever wants to receive foreign aid, three American officials said.

The effort, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American envoy in talks with the Taliban, seeks to stave off a full evacuation of the embassy as they rapidly seize cities across Afghanistan. On Thursday, the State Department announced it was sending home an unspecified number of the 1,400 Americans stationed at the embassy and drawing down to what the agency’s spokesman, Ned Price, described as a “core diplomatic presence” in Kabul.

(More on the link)

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I know it sounds like a loony request, but the Taliban may be cagey enough not to give Biden an excuse/opportunity to reverse his decision to withdraw.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
 

nivek

As Above So Below
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nivek

As Above So Below
Exodus from Afghanistan: Hundreds of thousands flee their homes as Taliban take over country with people smuggler revealing thousands are already crossing the border PER DAY on their way to Europe and the UK
  • 400,000 Afghans have fled their homes since the start of the year, including almost 300,000 since May
  • Smuggler says thousands are now leaving the country each day for Iran, with many hoping to reach Europe
  • Comes as the Taliban rampages through cities and countryside, capturing two thirds of the country
  • There are now warnings that Kabul could fall in as little as a month, sparking a fresh refugee crisis
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in Afghanistan with thousands being smuggled out of the country each day amid a Taliban onslaught that has sparked fears of a new refugee crisis.

Smugglers in the city of Zaranj - a border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran that was captured by the Taliban last week - say the number of people looking to leave the country has trebled in recent months amid fears the Islamists will soon retake power.

One smuggler, speaking to MailOnline, said that on a 'good day' he takes now 150 people across the border to Tehran compared to 50 in recent years - with many hoping to escape Iran into Turkey and then onwards to Europe and the UK, where they intend to claim asylum.


(More on the link)

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nivek

As Above So Below
Last flights out of Kabul: Six hundred UK paratroopers are sent to Afghanistan to get Brits out alongside 3,000 US soldiers evacuating westerners - as second city Kandahar falls amid growing panic in capital at rampant Taliban advance

The British Government has said it will be sending 600 troops to Afghanistan to help British nationals flee as the Taliban continue to seize territory around the country, with Kandahar and Lashkar Gah - the capital of the southern province of Helmand - the latest to fall to the insurgency.

'I have authorised the deployment of additional military personnel to support the diplomatic presence in Kabul, assist British nationals to leave the country and support the relocation of former Afghan staff who risked their lives serving alongside us,' Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.

Wallace described the deployment was a 'pre-planned phase' to 'enable the next step of leaving'. However, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) appeared to contradict this, saying that the additional deployment was 'in light of the increasing violence and rapidly deteriorating security environment in the country'.

Speaking on Friday morning, Wallace said was worried that Afghanistan was spiralling towards a failed state that could become a breeding ground for militants such as al Qaeda which would probably come back. 'I'm absolutely worried that failed states are breeding grounds for those types of people,' the Defence Secretary told Sky. 'al Qaeda will probably come back.'

Wallace said the West had to understand that it could not instantly fix countries such as Afghanistan but should manage situations. He said that Afghanistan's second biggest city of Kandahar and the town of Lashkar Gah was 'pretty much now in the hands of the Taliban.'

Some 4,000 British nationals are estimated to still be in Afghanistan, according to the Foreign Office. The Sun reported that only a skeleton staff, including ambassador Sir Laurie Bristow, will remain in Kabul. Troops will aim to secure the city's airport, where both the UK and US embassy will be relocated to, the paper reported.

The announcement from the Government came shortly before the Taliban captured Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern province of Helmand, after two weeks of heavy fighting, according to a police official on Friday.

Government and senior armed forces officials flew by helicopter out of the government's last stronghold in the city at about midnight on Thursday ahead of the capture, said the official, who declined to be identified.

'About 200 ANDSF members, who were left in the governor's compound, with the intervention of elders, surrendered to the Taliban,' said the official, referring to members of the national defence and security forces and tribal elders.

(More on the link)

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