Go Back   Freethought Forum > The Public Baths > News, Politics & Law

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 11-04-2011, 02:52 PM
Watser?'s Avatar
Watser? Watser? is offline
Fishy mokey
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Furrin parts
Posts: LMMMDXCI
News Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

I don't think we have an Afghanistan thread anymore, so here's a new one.

So I just saw this:
Quote:
U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) killed well over 1,500 civilians in night raids in less than 10 months in 2010 and early 2011, analysis of official statistics on the raids released by the U.S.-NATO command reveals.
ISAF Data Show Night Raids Killed over 1,500 Afghan Civilians - IPS ipsnews.net

1500 civilians in 10 months. That's an average of 5 a day night. And that's only the official figures for night raids by special forces, so add in unofficial figures, daytime raids, non-special forces and of course drone attacks. And I'm betting this won't even make the MSM frontpages either.
__________________
:typingmonkey:
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Adam (11-04-2011), chunksmediocrites (02-27-2013), Clutch Munny (11-05-2011), Crumb (11-04-2011), Nullifidian (01-12-2012), SR71 (01-12-2012), Stormlight (01-12-2012), The Man (06-02-2014)
  #2  
Old 11-04-2011, 06:03 PM
Crumb's Avatar
Crumb Crumb is offline
Adequately Crumbulent
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Cascadia
Gender: Male
Posts: LXMMCDVIII
Blog Entries: 22
Images: 355
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

They hate us for our freedoms... :sadyup:
__________________
:joecool2: :cascadia: :ROR: :portland: :joecool2:
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Clutch Munny (11-05-2011)
  #3  
Old 11-04-2011, 08:29 PM
Watser?'s Avatar
Watser? Watser? is offline
Fishy mokey
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Furrin parts
Posts: LMMMDXCI
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Meanwhile:
Quote:
Elusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar called on his fighters to avoid killing civilians in a statement posted Friday on the Afghanistan hardline Islamists’ website, SITE Intelligence reported.
‘Don’t kill civilians,’ Taliban leader tells fighters | The Raw Story
__________________
:typingmonkey:
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Clutch Munny (11-05-2011), Crumb (11-04-2011), SR71 (11-05-2011), The Man (06-02-2014)
  #4  
Old 11-05-2011, 03:56 AM
SR71's Avatar
SR71 SR71 is offline
Stoic Derelict... The cup is empty
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: The Dustbin of History
Gender: Male
Posts: VMCCXXXIX
Blog Entries: 1
Images: 2
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Watser? View Post
Meanwhile:
Quote:
Elusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar called on his fighters to avoid killing civilians in a statement posted Friday on the Afghanistan hardline Islamists’ website, SITE Intelligence reported.
‘Don’t kill civilians,’ Taliban leader tells fighters | The Raw Story
This comment at the bottom of the page caught my attention -

I love the picture of the Taliban Army. This "army" has whipped the asses of the world's biggest, best funded and best equipped army in the world.
Ten years and trillions of dollars and they still can't beat that ragtag army of camel jockeys. Kinda makes ya wonder, don't it?


What an a hole. Anyway, in the small parts where he's not busy being full of shite, he does have a valid point. Our Army is not suited to wage protracted counterinsurgency. It's a losing proposition. It just doesn't work, for a number of fairly mundane reasons which are not worth enumerating. Hopefully someday we will understand this, really understand it, deep in our bones, deep enough that we won't forget it again.
__________________
Chained out, like a sitting duck just waiting for the fall _Cage the Elephant
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 11-05-2011, 07:30 AM
erimir's Avatar
erimir erimir is offline
Projecting my phallogos with long, hard diction
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Dee Cee
Gender: Male
Posts: XMMMDCCCVI
Images: 11
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Oh we can beat them, I'm pretty sure of that.

It just takes a willingness to send far more troops (possibly requiring a draft, not sure how many troops would be necessary) and be merciless and utterly crush our opposition, and have the willingness to do that even if it results in hundred of thousands or even millions of Afghan deaths. We probably could even defeat them just by instituting a draft and sending far more troops than we have there now without being ruthless.

Now, obviously, I don't think we should do that. And I'm not sure how that would really play out with regards to other countries' involvement. But I think the problem is more that we don't have the capability to defeat them on the terms we would like to.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
SR71 (11-06-2011), The Man (06-02-2014)
  #6  
Old 11-05-2011, 12:35 PM
Dingfod's Avatar
Dingfod Dingfod is offline
A fellow sophisticate
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Cowtown, Kansas
Gender: Male
Blog Entries: 21
Images: 92
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

With a half million troops we could subdue Afghanistan. The human toll for that would be immense though, with Vietnam-like American casualty numbers. America wouldn't have the stomach for it. If Pakistan and Iran got involved, we'd probably need millions of troops.
__________________
Sleep - the most beautiful experience in life - except drink.--W.C. Fields
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
SR71 (11-06-2011), The Man (06-02-2014)
  #7  
Old 11-05-2011, 05:38 PM
erimir's Avatar
erimir erimir is offline
Projecting my phallogos with long, hard diction
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Dee Cee
Gender: Male
Posts: XMMMDCCCVI
Images: 11
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Yeah, I know it would be a shitshow. I'm just saying we could do it if we wanted it hard enough.

Anyway, the point is AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
SR71 (11-06-2011), The Man (06-02-2014)
  #8  
Old 11-06-2011, 12:57 AM
SR71's Avatar
SR71 SR71 is offline
Stoic Derelict... The cup is empty
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: The Dustbin of History
Gender: Male
Posts: VMCCXXXIX
Blog Entries: 1
Images: 2
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Quote:
Originally Posted by erimir View Post
Oh we can beat them, I'm pretty sure of that.

It just takes a willingness to send far more troops (possibly requiring a draft, not sure how many troops would be necessary) and be merciless and utterly crush our opposition, and have the willingness to do that even if it results in hundred of thousands or even millions of Afghan deaths. We probably could even defeat them just by instituting a draft and sending far more troops than we have there now without being ruthless.

Now, obviously, I don't think we should do that. And I'm not sure how that would really play out with regards to other countries' involvement. But I think the problem is more that we don't have the capability to defeat them on the terms we would like to.
:goodpost: Yes, that is the fax, very well stated. Nailed it. Enthusiastic agree. As it stands, people are getting effed up and not much is being accomplished, and we don't have the will or the resources, or frankly, a very compelling reason to try any harder.
__________________
Chained out, like a sitting duck just waiting for the fall _Cage the Elephant
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
The Man (06-02-2014)
  #9  
Old 01-12-2012, 03:16 PM
chunksmediocrites's Avatar
chunksmediocrites chunksmediocrites is offline
ne plus ultraviolet
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland Oregon USA
Gender: Male
Posts: VCCXXX
Images: 299
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

BBC News:
Quote:
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta says a video which appears to show US Marines urinating on the corpses of Afghans is "utterly deplorable".
There the US stands, the stabilizing force helping the Afghans, securing the region against militancy.

This will of course get some play, because it involves peeing. The many indiscriminate deaths of Afghans- men, women, and children- by drone attacks in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, in Yemen, in Somalia- will not get much play, however, because that's "secret", and the media functionaires barely know what to do when a government spokesman doesn't tell them.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Adam (01-12-2012), Clutch Munny (01-12-2012), Nullifidian (01-12-2012), Pan Narrans (01-12-2012), SR71 (01-12-2012), The Man (06-02-2014), Watser? (01-12-2012)
  #10  
Old 02-25-2013, 10:41 PM
chunksmediocrites's Avatar
chunksmediocrites chunksmediocrites is offline
ne plus ultraviolet
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland Oregon USA
Gender: Male
Posts: VCCXXX
Images: 299
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

This first item is old news, but it involves the transfer of prisons being run by the US into the hands of the Afghan government. There was some frustration by the US that Afghanistan was unwilling to hold people as prisoners with no trial indefinitely.
Washington Post, Nov 2012:
Quote:

KABUL — President Hamid Karzai has ordered his aides to institute the “full Afghanization” of the U.S.-run prison at Bagram air base, charging that American forces are continuing to detain Afghans despite a bilateral agreement in March to transfer all prisoners to Afghan authorities.

...>snip<...

Afghan and U.S. officials have also disagreed on the issue of detention without trial. Washington wants the Afghan government to continue holding certain prisoners it views as dangerous, even if there is not enough evidence to try them.

Aimal Faizi, the chief spokesman for Karzai, told reporters Monday that detention without trial is illegal in Afghanistan and that more than 50 Afghans are still being held in U.S. custody at Bagram, 35 miles northeast of Kabul, even though they have been ordered released by Afghan courts.
Weird- it is almost as if they have some sort of rule of law there. We (in)definitely have much to teach them about democracy and freedom.

Recent news is that the Afghan government has said it will expel US Forces from the Wardak province.
Long War Journal:
Quote:
President Hamid Karzai has ordered the Ministry of Defense to eject all "US Special Forces" from the key eastern province of Wardak after accusing the American troops or their local Afghan security partners of committing war crimes. Karzai's order is an ominous development for future US and NATO plans, which are expected to rely heavily on special operations forces to take on a greater role as the bulk of conventional forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan.
CNN:
Quote:

At a meeting of the council, led by President Hamid Karzai, "it became clear that armed individuals named as U.S. special force stationed in Wardak province engage in harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people," Karzai's office said in a statement. It did not indicate who "named" the group a U.S. special force.

Nine people "disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force," according to the president's office. And in another incident, a student was taken from his home at night, and his "tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge."

"Such actions have caused local public resentment and hatred," Karzai's office said.
Perhaps it will turn out those activities weren't undertaken, supported, or condoned by US Special Forces. Perhaps.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Adam (02-26-2013), BrotherMan (02-25-2013), ceptimus (02-25-2013), Clutch Munny (02-25-2013), Crumb (02-25-2013), Kael (02-25-2013), Nullifidian (02-26-2013), Pan Narrans (02-26-2013), The Man (06-02-2014), Watser? (02-26-2013), Ymir's blood (02-26-2013)
  #11  
Old 02-25-2013, 11:05 PM
Crumb's Avatar
Crumb Crumb is offline
Adequately Crumbulent
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Cascadia
Gender: Male
Posts: LXMMCDVIII
Blog Entries: 22
Images: 355
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

It is great that they are willing to stand up to the US.
__________________
:joecool2: :cascadia: :ROR: :portland: :joecool2:
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 02-26-2013, 05:30 AM
ZEZOZE's Avatar
ZEZOZE ZEZOZE is offline
you're next
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Gender: Bender
Posts: VMMCCCLXXVI
Images: 147
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

their own people are as much to blame as american interference. much of those special forces are a few soldiers accompanying teams of afghan soldiers.
__________________
paranoid fringe dweller
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 02-27-2013, 11:49 PM
chunksmediocrites's Avatar
chunksmediocrites chunksmediocrites is offline
ne plus ultraviolet
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland Oregon USA
Gender: Male
Posts: VCCXXX
Images: 299
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZEZOZE View Post
their own people are as much to blame as american interference. much of those special forces are a few soldiers accompanying teams of afghan soldiers.
ABC News:
Quote:

"The helicopters," one villager told ABC News. "Our children start crying the moment they hear them flying low over our houses."

ABC News spoke to a number of residents of Wardak province, the restive area east of Kabul where Afghan President Hamid Karzai has given U.S. Special Operations forces two weeks to leave. The deadline follows accusations of gross misconduct carried out by a shadowy group of irregular Afghan forces -- men allegedly recruited and trained directly by U.S. Special Forces -- who are widely seen as operating outside the law.

Though the U.S. military said they haven't seen any evidence to support those claims, the allegations are backed up by local villagers who spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity – all said they fear reprisals from the men who come at night.
...>snip<...
Attaullah Khogiani, a spokesperson for the governor of Wardak province, described a series of recent incidents of the alleged misconduct.

The first involved a university student who was visiting his relatives in a village for the holidays. According to Khogiani's account, which he says is based on witness reports, a joint team of U.S. and Afghan forces took the student from his home. Days later, the student's body was reportedly found under a bridge with torture marks and a slit throat.

In a second incident, a bus driver was shot, and in a third, nine villagers were rounded up and taken away by a joint team of U.S. and Afghan forces, never to be seen or heard from again. Khogiani said their whereabouts are still unknown.

"When we investigated further, we found that the Afghan forces behind this were not part of the Afghan National Army, the NDS [Afghanistan's intelligence agency], or any other department within Afghanistan's national forces," Khogiani said.

Khogiani said that when local officials realized the Afghans behind the disappearances were working directly under U.S. Special Forces – with no official Afghan oversight – they raised the issue with the country's National Security Council, which in turn dispatched a team to investigate. That team quickly verified the claims were true, Khogiani said.
I'm not sure if we need to yet determine exact portions of blame- and of course in the world of ZEZOZE, we are all equally to blame for all the things- :rolleye2: -but if the allegations are true, and if this fits the previous patterns of the US training, arming and using Afghanis as their own private force not connected with the official local government or the nation's military- then bringing attention to such activities is worthwhile. For example:
NYT, October 2009:
Quote:
KABUL, Afghanistan — Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former American officials.

The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, including helping to recruit an Afghan paramilitary force that operates at the C.I.A.’s direction in and around the southern city of Kandahar, Mr. Karzai’s home.
Anyways, the US appears to be flying in and out of Wardak to conduct these activities. No one knows where the people they abduct are taken to- except for the one case where they found the body. But if the US is doing this, and if they are using paramilitary units, AKA death squads- Afghan or otherwise- under their command, then that's a bad thing, and it should stop, and the Afghan government is right to attempt to reassert some control over the situation.

Last edited by chunksmediocrites; 02-28-2013 at 12:01 AM.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Adam (02-28-2013), ceptimus (02-28-2013), Clutch Munny (02-28-2013), Crumb (02-28-2013), Nullifidian (02-28-2013), Pan Narrans (02-28-2013), Sock Puppet (02-28-2013), The Man (06-02-2014), Watser? (02-27-2013)
  #14  
Old 03-02-2013, 02:31 AM
ZEZOZE's Avatar
ZEZOZE ZEZOZE is offline
you're next
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Gender: Bender
Posts: VMMCCCLXXVI
Images: 147
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Quote:
Originally Posted by chunksmediocrites View Post
and of course in the world of ZEZOZE, we are all equally to blame for all the things

well, equality and all...
__________________
paranoid fringe dweller
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 03-10-2013, 08:51 PM
chunksmediocrites's Avatar
chunksmediocrites chunksmediocrites is offline
ne plus ultraviolet
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland Oregon USA
Gender: Male
Posts: VCCXXX
Images: 299
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Update on the transfer of Bagram- the other Guantanamo- to the Afghan government.
Jim White at EmptyWheel:
Quote:
The six month gradual handover phase has now been a full year, during which we have seen many rough patches. At the six month mark, I noted that the US balked on finalizing the handover because the Afghans refused to put into place a system for indefinite detention without trial. But throughout this process, the key really has been that the agreement itself has been a sham (just as with most of our agreements with Afghanistan) primarily because the US continues to maintain that it has final veto power on Afghan decisions to release prisoners.

On Wednesday of this week, the dispute over prisoner release came to a head, as Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced to the Afghan parliament that the final handover of Parwan would take place today and that he would immediately release a number of prisoners he said are innocent. Unsurprisingly, the US today unilaterally cancelled the final handover ceremony, throwing the whole agreement into disarray.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
BrotherMan (03-10-2013), Crumb (03-11-2013), Janet (03-14-2013), Nullifidian (03-10-2013), Pan Narrans (03-11-2013), SR71 (03-11-2013), The Man (06-02-2014), Watser? (03-10-2013), Ymir's blood (03-10-2013)
  #16  
Old 03-10-2013, 09:05 PM
BrotherMan's Avatar
BrotherMan BrotherMan is offline
A Very Gentle Bort
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Bortlandia
Gender: Male
Posts: XVMMXVIII
Blog Entries: 5
Images: 63
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

__________________
\V/_
I COVLD TEACh YOV BVT I MVST LEVY A FEE
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Janet (03-14-2013), Nullifidian (03-10-2013), Pan Narrans (03-11-2013), SR71 (03-11-2013), Stormlight (03-11-2013), The Man (06-02-2014), Ymir's blood (03-10-2013)
  #17  
Old 10-21-2013, 06:54 PM
Watser?'s Avatar
Watser? Watser? is offline
Fishy mokey
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Furrin parts
Posts: LMMMDXCI
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Quote:
An Afghan army special forces commander has defected to an insurgent group allied with the Taleban in a Humvee truck packed with his team’s guns and high-tech equipment, officials in the eastern Kunar province said on Sunday.
Afghanistan commander defects, joins group linked to Taleban | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.
__________________
:typingmonkey:
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
chunksmediocrites (05-05-2014), Janet (10-23-2013), The Man (06-02-2014)
  #18  
Old 01-10-2014, 05:36 AM
chunksmediocrites's Avatar
chunksmediocrites chunksmediocrites is offline
ne plus ultraviolet
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland Oregon USA
Gender: Male
Posts: VCCXXX
Images: 299
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Karzai has stalled again on signing a Status of Forces Agreement that would allow US Forces to remain in Afghanistan after the 2014 deadline. From the Washington Post, Jan 9 2014:
Quote:
Among his new demands, which include the release of Afghans detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Karzai appears particularly seized with one: that Washington persuade the Taliban leadership to engage in peace talks with his government.
The Afghan government is also releasing more Afghan prisoners from the Bagram Prison- basically Guantanamo East- that the US ceded in March 2013 to Afghan government control. The 72 prisoners in the announced release were expected by the US to be tried in Afghan courts, but the Afghan government said the evidence given to them by the US military was insufficient. Afghan officials pointed out much of the evidence was "confessions" from other prisoners, or discovery of a Kalishnikov in the residences of Afghans- far from uncommon for a home in rural Afghanistan. Anyway the US is outraged that the Afghan government is rejecting their evidence and releasing a lot of the prisoners. There is some of the standard, "we are disappointed Afghanistan doesn't have a stronger rule of law" lines, which may contain some truth but sounds pretty rich coming from the US, which has had an abysmal track record on just that point.

Anyway the first article linked states the US intelligence community predicts that the Afghan government will collapse and large portions of the nation will be controlled by Taliban or tribal forces... other than the government collapsing part, isn't that just the status quo?
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Adam (01-10-2014), Crumb (01-10-2014), Janet (01-10-2014), Nullifidian (01-11-2014), Pan Narrans (01-10-2014), Stephen Maturin (01-10-2014), The Man (06-02-2014), Watser? (01-10-2014)
  #19  
Old 01-10-2014, 08:20 PM
Dingfod's Avatar
Dingfod Dingfod is offline
A fellow sophisticate
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Cowtown, Kansas
Gender: Male
Blog Entries: 21
Images: 92
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

If we had enough evidence to try these prisoners, they would have been tried. We didn't.
__________________
Sleep - the most beautiful experience in life - except drink.--W.C. Fields
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
chunksmediocrites (01-11-2014), Nullifidian (01-11-2014), Pan Narrans (01-11-2014), The Man (06-02-2014), Zehava (05-07-2014)
  #20  
Old 05-04-2014, 10:56 PM
chunksmediocrites's Avatar
chunksmediocrites chunksmediocrites is offline
ne plus ultraviolet
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland Oregon USA
Gender: Male
Posts: VCCXXX
Images: 299
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Afghanistan goes to the polls again in June 7 to vote for their president in a final runoff.
From Akmal Dawi, at The Diplomat, May 4 2014:
Quote:
Abdullah is running from the platform of the former Northern Alliance, specifically the Panjshiri elite who were the architects of the post-Taliban order in Afghanistan. Despite his claims that he represents the entire country, many of Abdullah’s team are former Mujahideen who fought two bloody wars in the last three decades: once against the Soviets and then against the Taliban. And despite his mixed Pashtun and Tajik ethnic roots, Abdullah is widely perceived as a patron of the Tajiks.

Ashraf Ghani, on the other hand, has been accused of alienating the Tajiks, Afghanistan’s second largest ethnic group. A Pashtun, Ghani has teamed with an Uzbek and a Hazara and has not been endorsed by any prominent Tajik leader. His senior vice presidential nominee, Abdul Rashid Dostum, has been both a formidable votes-bank and a political liability given his controversial past.
No Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) or Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) will be signed until after the elections, so July at earliest; if no agreement is reached then all US forces leave Afghanistan in 2014. Apparently 60,000 have left so far this year in a draw-down.

Oh and hey, somebody else also left Afghanistan: WaPo April 28, 2014:
Mystery surrounds move of Afghan ‘torturer in chief’ to U.S. amid allegations of spy agency abuse
Quote:
He [Haji Gulalai] had run Afghan intelligence operations in Kandahar after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 and later served as head of the spy service’s detention and interrogation branch. After 2009, his whereabouts were unknown.

Because of his reputation for brutality, Gulalai was someone both sides of the war wanted gone. The Taliban tried at least twice to kill him. Despite Gulalai’s ties to the CIA and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, United Nations officials and U.S. coalition partners sought to rein him in or have him removed.

Today, Gulalai lives in a pink two-story house in Southern California, on a street of stucco homes on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

How he managed to land in the United States remains murky. Afghan officials and former Gulalai colleagues said that his U.S. connections — and mounting concern about his safety — account for his extraordinary accommodation.

But CIA officials said the agency played no role in bringing Gulalai into the country. Officials at the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security would not comment on his relocation or immigration status, citing privacy restrictions.
So what if he tortured prisoners, amirite? Can't we help people who "helped" the US- by torturing people? I mean, we help other Afghans, right?
Quote:
Despite a substantial record of human rights abuses, Gulalai was able to bypass immigration barriers faced by Afghans whose work for the United States made them potential targets of the Taliban. Many have been turned away because of security objections submitted in secret by U.S. spy agencies.
Well except maybe those who weren't chin-deep in torture and don't know where the bodies are, I guess.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Adam (05-05-2014), Nullifidian (05-07-2014), The Man (06-02-2014), Watser? (05-05-2014)
  #21  
Old 05-05-2014, 12:45 AM
Hermit's Avatar
Hermit Hermit is offline
Not drowning. Waving.
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ignore list
Gender: Male
Posts: DCLXXXVI
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Quote:
Originally Posted by erimir View Post
Oh we can beat them, I'm pretty sure of that.

It just takes a willingness to send far more troops (possibly requiring a draft, not sure how many troops would be necessary) and be merciless and utterly crush our opposition, and have the willingness to do that even if it results in hundred of thousands or even millions of Afghan deaths.
Exactly. Only after the draft, well over half a million troops on the ground and relentless carpet bombing from the air of both the country and neighbouring nations and the defoliation of the land was the Vietnam war won. Shame though, that all this was wasted. Only a few years after the victors left, the vanquished decided to turn to capitalism. They had their chance and blew it. Idiots.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 05-05-2014, 01:28 AM
erimir's Avatar
erimir erimir is offline
Projecting my phallogos with long, hard diction
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Dee Cee
Gender: Male
Posts: XMMMDCCCVI
Images: 11
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermit View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by erimir View Post
Oh we can beat them, I'm pretty sure of that.

It just takes a willingness to send far more troops (possibly requiring a draft, not sure how many troops would be necessary) and be merciless and utterly crush our opposition, and have the willingness to do that even if it results in hundred of thousands or even millions of Afghan deaths.
Exactly. Only after the draft, well over half a million troops on the ground and relentless carpet bombing from the air of both the country and neighbouring nations and the defoliation of the land was the Vietnam war won. Shame though, that all this was wasted. Only a few years after the victors left, the vanquished decided to turn to capitalism. They had their chance and blew it. Idiots.
:rolleyes:

What's your point exactly?
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 05-07-2014, 09:08 AM
Hermit's Avatar
Hermit Hermit is offline
Not drowning. Waving.
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ignore list
Gender: Male
Posts: DCLXXXVI
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Quote:
Originally Posted by erimir View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermit View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by erimir View Post
Oh we can beat them, I'm pretty sure of that.

It just takes a willingness to send far more troops (possibly requiring a draft, not sure how many troops would be necessary) and be merciless and utterly crush our opposition, and have the willingness to do that even if it results in hundred of thousands or even millions of Afghan deaths.
Exactly. Only after the draft, well over half a million troops on the ground and relentless carpet bombing from the air of both the country and neighbouring nations and the defoliation of the land was the Vietnam war won. Shame though, that all this was wasted. Only a few years after the victors left, the vanquished decided to turn to capitalism. They had their chance and blew it. Idiots.
:rolleyes:

What's your point exactly?
Just pointing out how a willingness to send far more troops, a draft and attempts to mercilessly and utterly crush the opposition, even if it results in hundred of thousands or even millions of enemy deaths "works".
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 05-31-2014, 06:02 PM
chunksmediocrites's Avatar
chunksmediocrites chunksmediocrites is offline
ne plus ultraviolet
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Portland Oregon USA
Gender: Male
Posts: VCCXXX
Images: 299
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

US soldier Bowe Bergdahl was released to the US, in return for the release of five Afghan prisoners who were held at Guantanamo. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl had been a prisoner for five years, the only US prisoner held by the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network in Afghanistan.

When more info is released I'll probably post about the five Afghans in the Guantanamo thread; looks like there are about 113 Afghans still in Guantanamo after this transfer.
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
Dingfod (05-31-2014), Janet (05-31-2014), Nullifidian (06-01-2014), The Man (06-02-2014), Watser? (05-31-2014)
  #25  
Old 05-31-2014, 07:20 PM
Watser?'s Avatar
Watser? Watser? is offline
Fishy mokey
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Furrin parts
Posts: LMMMDXCI
Default Re: Oh yeah, Afghanistan...

Looks like they're gonna have to kidnap more US soldiers then. Apparently the only way to get them out.
__________________
:typingmonkey:
Reply With Quote
Thanks, from:
chunksmediocrites (06-01-2014), Crumb (05-31-2014), Janet (05-31-2014), Nullifidian (06-01-2014), The Man (06-02-2014)
Reply

  Freethought Forum > The Public Baths > News, Politics & Law


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

 

All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:50 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Page generated in 0.97909 seconds with 15 queries