46 replies to this topic

[andydp]

LFC, on 08 September 2019 - 02:36 PM, said:

This reeks of Trump. It's a complete and total cluster-f*** and who know how much of it is even real? (And no, I don't include the Delusional Donald as actually knowing what is real and what he pulled out of his ass.)

I’ve been seeing a few memes noting the fact the Taliban would have been here on the anniversary of 9/11.

[LFC]

Trump's attempt to talk to the Taliban was as f***ed up as it looked.

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President Donald Trump unloaded a series of tweets about the implosion of tentative talks with the Taliban and the Afghanistan government, surprising even the precious few who had been included in the negotiations.

His decision to reveal the details of the situation, seemingly unwise since he hasn’t given up on the idea of peace talks whole hog, is emblematic of the entire process, according to the New York Times.

Driven by his impulse to do things other presidents never have — and to make deals — Trump decided suddenly that he wanted peace with the Taliban after an 18-year-long Afghanistan War.

He didn’t even clue in his entire National Security Council to the dysfunctional diplomacy that followed, choosing to confide in only a few close aides.

Even Republicans criticized the meeting after its cancellation, most homing in on the location — Camp David, the famous diplomacy hub where Americans host esteemed world leaders — and the timing. Initially planned for September 8, just days before 9/11, the meeting would have given legitimacy to the Taliban, a group which has never renounced the massively fatal attack.

[LFC]

More background at TDB on this Trumpian cluster-f***. As always it came down to him desperately wanting a "win".

[LFC]

They got another of Osama bin Laden's sons. Good!

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President Trump confirmed in a statement released Saturday morning that the son of Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region.

Hamza bin Laden, propelled by his father’s role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, was believed to be an emerging leader of the al-Qaeda militant group.

“Hamza bin Ladin, the high-ranking al-Qa’ida member and son of Usama bin Ladin, was killed in a United States counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region,” President Trump said in a statement Saturday. “The loss of Hamza bin Ladin not only deprives al-Qa’ida of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group. Hamza bin Ladin was responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups.”

It is unclear when Hamza bin Laden was killed. Reports emerged earlier this summer indicating he was dead, but the information was not confirmed by the White House.

[LFC]

This is just great for our relationship with the people in the country. We so need to get our asses out of there.

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A U.S. drone strike intended to hit an Islamic State (IS) hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians resting after a day’s labor in the fields, officials said on Thursday.

The attack on Wednesday night also injured 40 people after accidentally targeting farmers and laborers who had just finished collecting pine nuts at mountainous Wazir Tangi in eastern Nangarhar province, three Afghan officials told Reuters.

“The workers had lit a bonfire and were sitting together when a drone targeted them,” tribal elder Malik Rahat Gul told Reuters by telephone from Wazir Tangi.

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry and a senior U.S official in Kabul confirmed the drone strike, but did not share details of civilian casualties.

“U.S. forces conducted a drone strike against Da’esh (IS) terrorists in Nangarhar,” said Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. “We are aware of allegations of the death of non-combatants and are working with local officials to determine the facts.”

About 14,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan, training and advising Afghan security forces and conducting counter-insurgency operations against IS and the Taliban movement.

[LFC]

More buffoonery from Trump's completely dysfunctional foreign policy apparatus. Note that this is days before the election. With the constant flow of childish punitive actions due to Trump's latest butthurt what world leader would ever take him seriously as somebody to negotiate with?

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The United States on Thursday accused Afghanistan’s government of failing to fight corruption and cut more than $160 million in direct funding, little over a week before the country’s elections.

While Washington has long complained of graft by its ally, the harsh measure comes after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani clashed with President Donald Trump over the US leader’s deal with the Taliban.

[LFC]

Gee, look who has ties to the defense contractors. The military-industrial complex is alive and well but they're probably getting itchy for another pointless overseas war jump in revenue.

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Earlier this month, a study group established by Congress recommended that President Joe Biden extend the May 1 deadline for withdrawing troops from America’s longest war. It’s a strategy that many experts say runs the risk of abrogating the U.S.-Taliban agreement and potentially setting back the potential peace process in Afghanistan—or even dooming it to failure.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is a striking similarity in the backgrounds of the individuals involved in these critical recommendations, which are likely to influence whether Biden maintains a “conditions-based” U.S. military footprint in Afghanistan. Two of the group’s three co-chairs and nine of the group’s 12 plenary members have current or recent financial ties to major defense contractors, an industry that soaks up more than half of the $740 billion defense budget, and stands to gain from protracted U.S. military involvement overseas.

There was more diversity in views and financial interests among the 26 “senior advisers” that the group consulted. At least three of these advisers have warned publicly that the suggested troop withdrawal extension may pose significant risks. But the study group’s plenary is deeply intertwined with the military-industrial base—the group's co-chairs and plenary members have received nearly $4 million in compensation for their work on the boards of defense contractors.

Of course, the recent Taliban offensive on key cities in Afghanistan have created a greater incentive for U.S. policymakers to keep troops in Afghanistan, even at the expense of prolonging a two decades-long conflict with no clear end in sight.

“This is a good example of the fox guarding the henhouse,” said Mandy Smithberger, director of the Center for Defense Information at the Project on Government Oversight. “One of the problems in our foreign policy making is that all of the advice is heavily dominated by people with financial stakes in continuing war.”