WTF is happening in Afghanistan?

[nc8765]

Kabul will fall soon, and the Taliban will control the whole country.

The rights of women and girls will go back to the dark ages, along with rights for any other liberal view/s. In a few years, the UN will declare a humanitarian crisis and then what, we're back to square one?

The US is highly unlikely to commit to troops, same goes for us here in the UK. What about China? Surely a stable Middle East is in their best interest? Russia? The other 'stan nations??

I understand there are Afghans that do prefer life under the Taliban, but surely that's a small minority group?

I'm not a foreign affairs expert so would really like some help on this one!

I watched an interview with a women activist who had lived in Afghanistan. She was keen to express that whilst women and kids where well and truly fucked ( elders are all ready being told to set up arranged marriages for 12 years old) - that this was now a world problem.

The Taliban have never been unchecked. They have always been pushed back and containained to some degree. What is terrifying now is that they have been allowed to take Afghanistan, they have legitimacy.They have artillery and fire power they have never had in the past. They have the support of China and Russia. They now have the facilities to train armies and terrorists in an unprecedented secure way we are back to pre 9/11.

The Taliban hate us/usa. They won't just go quiet now they have won their land - remember ideology fuels these monsters.

@paepoyrol

The argument re why doesn't hold. It's sadly just the way it is and is in countries where women are seen in a different way and raised in a different way.

Yep

People said that about slavery.

@Panickingpavlova

Doodle please don't pass on unverified reports about shooting.

Those reports are not unverified.

@Calyx72

https://lindanorgrovefoundation.org/

Linda was a friend from school. Her parents set the Foundation up in her memory

@Calyx72 Thank you, I have donated. I'm in despair at this situation. Those poor women and girls. What is the world coming to?

@nc273 thank you that is lovely of you. I just don't know what the world is coming to. People like you and others, who care and donate and help, give me hope though

@Doodlebug71 & how long did it take to abolish slavery? Bearing in mind it still takes place!

@AuntieStella "If you are not an expert on Afghanistan, have not been keeping up with what has been occurring, and are not directly impacted by what is happening don't share your unsolicited opinions and takes"

It's not like Twitter is a foreign policy or development aid forum. It's a social media platform. People can express their views and she shouldn't be policing these.

"Avoid simplistic narratives that paint the situation as an internal dispute between tribes and factions. If you're not acknowledging the historic and ongoing role of various actors, then you're contributing to misinformation"

Tosh. The tribal situation is massively important. The outside actors are massively important. Ignoring one because it fits your narrative is also wrong.

The outside actors are massively important

Yes, that's why it was covered in other tirets.

There are massive amounts of ill-informed crap being posted, and its heartening to see attempts to counter that.

These are the facts re Biden and Trump when it comes to troop withdrawal.
www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/08/16/remarks-by-president-biden-on-afghanistan/

Trump left a clause stating troops would be withdrawn depending on what was happening on the ground. Biden failed to assess the situation.

[quote paepoyrol]@Doodlebug71 & how long did it take to abolish slavery? Bearing in mind it still takes place! [/quote]
Afghanistan has been stable enough for twenty years that women were able to attend university, and women like Fawzia Koofi (first woman deputy speaker in Aghan parliament) were able to advocate for other women, and other people in general. She's also a former afghan lawmaker.

The Taliban cannot just say they've changed, and things will be okay for women and children, when (Taliban) men with guns on the streets are behaving in the opposite way.

Biden's insistence that this had to happen like this is not remotely reassuring. His comments about air evacuations have already aged very badly. What's worse than making a massive cock-up? refusing to acknowledge you made a massive cock-up. He's put people in danger, and he knows it.

There are now graphic images in the media, videoed out the window of an evac plane, showing a fleeing Afghani trapped from the wheel well, already in flight.

The plane was emergency diverted mid flight and the above was confirmed on landing. The person had died. I won't say anything further on that.

It's one of the worst things I've actually ever seen, along with the men who fell to their horrifying deaths yesterday. We did this to them. We need to fix this.

Fuck you Biden.

I often wonder why wealthy Muslim countries do not help. While I realise many there might not see the suppression of women, lack of education etc as a bad thing, surely they could use some of their resources to help stabilise the country.

maybe they're happy about what's happening. Millions more settling in the west, adding on to those since 2015 and in 20-30 years time we could see a change in the balance of power here. We could all be wearing burkas.

Honestly which women is going to step forward for the Government Jobs?

@NearlyAlwaysInsane

I am horrified by your twisting of the words I have written and to boot you have quoted me and then twisted my words.

How dare you say I said these men are cowards, I am appalled.

Disgusted actually, disgusted.

I have said I hope "everyone" who wants to get out can, everyone, how dare you twist my words to try to imply I think anyone trying to flea the taliban is a coward, how dare you.

I am making observations as by the way the whole bloody world are - that women and children are at most risk in "numbers" from the Taliban and we all hope they get out.

@dogmandu

I often wonder why wealthy Muslim countries do not help. While I realise many there might not see the suppression of women, lack of education etc as a bad thing, surely they could use some of their resources to help stabilise the country.

maybe they're happy about what's happening. Millions more settling in the west, adding on to those since 2015 and in 20-30 years time we could see a change in the balance of power here. We could all be wearing burkas.

Saudi Arabia realises it has a problem with home grown Islamic terrorism. The royal family knows its very existence is at risk if the more fundamentalist elements in Saudi society rise up against it., as happened in 1979 when they attempted to seize Mecca. For decades SA’s solution has been to push its discontented fundamentalists outwards, for example towards the Maghreb, the Sahel and west Africa. The last thing it wants is to upset them by going against the taliban.

[quote BlueMongoose]These are the facts re Biden and Trump when it comes to troop withdrawal.
www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/08/16/remarks-by-president-biden-on-afghanistan/[/quote]
Yeah, and here’s some fact checking of those current statements. How do you know a politician is lying?

www.politico.eu/newsletter/london-playbook/politico-london-playbook-america-first-biden-fk-that-raab-and-patel-in-trouble/

I've not read the full thread but wanted to come on to share this link, it's template letter which is sent to your MP, takes seconds to complete.

action.helprefugees.org/page/88374/action/1

@BrozTito Thanks for the link to This is What Wiinning Looks Like - I started watching it last night and was really interesting and insightful.

What a hopeless situation.

Wouldn’t it be better to defeat the Taliban altogether? They’ve been pretty much defeated before...Surely the Forces of NATO can see this is a better solution for the world let alone the people of Afghanistan?
The USA leaving is causing chaos.

My knowledge of this is a bit rusty but I think if the USA is bent on leaving the field I’m not sure NATO as an entity is in a position to act as a collective in the current situation - as I recall it they only went into Afghanistan (in a relatively limited way) because of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty where an attack on one member (9/11) triggered a response from the whole organization - and I think operations under NATO military umbrella ended several years ago…so it would be hard politically to get all the politicians on board again.

On a more practical point take the US out of the NATO collective (their manpower, logistics support such as air transport, ordnance etc etc) and even if you could get the required politicians onboard NATO minus the US might find it very hard to run operations in Afghanistan..

I meant wouldn’t it be better for the Americans to defeat the Taliban altogether?

@Dave20

I meant wouldn’t it be better for the Americans to defeat the Taliban altogether?

Don't you think they've tried?

@Dave20

I meant wouldn’t it be better for the Americans to defeat the Taliban altogether?

We’ll my first question would be how many US / NATO troops/civilian lives are willing to sacrifice to defeat the Taliban altogether? Also, given when they choose to be the Taliban are not an identifiable army but an insurgency consisting of lose affiliations how would you know when they were defeated as an entity and that they were not going to reorganize and reappear the minute you reduce troop levels - as has happened this time?