This Pen Farthing guy

[TheGenealogist]

The bloke with the animal shelter in Kabul.

Refusing to leave unless he can take ALL of his 60 odd staff and ALL of his 200+ cats and dogs with him. Expecting the government to make special rules for him and his friends.

Getting people out - understandable. The Taliban aren't going to look kindly on people who have translated for the military, or "collaborated" in other ways. But staff at an animal shelter?

And as for the refusing to leave without the animals and making this all out to be the UK government's fault? For not falling over themselves to arrange transport for a bunch of ownerless animals nobody wants when there are human beings in fear of their lives?

What is this guy playing at?

Wallace is a dick

'see Ben Wallace is having a tantrum'

'Having a tantrum'. For stating that military resources are being diverted to support 'Operation Ark' and he finds if upsetting? Doesn't sound like a tantrum to me, sounds like exactly what many of us have been saying would happen.

BBC now reporting that the UK gov is telling Brits in Afghanistan not to even travel to the airport anymore as it’s too dangerous due to threat of terrorist attack.

Yes it's a tantrum, and it's a smear campaign. He doesn't give any details on what military resources have been diverted, (as far as we know, they haven't even made it to the airport yet) and what he says doesn't even make sense. This quote for example is just word salad:

He told MPs: "What I can tell you, and it is a bit upsetting, is that I have soldiers on the ground who have been diverted from saving those people because of inaccurate stories, inaccurate lobbying that have diverted that resource. And that is not something I would be proud of, and I've been very straight and consistent throughout."

This is skin saving, and scapegoating.

there will be enough confusion in the moment about whether the Top Talib would endorse such a massacre of such a high profile and specifically UK endorsed and accompanied exit, that they will be waivedfuck offon.

Just hope there isn't one trigger happy Talib checkpoint commander on the route who didn't get the memo.

@snowballer

Forget the atrocities focus on the cute cats and dogs, rehoming them and everyone living happily ever after.

This just isn't the case, and I think you know that. In large scale crises over which people have no control at all, individuals will often get behind a singular cause or story, because it gives an element of control or hope. It's just not true to say people aren't thinking about the catastrophe that's unfolding. The sense of helplessness and despair is enormous. Stop rewriting what's happening, and stop telling people what they should or shouldn't feel; it doesn't make your case any better.

You’re right but it feels so superficial it’s sickening.

This what I hate most about the media and social media, so much bandwagon jumping once they’ve decided on the individual case they want to promote.

Give me strength.

So after the mess that was Iraq and now Afghanistan, will the uk government learn to stop poking their noses into others countries’ businesses and stop acting like the world should whistle to our (or rather the usa’s) tune and that we are the world police.

So sick of our country getting involved in everything and then having to mop up the collateral damage when we could have stayed out of it in the first place.

Or is that overly simplistic or a selfish view?

@powershowerforanhour

there will be enough confusion in the moment about whether the Top Talib would endorse such a massacre of such a high profile and specifically UK endorsed and accompanied exit, that they will be waivedfuck offon.

Just hope there isn't one trigger happy Talib checkpoint commander on the route who didn't get the memo.

What's to stop them?

Why not?

They never gave a fuck before what anyone thought of what they did.

On the news just said that USA are now focusing on getting their personnel out.

It's nearly game over.

A lot of these issues go back years. And we've been pivotal in interfering from the get go.

It's so hard to know what to do.

Sit back and watch?
But further interference doesn't work either.

Then there's the whole issue with terrorism, regional instability. And the wider impacts of that on the world.

I mean it's impossible.

Sitting back and watching what people will be subject to is. Is it conscionable.

No right answers are there.

Its not his fault the UK decided to abandon the Afghani's to their fate.

@jasjas1973 “Afghani’s”?

Sit back and watch?
But further interference doesn't work either.

@NiceGerbil The second sentence is rubbish. It very much was working until Biden decided to withdraw.

Or is that overly simplistic or a selfish view?

@Watermelon40 it’s both. Unless you don’t give a fuck about women and children’s rights?

Biden is carrying out the deal Trump made.

@Classica oh yawn. Let’s be clear - Biden did not have to carry through this deal. But he went ahead anyway and the result is catastrophic.

Can you imagine the vitriol if Trump did this? Biden is not fit for office.

Trump set wheels in motion in Feb 20 when met Taliban in Doha.

Taliban have gained a lot of ground last year. Only not attacked US and NATO allies as US promised would withdraw.

Read interesting comment by a security expert on events in 2001. He said Bush should never have gone to war in Afghanistan and ‘that the response to 9/11 should not have been a war on terror since that was just what the extreme movements wanted. Instead, the attacks should have been seen as appalling acts of transnational criminal activity. The response should have been to bring those behind the attacks to justice. It might have taken a decade or more but would have had far more world-wide public support and cooperation than wars that followed. Even more important would have been to undercut the development of the extreme movements by learning why they got so much support in the first place and how to undermine and countering that support."

I don’t know what the solution was for present day.

Pure attention seeker. You can tell he’s just loving it all

This comment is just beneath contempt.

Yes, he must be having the time of his life stuck there with no money and resources, having to put the pets he has rescued and brought back to health to sleep, having to leave everything he has worked for for years behind. Knowing there is a high chance him and his friends will be brutally killed in the near future. Knowing that the country he gave 22 years of loyal service have put him in the shit and are now seemingly unbothered about what happens to him.

Yep, it's a 24 hour party for Pen Farthing right now.

@NiceGerbil

A lot of these issues go back years. And we've been pivotal in interfering from the get go.

It's so hard to know what to do.

Sit back and watch?
But further interference doesn't work either.

Then there's the whole issue with terrorism, regional instability. And the wider impacts of that on the world.

I mean it's impossible.

Sitting back and watching what people will be subject to is. Is it conscionable.

No right answers are there.

I have similar thoughts to you. Certainly no easy answers now!

@Shanghaisprize

Pure attention seeker. You can tell he’s just loving it all

This comment is just beneath contempt.

Yes, he must be having the time of his life stuck there with no money and resources, having to put the pets he has rescued and brought back to health to sleep, having to leave everything he has worked for for years behind. Knowing there is a high chance him and his friends will be brutally killed in the near future. Knowing that the country he gave 22 years of loyal service have put him in the shit and are now seemingly unbothered about what happens to him.

Yep, it's a 24 hour party for Pen Farthing right now.

This.

If he is attention seeking.. then fair fucking play because that is what gets stuff done. I really hope all the best for him and his Nowzad team.

I could be wrong, but I understand Trump’s withdrawal plan was contingent on various conditions that the Taliban had to meet. Whereas Biden just seems hellbent on getting all troops out of there ASAP whatever the consequences. I’m beyond disappointed in Biden and the Democrats, I thought it was the beginning of a new era for American politics but they’re an absolute shit show sadly. I can’t stop thinking about all the women and children who are suffering unimaginable terror right now thanks to their actions. It’s horrific

*What's to stop them?

Why not?

They never gave a fuck before what anyone thought of what they did.*

Last year it fitted their agenda to come across as blood spattered batshit maternity massacring psychos. The Afghan population were suitably terrified and the Taliban met with little resistance as they swept across the country. Now they have to hold power. Sometimes it will be the iron fist in the razor wire and nail studded glove, sometimes the iron fist in the velvet glove. Whatever suits the target audienc.. I've no doubt that they are callous bastards who give no more of a toss about anyone else than they ever did but their methods may adapt as they have to govern a country.

@lllllllllll

Or is that overly simplistic or a selfish view?

@Watermelon40 it’s both. Unless you don’t give a fuck about women and children’s rights?

Obviously I care about rights of women and children, we are lucky to live in a civilised, westernised, democratic country with equality laws which have been fought for by our ancestors.

Who are we to make judgements on how other countries operate though? Should we impose the way we live on others by any means or should we allow them to evolve as we have?

Sit back and watch?
But further interference doesn't work either.

Debatable whether we should have gone in in the first place, but a common expert view is that once in, we should have stayed the course. With minimal troops, zero casualties in - I think - 18 months, and relatively minimal resourcing the Afghan forces were being supported and keeping the Taliban at bay. Real progress was being made on a societal front - particularly with regards to women - but also on other fronts.

The next question is always "but how long can we really stay" but really the answer to that was that there was no need to self impose a deadline, or to voluntarily create this nightmare.

Rory Stewart is worth reading/listening to on this topic.

He said Bush should never have gone to war in Afghanistan and ‘that the response to 9/11 should not have been a war on terror since that was just what the extreme movements wanted

No shit Sherlock.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_the_war_in_Afghanistan

To those saying the Taliban wouldn't harm dogs etc - they ban pet ownership and cut dogs noses off. The 'lucky' ones left there will starve to death. What decent person would leave the pets they love behind to face that without doing everything they could to save them?

Who are we to make judgements on how other countries operate though? Should we impose the way we live on others by any means or should we allow them to evolve as we have?

Evolve as we have? Sure, let’s just let countless women and children be collateral as they “evolve as we have.

Oh, and I think you need to educate yourself on the history of Afghanistan. It was actually a very civilized, modernised country until the Taliban took hold.