Afghanistan

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More US troops killed today than over the last 4 years . Pulling put has cost more deaths of US troops than staying there.
Afghans now being slaughtered.
Massive fail from Biden following Trumps pull out.

Very, very 😔

@HarrietPierce

chaosrabbitland

It doesn't matter how many times you explain Pen Farthing's good intentions, to those who believe the smears against him, they will still come out with vitriolic rubbish like " You could see from the beginning what a thrill he was getting from the attention."
The man was desperate to get his work force out. He looked completely broken in that last interview after he returned back to his base, because Biden had changed the rules on paperwork, and his Afghan workers were not allowed through.

indeed , some of the comments are just to stupid for normal comprehension , like the one about why pens staff werent going to be bumped to the top of the taliban hit list !! when many of his staff were female vets and rescuers , ,he didnt have an all male workforce , but your right im afraid ,all we are going to hear about are what a selfish prick he is and the poor women and babies that could have gone instead of the manky cats and dogs , even if they couldnt have gone instead because they werent able to get through , or travel in hold ,but that just passes them by .

@heldinadream

I just heard on the BBC World Service that according to the UN World Food Programme Afghanistan is in all likelihood going to run out of food by September.

I'm so shocked that there is this on top of everything else so I wanted to post informing people.
Not expecting anyone to have any solutions to anything; just thought the more people know about this aspect too the more it's possible the world community might find a constructive way forward.

@heldinadream thank you. How desperately desperately sad and awful I hope the world unites over this, before then. Before it's too late. In spite of all the horror we've seen. I still do believe there's more goodwill in the world for others than bad. Especially among ordinary people

@chaosrabbitland and @HarrietPierce I agree totally with you both 👏👏

Yes, of course the real tragedy is the people who have been left behind. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. Not many anyway. It's heartbreakingly awful

Where are his dogs and cats going to go? We have enough homeless animals in rescues in the UK as it is.

Yes, and the IMF have flagged that the country will run out of cash in September also.

I dunno, they could always put a couple of Black Hawks or a fleet of HumVees on eBay. I've always fancied a rocket launcher myself.

@chaosrabbitland not interested in the opinion on 'normal comprehension' from someone who would push a human under a bus to save a bunny.

Where are his dogs and cats going to go? We have enough homeless animals in rescues in the UK as it is.

With the WHO warning of food running out in Afghanistan and an imminent humanitarian disaster, we should not be removing cats and dogs. They are always needed for food when people are starving.

Sorry if this offends pet lovers, but that is the situation in this cruel world.

I thought the deadline for getting out was August 31st?

Why don’t they carry on evacuating up to the deadline if there are so many more people to save?

I don’t understand what the problem is with this guy saving a few innocent animals actually. It wasn’t up to him to decide who was allowed to get on a flight and nor did he stop anyone more worthy from being saved. There was time to save more - still is.

[quote Mookie81]@chaosrabbitland not interested in the opinion on 'normal comprehension' from someone who would push a human under a bus to save a bunny.[/quote]
thats fine , but maybe try to have a bit of normal common sense about why he wasnt going to be able to offer his private plane to the goverment to use . but i expect you wont , still too pissy about the fact he got his animals out .

"Where are his dogs and cats going to go? "

Many of the dogs will be reunited with ex servicemen, which was part of the charity's purpose.

@TroysMammy

Where are his dogs and cats going to go? We have enough homeless animals in rescues in the UK as it is.

I'm willing to bet that they get snapped up by people who have followed this story on the news. Whether that's at the expense of other home grown animals, I have no idea.

I hope the world unites over this, before then

If it was Sweden, the world would be a whole lot more interested.

@GladAllOver

Where are his dogs and cats going to go? We have enough homeless animals in rescues in the UK as it is.

With the WHO warning of food running out in Afghanistan and an imminent humanitarian disaster, we should not be removing cats and dogs. They are always needed for food when people are starving.

Sorry if this offends pet lovers, but that is the situation in this cruel world.

I'm pretty sure that Pen Farthing hasn't rounded up every available stray cat and dog in Afghanistan. There should be plenty left for them to eat if they so wish.

I know someone who is willing to take one of his dogs. She has several rescues and expensive pedigrees. All are interesting stories, she wouldn't dream of just going to the local sanctuary and choosing a dog. I can't quite figure it out.

He might think whatever damage has been done to other people is worth it because he got the animals out, others disagree.

What damage has he done to other people? The Americans control the airport and they decide who is allowed on to the planes. He took the people there and they were refused.

Why don’t they carry on evacuating up to the deadline if there are so many more people to save?

I'm sure they would if they could but the US and UK can't just keep evacuating and then drop everything and leave on 31Aug, it has to be done in stages especially as the terrorist threat increases as departure time gets closer.
The Taliban will be in there rifling through everything once the deadline's reached so there's a lot to be sorted. And presumably there's equipment that has to be either loaded or destroyed to prevent the Taliban getting their hands on it

@anonymousobserver

I thought the deadline for getting out was August 31st?

Why don’t they carry on evacuating up to the deadline if there are so many more people to save?

I don’t understand what the problem is with this guy saving a few innocent animals actually. It wasn’t up to him to decide who was allowed to get on a flight and nor did he stop anyone more worthy from being saved. There was time to save more - still is.

The threat of terrorists attacks is growing so the safety of the officials and military has to be considered. It also takes time to get all those people out so the refugee rescues have to stop once they have to start prioritising getting the military/officials out.

I think the British had to get out before the Americans as they have the bigger force so if they left the British would be very exposed. Not 100% sure but I think that is what was being explained.

@Ijustknowitstimetogo

He might think whatever damage has been done to other people is worth it because he got the animals out, others disagree.

What damage has he done to other people? The Americans control the airport and they decide who is allowed on to the planes. He took the people there and they were refused.

Well the people in charge, military and govt, are saying the military having to deal with him has diverted them from helping others.

@anonymousobserver

I thought the deadline for getting out was August 31st?

Why don’t they carry on evacuating up to the deadline if there are so many more people to save?

I don’t understand what the problem is with this guy saving a few innocent animals actually. It wasn’t up to him to decide who was allowed to get on a flight and nor did he stop anyone more worthy from being saved. There was time to save more - still is.

this , posters whinging on here about the cats and dogs leaving , but not railing about the fact our goverment had a deadline of 31st and just decided to finish early whilst admitting they know more people eligiable to come here are now stranded

...posters whinging on here about the cats and dogs leaving , but not railing about the fact our goverment had a deadline of 31st and just decided to finish early whilst admitting they know more people eligiable to come here are now stranded...

If you'd been following the news you'd have heard why the brits have to leave earlier than the Americans.

@anonymousobserver

I thought the deadline for getting out was August 31st?

Why don’t they carry on evacuating up to the deadline if there are so many more people to save?

I don’t understand what the problem is with this guy saving a few innocent animals actually. It wasn’t up to him to decide who was allowed to get on a flight and nor did he stop anyone more worthy from being saved. There was time to save more - still is.

The deadline is the 31st August. So when Johnson said they'd continue until the very last minute, that was another lie.

The UK govt has found a scapegoat in Farthing. He runs a humanitarian service animal rescue, and knew he couldn't rescue every person he knew. So tried to get his staff and their families out.

He knew the Taleban wouldn't accept "Johnson says my staff can come", so waited until he had documentary evidence of that. Directly Farthing had those documents (which he had to beg for, earlier this week), Wallace invited Farthing to take him self, his staff and his animals to the airport for processing.

Farthing did as requested, then was refused entry to the airport for several hours. Wallace is in charge of the MOD, and the forces at the airport. He knew Farthign was out there, with his staff and their families, and didn't allow him in until 2 hours after Biden changed the rules for Afghans, so that Farthing's staff couldn't go after all. Farthing and his team didn't knw that until after they presented their documents.

Farthing and his team were turned away, and were caught up in the violence that followed those attacks. Had an Ak47 shoved in their faces twice, so decided to get back to their compound, because that was the safest option at that point.

Within hours, Wallace was all over TV again, saying "this is the last day for civvy evacuations, and anyone not already in the airport is not going". Wallace knew exactly what he was doing.

Someone really has behaved despicably in all this, and it's not Farthing. It's the people who've left thousands of people stranded in Afghanistan, despite having months and months to sort out an evacuation. The smear campaign against Farthing is despicable, and doesn't surprise me one bit.

Patel does this to Human Rights lawyers who are doing their jobs, and she does it to EU ctizens who have been forced to apply to stay in the homes they've paid for, with families they've raised in the UK.

The Tories have spent over a decade blaming everyone else for their despicable actions, from running the NHS into the ground, to fucking over disabled and vulnerable people, and even refusing to feed hungry kids.

Now, they've decided to smear Farthing, to distract from their own failings. I'm not falling for it, because I see the UK government for the vindictive bullies they are, and I watched whilst they set Farthing up, and then started their smear campaign. I know exactly what they did, because I watched them do it.

They got him to the airport, and started tweeting that they'd decided to *not allow "pets over people". They set him up, and left him out there. Then, they started their smear campaign.

I wonder if the American rescue will receive a similar fate? As far as I can tell, they're still stuck in that airport. Charlotte is in there, and her staff were outside (not allowed in).

Yes, I was confused about why they left early. I wasn't sure if it was due to logistics, or due to the terror threat or something else? Or maybe they knew nobody else with right to travel could get to the airport? I don't know. It must have been so horrendous for the armed forces personnel there to see those faces, and have to tell them that was that. No more hope of getting on a flight. Awful for them, and even more awful for the Afghan people there.

Oh, btw, I missed the bit about people being thrown under a bus to save a rabbit. Obviously, for the record, I disagree with that! The throwing someone under a bus part (I'm all for saving rabbits) I'm not sure anyone would really think that. Even if they say it.

It's perfectly possible to be passionate about both human and animal rights. I am. I'm a vegan, and can't bear for animals to suffer. But, I'm also an Amnesty International supporter, and care about people too. It's never either/or for me. It's all part of the same thing of caring for the world generally.
I do know some vegans who are misanthropes and don't care about people. But, to be honest, not many. I find generally that people who are kind to animals are nice kind people overall. That's my experience. I find it hard to trust people who don't like animals. It's so alien to me.

But, of course people can think whatever they want, no matter how terrible.As long as it doesn't turn into equally terrible action!

@ancientgran Well the people in charge, military and govt, are saying the military having to deal with him has diverted them from helping others.

The people in charge would be Wallace. The Home Office is Priti Patel. Neither are shining examples of decency or humanity. Patel is trying to make it illegal to claim asylum in the UK, despite government rules that one has to be on British soil to claim asylum.

All their platititudes about building a system for those who need to claim asylum from Afghanistan are just that: empty platitudes. They're running a massive smear campaign against one man, because he *tried to save people.

It's stunning that so many people believe everything the UK govt says, despite their history of lying through their teeth.

I'm wondering if any of those believing all the nasty stories about Farthing have any direct experience of dealing with this UK government and their departments? Anyone who's tried to apply for PIP or any other form of welfare support will know how this govt works.

@GladAllOver

Where are his dogs and cats going to go? We have enough homeless animals in rescues in the UK as it is.

With the WHO warning of food running out in Afghanistan and an imminent humanitarian disaster, we should not be removing cats and dogs. They are always needed for food when people are starving.

Sorry if this offends pet lovers, but that is the situation in this cruel world.

You must be a troll, that’s a vile comment, you are disgusting.