Afghanistan

[Hawkfeathers]

I was a senior in high school when Saigon fell. Sometimes I feel like we're in an endless loop of war, retreat, war again. I think the Taliban are going to become Putin's problem soon - they want to take over the entire world and someone's going to have to stand up to them. Trump had wanted to pull our troops out by May, if he'd been re-elected, so Biden didn't really do anything too different. 20 years is long enough to "nation-build" - this mess goes back through Bush 2, Obama, Trump, and now Biden. Well, actually, Reagan kinda got the wheels in motion. I hate to sound like a broken record but an awful lot of things end up back on Reagan's head.

I wish all the women & children could get the heck out of there. That's who I'm worried about.

[B. de Corbin]

Oy!

I hate being old enough to see the endlessly repeating patterns.

[iris]

I was a senior in high school when Saigon fell. Sometimes I feel like we're in an endless loop of war, retreat, war again. I think the Taliban are going to become Putin's problem soon - they want to take over the entire world and someone's going to have to stand up to them. Trump had wanted to pull our troops out by May, if he'd been re-elected, so Biden didn't really do anything too different. 20 years is long enough to "nation-build" - this mess goes back through Bush 2, Obama, Trump, and now Biden. Well, actually, Reagan kinda got the wheels in motion. I hate to sound like a broken record but an awful lot of things end up back on Reagan's head.

I wish all the women & children could get the heck out of there. That's who I'm worried about.

Putin is gonna be a lot less ethical about who dies in that process... But you're probably right. Weird when he feels like the lesser evil, huh. I'm steering clear of the news today. It's not gonna be pretty

[monsno_leedra]

Don't think Putin will play there, Russia has already been through that story line. Not to say he may not "support" whomever is the leading power player.

The problem I think is the West (to include Russia) is we look at the place as a country but its all tribes. Feuds going back as far as time itself. They may have "religion" but they also have "tribal" lineage and that trumps religion at times for revenge and justice.

[Hawkfeathers]

Oy!

I hate being old enough to see the endlessly repeating patterns.

It seems that as we get older, our internal focus zooms out from macro to wide angle.

[anunitu]

china is there for the "rare earth" stuff and will cover the taliban to get what they want,so china will hold sway there for many years

[callmeclemens]

As a veteran OEF, and OIF, and GWoT Veteran my heart is absolutely shattered for the people of Afghanistan, and the upstanding folks I served with.

At the end of the day anyone who set foot in that part of the world in the last 50 years has been a pawn in an insatiable blood thirsty struggle for global influence.

I'd like to say I've felt the weight of the world these past few days, but it feels more like a black hole.

[Bartmanhomer]

Call somebody fill me in on what's going on in Afghanistan! I stop watching the news a long time ago.

[B. de Corbin]

Call somebody fill me in on what's going on in Afghanistan! I stop watching the news a long time ago.

The so-called "Afghan government" packed up their booty and fled to the UAE, abandoning the entire region to the Taliban.

[anubisa]

That really upsets me. The people need them and they just run off. What a bunch of cowards.