Victory in Afghanistan?
Otto von Bismarck once said, "Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied."
That moment happened today in Afghanistan.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani denied Monday that the Taliban is winning the war in Afghanistan despite a continuing wave of deadly militant attacks and signs the militants are expanding areas under their control.
Ghani said the Afghan state is not at risk of collapse and reiterated his government's intent to seek a negotiated peace. He insisted it would not do so "from a position of weakness."
According to the official report, the Taliban have never been stronger.
But what do they know, amirite?
Consider this recent chain of events.
Gen. Scott Miller, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, on Thursday narrowly escaped a bold, deadly insider attack the Taliban claimed responsibility for.
Miller at one point drew his sidearm during the attack, but did not fire, according to CNN.
...
Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley was among the Americans wounded in Thursday's incident and is recovering from a gunshot wound, a NATO spokesman confirmed to CNN on Sunday. Smiley is in charge of the NATO military advisory mission in southern Afghanistan.
...It was an astonishing moment in a conflict that recently entered its 18th year, and perhaps the most embarrassing piece of evidence yet the US is badly losing the war.
Having your generals shot tends to get a reaction.
In this case, American forces temporarily cut off all face-to-face contact with Afghan forces, which is a sure sign you are winning.
After a few days, contact was resumed...and there was almost immediately another deadly insider attack.
At virtually the same time, in a different part of Afghanistan, there was another sign that we were winning.
The most elite US-trained forces in Afghanistan suffered an embarrassing defeat to the Taliban in what's often referred to as the country's "safest district" over the weekend, yet another sign the war is a lost cause.Early on Sunday, a company of roughly 50 Afghan special forces commandos was almost entirely destroyed in the rural district of Jaghori, according to a report from The New York Times.
We are winning so much in Afghanistan that the Trump Administration is considering asking the Afghan government to suspend its presidential election.
The trick is how you define victory.
“I think it is very important to keep in mind why we went to Afghanistan and the reason why we have stayed,” says Petraeus. “We went to Afghanistan to eliminate the sanctuary in which the 9/11 attacks were planned, and we have stayed to ensure that that sanctuary cannot be reestablished by al Qaeda or, now, by the Islamic State or other extremist groups, and also to ensure we have a platform for our regional counterterrorism campaign.”Reconciliation, argues Petraeus, is “a legitimate aspiration, something we should certainly seek to achieve, however slim the prospects might be,” but the U.S. should be prepared to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely, even if the Trump strategy to end the war fails.
“Look, we have had tens of thousands of troops in Korea for approaching 70 years. We’ve had them even longer, in larger numbers, in Europe,” says Petraeus. “If you can get the cost down in blood and treasure, I think this is a sustainable commitment, and I believe it should be sustained given the importance of the mission.”
Victory in Europe (our troops are still there). Victory in Korea (our troops are still there). Victory in Afghanistan (our troops are still there).
“Our troops will fight to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over the country, and stopping mass terror attacks against Americans before they emerge.”
"One way or another, these problems will be solved — I'm a problem solver — and, in the end, we will win."
- President Trump, August 21, 2017
Comments
Did Otto Von Bismarck really say that?
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/08/07/believe/
Perhaps they just have the wrong Otto:
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Why, I otto
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlff2IMHMRo]
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
In both Europe and Korea the host countries feared others more.
Europe feared a Soviet invasion. South Korea feared North Korea and China.
But there is no external enemy in Afghanistan. We invaded Afghanistan. It's a totally different situation. Not protectors, but conquerors ruling through a puppet government.
"If you should fall on the Afghan plain, roll on your rifle and blow out your brain." - Rudyard Kipling
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Does Petraeus really think we're that dumb?
I wasn't aware that US service people are being constantly blown up in the failed states of Korea and Europe.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
Well he is!
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Interesting how he wasn't charged under the espionage act
after giving classified information to his girlfriend, ehh? Obama went hog wild on charging people under it when they were actually whistleblowers and yet when he had a slam dunk case on someone who really did give CI to someone he let them off with a $100,000 fine, two years probation and he got to keep his pension. Not sure if he got dinged a rank, but he's walking free and still involved in things regarding war. Obama the hypocrite. Another part of his legacy.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Oh yeah
Victory is pulling out. Extracting all military. Leave the Afghan "Gubmint" to figure things out. And for the MIC keep selling them shit until they can't pay for it anymore.
I really don't like the Taliban. But I guess the people of Afghan do or they are still just serfs. Or maybe it's all about their rich culture and 'dancing boys". One can never have enuf boys to pass around among those big, strong war lords... Fuck them.
You know what bothers me the most? They destroyed those 2 huge carved Buddha statues because Islam....
Fuck them all.
Leave them to themselves.
China can have them and send them all to re-education camps.
Fuck them.
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
But rare earths, natural gas, and a pipeline
Those people are sitting on OUR stuff and our lords and masters in corporate boardrooms intend to fight to the last pleb to ‘keep’ it.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
The American people will pay trillions of dollars
... to seize control over Afghanistan's natural resources...
... but the government will privatize it to US corporations. We get nothing back for the taxes we invested in this piracy, not even crappy jobs. It all goes to the war profiteers.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
With you! But to be fair...
At the time the press said the Muslim world condemned that Buddha destruction. Fanatics like the Religious Right.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
as with Al Qaeda violence, the vast majority of the victims
of Taliban violence have been other Muslims. they are not loved by the Islamic world.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Too late
This is a people who've been brutalized non-stop since 1978 in ways that Americans can't even imagine.
They've already been fucked over.
You probably won't see this
So, where are you? F them? or what?
Let's back off cause they've been f'd up since the British Raj?
Where Empires go to die.
One really has to admire their persistence/resistance.
Not sure what u are telling me....
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
My $0.02
I'm of the opinion that I'm not in a position to judge anyone in Afghanistan.
Almost every action that Americans has ever done in that nation has been destructive.
How hard is it to move?
Pack your old kit bag and move to some other desolate wasteland (we're creating new ones all the time) and start up operations there. If you do it right you get the enemy (USA and "coalition of the willing") to keep overextending themselves/bleeding themselves dry in country after country, when they are using a 20 pound sledge to try and swat mosquitos.
It's working out exactly like Osama bin Laden envisioned
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
As Walter Cronkite once said:
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Arrogant Monster! WTF!? Who Gives Him the Right to Say and Do
this?
“I think it is very important to keep in mind why we went to Afghanistan and the reason why we have stayed,”
“We went to Afghanistan to eliminate the sanctuary in which the 9/11 attacks were planned, and we have stayed to ensure that that sanctuary cannot be reestablished by al Qaeda or, now, by the Islamic State or other extremist groups, and also to ensure we have a platform for our regional counterterrorism campaign.”
“Look, we have had tens of thousands of troops in Korea for approaching 70 years. We’ve had them even longer, in larger numbers, in Europe,” says Petraeus. “If you can get the cost down in blood and treasure, I think this is a sustainable commitment, and I believe it should be sustained given the importance of the mission.”
Asshole. Monster. War Criminal.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Sarcasm or a Grift? I can't tell