The PRESIDENT's REMARKS on the END of the WAR in AFGHANISTAN- Aug 31, 2021

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Last night in Kabul, the United States ended 20 years of war in Afghanistan. The longest war in American history. We completed one of the biggest air lifts in history with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety. That number is more than double what most experts felt were possible. No nation, no nation has ever done anything like it in all of history, and only United States had the capacity and the will and ability to do it. And we did it today.

The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravely and selfless courage to the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professional. For weeks, they risked their lives to get American citizens, Afghans who helped us, citizens of our allies and partners and others onboard planes and out of the country. And they did it facing a crush of enormous crowds seeking to leave the country.

They did it knowing ISIS-K terrorists, sworn enemies of the Taliban, were lurking in the midst of those crowds. And still, the women and men of the United States military, our diplomatic corps and intelligence professionals did their job and did it well. Risking their lives, not for professional gains, but to serve others. Not in a mission of war, but in the mission of mercy.

Twenty service members were wounded in the service of this mission, thirteen heroes gave their lives. I was just at Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer. We owe them and their families a debt of gratitude we can never repay, but we should never, ever, ever forget.

In April, I made a decision to end this war. As part of that decision, we set the date of August 31st for American troops to withdraw. The assumption was that more than 300,000 Afghan National Security Forces that we had trained over the past two decades and equipped would be a strong adversary in their civil wars with the Taliban.

That assumption that the Afghan government would be able to hold on for a period of time beyond military draw down turned out not to be accurate. But, I still instructed our National Security Team to prepare for every eventuality, even that one, and that’s what we did.

So we were ready, when the Afghan Security Forces, after two decades of fighting for their country and losing thousands of their own, did not hold on as long as anyone expected. We were ready when they and the people of Afghanistan watched their own government collapse and the president flee amid the corruption of malfeasance, handing over the country to their enemy, the Taliban, and significantly increasing the risk to us personnel and our allies.

As a result, to safely extract American citizens before August 31st, as well as embassy personnel, allies, and partners, and those Afghans who had worked with us and fought alongside of us for 20 years, I had authorized 6,000 troops, American troops to Kabul to help secure the airport.

As General McKenzie said, this is the way the mission was designed. It was designed to operate under severe stress and attack and that’s what it did. Since March, we reached out 19 times to Americans in Afghanistan with multiple warnings and offers to help them leave Afghanistan. All the way back as far as March.

After we started the evacuation 17 days ago, we did initial outreach and analysis and identified around 5,000 Americans who had decided earlier to stay in Afghanistan but now wanted to leave. Our operation Allie Rescue ended up getting more than 5,500 Americans out. We got out thousands of citizens and diplomats from those countries that went into Afghanistan with us to get bin Laden. We got out locally employed staff in the United States Embassy and their families, totalling roughly 2,500 people. We got thousands of Afghan translators and interpreters and others who supported the United States out as well.

Now we believe that about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan with some intention to leave. Most of those who remain are dual citizens, long time residents, but earlier decided to stay because of their family roots in Afghanistan. The bottom line, 90% of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave. And for those remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out.

Secretary of State Blinken is leading the continued diplomatic efforts to ensure safe passage for any American, Afghan partner or foreign national who wants to leave Afghanistan. In fact just yesterday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution that sent a clear message about the international community expects the Taliban to deliver on moving forward. Notably, freedom of travel, freedom to leave.

Together we are joined by over 100 countries that are determined to make sure the Taliban upholds those commitments. It will include ongoing efforts in Afghanistan to reopen the airport as well as overland routes, allowing for continued departure for those who want to leave and deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

The Taliban has made public commitments broadcast on television and radio across Afghanistan on safe passage for anyone wanting to leave, including those who worked alongside Americans. We don’t take them by their word alone, but by their actions. And we have leverage to make sure those commitments are met.

Let me be clear, leaving August the 31st is not due to an arbitrary deadline. It was designed to save American lives. My predecessor, the Former President, signed an agreement with the Taliban to remove US troops by May the first, just months after I was inaugurated. It included no requirement that the Taliban work out a cooperative governing arrangement with the Afghan government. But it did authorize the release of 5,000 prisoners last year, including some of the Taliban’s top war commanders among those who just took control of Afghanistan.

By the time I came to office the Taliban was in it’s strongest military position since 2001, controlling or contesting nearly half of the country. The previous administration’s agreement said that if we stuck to the May 1st deadline that they had signed on to leave by, the Taliban wouldn’t attack any American forces. But if we stayed, all bets were off.

So we were left with a simple decision, either through on the commitment made by the last administration and leave Afghanistan, or say we weren’t leaving and commit another tens of thousands more troops going back to war. That was the choice, the real choice between leaving or escalating. I was not going to extend this forever war and I was not extending a forever exit.

The decision to end the military lift operation at that Kabul airport was based on the unanimous recommendation of my civilian and military advisors. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff and all the Service chiefs and the commanders in the field, their recommendation was that the safest way to secure the passage of the remaining Americans and others out of the country was to continue with 6,000 troops on the ground in harm’s way in Kabul, but rather to get them out through non-military means.

In the 17 days that we operated in Kabul, after the Taliban seized power, we engage in an around the clock effort to provide every American the opportunity to leave. Our State Department was working 24/7 contacting and talking, and in some cases walking Americans into the airport. Again, more than 5,500 Americans were airlifted out. And for those who remain, we will make arrangements to get them out if they so choose.

As for the Afghans, we and our partners have airlifted 100,000 of them, no country in history has done more to airlift out the residents of another country than we have done. We will continue to work to help more people leave the country who are at risk. We’re far from done.

For now, I urge all Americans to join me in grateful prayer for our troops and diplomats and intelligence officers who carried out this mission of mercy in Kabul at a tremendous risk with such unparalleled results. An air-lift that evacuated tens of thousands. To a network of volunteers and veterans who helped identify those needing evacuation, guide them to the airport and provided them for their support along the way. We’re going to continue to need their help. We need your help and I’m looking forward to meeting with you. And to everyone who is now offering or who will offer to welcome Afghan allies to their homes around the world, including in America, we thank you.

I take responsibility for the decision. Now some say we should have started mass evacuation sooner and, “Couldn’t this have been done in a more orderly manner?” I respectfully disagree. Imagine if we’d begun evacuations in June or July, bringing in thousands of American troops and evacuated more than 120,000 people in the middle of a civil war. There still would have been a rush to the airport, a breakdown in confidence and control of the government, and it still would have been a very difficult and dangerous mission.

The bottom line is there is no evacuation from the end of a war that you can run without the kinds of complexities, challenge and threats we faced. None. There are those who would say we should have stayed indefinitely, for years on end. They ask, “Why don’t we just keep doing what we were doing? Why do we have to change anything?” The fact is, everything had changed.

My predecessor had made a deal with the Taliban. When I came into office, we faced a deadline, May one. The Taliban onslaught was coming, we faced one of two choices. Follow the agreement of the previous administration, or extend to have more time for people to get out. Or send in thousands of more troops and escalate the war.

To those asking for a third decade of war in Afghanistan I ask, “What is of vital national interest?” In my view, we only have one. To make sure Afghanistan can never be used again to launch an attack on our homeland. Remember why we went to Afghanistan in the first place, because we were attacked by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda on September 11th, 2001, and they were based in Afghanistan.

We delivered justice to bin Laden on May 2nd, 2011 over a decade ago. Al-Qaeda was decimated. I respectfully suggest you ask yourself this question, “If we’ve been attacked on September 11th, 2001 from Yemen, instead of Afghanistan, would we have ever gone to war in Afghanistan, even though the Tali bond controlled Afghanistan in the year 2001?” I believe the honest answer is no. That’s because we had no vital interest in Afghanistan other than to prevent an attack on America’s homeland and our friends, and that’s true today.

We succeeded in what we set out to do in Afghanistan over a decade ago, then we stayed for another decade. It was time to end this war. This is a new world. The terror threat has metastasized across the world, well beyond Afghanistan. We face threats from al-Shabab in Somalia, al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria and the Arabian Peninsula, and ISIS attempting to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and establishing affiliates across Africa and Asia.


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The fundamental obligation of a president, in my opinion, is to defend and protect America. Not against threats of 2001, but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow. That is the guiding principle behind my decisions about Afghanistan. I simply do not believe that the safety and security of America is enhanced by continuing to deploy thousands of American troops and spending billions of dollars a year in Afghanistan. But I also know that the threat from terrorism continues in its pernicious and evil nature. But it’s changed, expanded to other countries. Our strategy has to change too.

We will maintain the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries. We just don’t need to fight a ground war to do it. We have what’s called Over The Horizon capabilities, which means we can strike terrorists and targets without American boots on the ground, or very few if needed. We’ve shown that capacity just in the last week. We struck ISIS-K remotely, days after they murdered 13 of our service members and dozens of innocent Afghans. And to ISIS-K, we are not done with you yet.

As Commander in Chief I firmly believe the best path to guard our safety and our security lies in a tough, unforgiving, targeted, precise strategy that goes after terror where it is today, not where it was two decades ago. That’s what’s in our national interest.

Here’s a critical thing to understand, the world is changing. We’re engaged in a serious competition with China. We’re dealing with the challenges on multiple fronts with Russia. We’re confronted with cyber attacks and nuclear proliferation. We have to shore up America’s competitiveness to meet these new challenges in the competition for the 21st century. We can do both, fight terrorism and take on new threats that are here now, and will continue to be here in the future. And there’s nothing China or Russia would rather have, would want more in this competition than the United States to be bogged down another decade in Afghanistan.

As we turn the page on the foreign policy that has guided our nation in the last two decades, we’ve got to learn from our mistakes. To me there are two that are paramount. First, we must set missions with clear, achievable goals. Not ones we’ll never reach. And second, I want to stay clearly focused on the fundamental national security interest of the United States of America.

This decision about Afghanistan is not just about Afghanistan. It’s about ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries. We saw a mission of counter-terrorism in Afghanistan, getting the terrorist and stopping attacks, morph into a counterinsurgency, nation building, trying to create a democratic cohesive and United Afghanistan. Something that has never been done over many centuries of Afghan’s history.

Moving on from that mindset and those kinds of large scale troop deployments will make us stronger and more effective and safer at home. And for anyone who gets the wrong idea, let me say clearly, to those who wish America harm, to those engage in terrorism against us our allies know this, the United States will never rest. We will not forgive, will not forget. We’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and you will pay the ultimate price.

Let me be clear, we’ll continue to support the Afghan people through diplomacy, international influence and humanitarian aid. We’ll continue to push for regional diplomacy engagement to prevent violence and instability. We’ll continue to speak out for the basic rights of the Afghan people, especially women and girls. As we speak out for women and girls all around the globe.

And I’ve been clear that human rights will be the center of our foreign policy, but the way to do that is not through endless military deployments, but through diplomacy, economic tools and rallying the rest of the world for support.

My fellow Americans, the war in Afghanistan is now over. I’m the fourth president who has faced the issue of whether and when to end this war. When I was running for president, I made a commitment to the American people that I would end this war. Today, I’ve honored that commitment. It was time to be honest with the American people again.

We no longer had a clear purpose and an open-ended mission in Afghanistan. After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, I refuse to send another generation of America’s sons and daughters to fight a war should have ended long ago. After more than $2 trillion spent in Afghanistan, a cost that researchers at Brown University estimated would be over $300 million a day for 20 years in Afghanistan, for two decades.

Yes, the American people should hear this, $300 million a day for two decades. You could take the number of $1 trillion, as many say. That’s still $150 million a day for two decades. And what have we lost as a consequence in terms of opportunities? I refuse to continue to war that was no longer in the service of the vital national interest of our people.

And most of all, after 800,000 Americans served in Afghanistan, I’ve traveled that whole country, brave and honorable service. After 20,744 American service men and women injured. And the loss of 2,461 American personnel, including 13 lives lost just this week. I refused to open another decade of warfare in Afghanistan.

We’ve been a nation too long at war. If you’re 20 years old today, you’ve never known an America at peace. So when I hear that we could have, should have continued the so-called “low grade effort” in Afghanistan, at low risk to our service members, at low costs I don’t think enough people understand how much we’ve asked of the 1% of this country who put that uniform on. Willing to put their lives on the line in defense of our nation.

Maybe it’s because my deceased son, Beau, served in Iraq for a full year. Before that… Well. Maybe it’s because of what I’ve seen over the years as Senator, Vice President and President traveling in these countries. A lot of our veterans and our families have gone through hell. Deployment after deployment, months and years away from their families, missed birthdays, anniversaries, empty chairs at holidays, financial struggles, divorces, loss of limbs, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress.

We see it in the struggles many have when they come home. We see it in the strain on their families and caregivers. We see it in the strain in their families when they’re not there. We see it in the grief born by their survivors. The cost of war, they will carry with them their whole lives. Most tragically, we see in the shocking and stunning statistic that should give pause to anyone who thinks war can ever be low grade, low risk or low cost, 18 veterans on average who die by suicide every single day in America.

Not in a far off place, but right here in America. There is nothing low grade or low risk or low cost about any war. It’s time to end the war in Afghanistan. As we close 20 years of war and strife and pain and sacrifice, it’s time to look at the future, not the past. To a future that’s safer, to a future that’s more secure. To a future the honors those who served and all those who gave what President Lincoln called, “Their last full measure of devotion.”

I give you my word, with all of my heart, I believe this is the right decision, a wise decision and the best decision for America. Thank you. Thank you, and may God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.



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Zero accountability from the administration. Zero. They are out of touch with reality. This happens in any firm and there are mass firings or resignations.

It’s appalling Blinken and Austin still have jobs. It’s astonishing Milley still has his job.

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Zero accountability from the administration. Zero.
I guess you don't understand what "accountability" means.  When the President says "I take responsibility" that is being held to account.

ACCOUNTABILITY is "Good-faith acceptance of one's responsibility for something and of its consequences."

BIDEN:
"I take responsibility for the decision. Now some say we should have started mass evacuation sooner and, “Couldn’t this have been done in a more orderly manner?” I respectfully disagree. Imagine if we’d begun evacuations in June or July, bringing in thousands of American troops and evacuated more than 120,000 people in the middle of a civil war. There still would have been a rush to the airport, a breakdown in confidence and control of the government, and it still would have been a very difficult and dangerous mission.

We succeeded in what we set out to do in Afghanistan over a decade ago, then we stayed for another decade. It was time to end this war. This is a new world. The terror threat has metastasized across the world, well beyond Afghanistan. We face threats from al-Shabab in Somalia, al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria and the Arabian Peninsula, and ISIS attempting to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and establishing affiliates across Africa and Asia.

The fundamental obligation of a president, in my opinion, is to defend and protect America. Not against threats of 2001, but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow. That is the guiding principle behind my decisions about Afghanistan. I simply do not believe that the safety and security of America is enhanced by continuing to deploy thousands of American troops and spending billions of dollars a year in Afghanistan. But I also know that the threat from terrorism continues in its pernicious and evil nature. But it’s changed, expanded to other countries. Our strategy has to change too."

They are out of touch with reality.
Explain.

This happens in any firm and there are mass firings or resignations.
What firm ever evacuated a population the size of Topka, KS out of warzone, surrounded on all sides?  None.   What firm ever ended a twenty year war?  None. 

It’s appalling Blinken and Austin still have jobs. It’s astonishing Milley still has his job.
So you've named 4 people you think have done something wrong and had some feelings about it.  Are you going to state what you think they did wrong or hasn't Tucker told you what you think yet?

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I guess you don't understand what "accountability" means.  When the President says "I take responsibility" that is being held to account.
Accountability = consequences

Explain.
Reality is that Americans were left behind and billions in equipment was left to people who had been trying to kill us for the past 20 years.

What firm ever evacuated a population the size of Topka, KS out of warzone, surrounded on all sides?  None.   What firm ever ended a twenty year war?  None.
Combatting an analogy with literal answers🤦‍♂️.

Ok we can play that game. If I left 86 billion dollars worth of equipment to practically rot I’d definitely be fired.

So you've named 4 people you think have done something wrong and had some feelings about it.  Are you going to state what you think they did wrong or hasn't Tucker told you what you think yet?
I haven’t watched Tucker in more than a year. And let’s see.

Austin and Milley as the top two military officials for being completely incompetent in the withdrawal process and leaving billions in equipment behind. Essentially withdrawing troops and then sending them back in. Withdrawing from Bagram is a good one too.

Blinken for the disastrous embassy debacle. Vietnam all over again. Not to mention the mixed messaging given to Americans. Go to the airport or don’t go?

Idc if the top officials are still there, though I personally believe they should resign. But why aren’t lower officials being held accountable for their mistakes that cost American lives.

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Accountability and “I take responsibility” are the same things. Gimme a break
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I guess you don't understand what "accountability" means.  When the President says "I take responsibility" that is being held to account.
Accountability = consequences
What makes you say that Biden's decision was inconsequential?  Or are you only dissatisfied that the consequences are not of your choosing?

Explain.
Reality is that Americans were left behind and billions in equipment was left to people who had been trying to kill us for the past 20 years.
And what alternatives would you have enacted?  What better choices might you have made?

What firm ever evacuated a population the size of Topka, KS out of warzone, surrounded on all sides?  None.   What firm ever ended a twenty year war?  None.
Combatting an analogy with literal answers🤦‍♂️.
Ok we can play that game. If I left 86 billion dollars worth of equipment to practically rot I’d definitely be fired.
That $86 billion number is the total cost to train and equip the Afghan army for the last 20 years.  Yes, we spent a lot on equipping the Afghan army and we had to let them keep that stuff as we left.   We made promises to the Afghan government that they'd be able to defend themselves and we kept those promises even after that government refused to stand their ground for even 24 hrs. 

20 years is 240 months of which 137 months were Republican administration's responsibility.  96 months were Obama's.  The last 7 were Biden.   (Let's note that neither Bush nor Trump ever actually said they were responsible for their decision the way Biden did today.  Hell, Bush outright refused to estimate the costs of Afghanistan in his budgets, leaving Obama to do the actual accountancy and figuring out how to pay for it) If we prorate by month, Republicans lost the lion's share of taxpayer money at  $50 billion.  Biden should be credited with the last $2.5 billion for his 7 months of training and equipment.  Let's agree that Biden by ending the war early in his administration, saved the US from further wasteful investment.  Seems like any  firm that had been bleeding billions for twenty years would reward a new CEO who came in and stopped the bleeding, rather than fire him or her for not stopping the flow on day one,  which is what I guess you are complaining about.

So you've named 4 people you think have done something wrong and had some feelings about it.  Are you going to state what you think they did wrong or hasn't Tucker told you what you think yet?
I haven’t watched Tucker in more than a year. And let’s see.
And yet your opinions are in such perfect sync.

Austin and Milley as the top two military officials for being completely incompetent in the withdrawal process and leaving billions in equipment behind.
All of which was either promised to the Afghans' defense or scrapped at the end.   All of that leaving behind seems to have gone according to game plan.   Would you have prioritized equipment over human lives?  Would you pulled out equipment earlier and so hastened the fall of the government?  What better decision would you have made?

Essentially withdrawing troops and then sending them back in.
Trump  left Biden with 2,500 troops.  That was never going to be enough to evacuate Topeka, Kansas in 14 days.   Are you criticizing Trump for leaving too few or Biden for bringing sufficient force to the mission?

Withdrawing from Bagram is a good one too.
Trump, acting on behalf of the US, promised to withdraw from all 5 military bases within 14 months.  If you thought we should retain Bagram Airfield then you need to blame Trump for agreeing to withdraw.  

Blinken for the disastrous embassy debacle. Vietnam all over again. Not to mention the mixed messaging given to Americans. Go to the airport or don’t go?
Can't figure out what you're talking about here.  Pls. cite facts.

Idc if the top officials are still there, though I personally believe they should resign. But why aren’t lower officials being held accountable for their mistakes that cost American lives.
Which mistakes?  You are saying you think US Servicemen were to blame for the Aug 26th attack at Abbey Gate?  Can you get specific here?
Accountability and “I take responsibility” are the same things. Gimme a break
Oxford dictionary lists accountability as a synonym for responsibility.  Don't know why you wouldn't know this.
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It's not like vietnam. I mean, 100x more Americans died in Vietnam than Afghanistan in half the time.
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I don't think Biden has explained to independent voters why it was absolutely necessary to evacuate the military before the civilians.

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i find myself agreeing with his take on getting out of afghanistan but why should we take refugees?
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gee i really wonder. why should we take refugees trying to escape from a tyrannical government?
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"
We rated False a claim that the Biden administration "gifted the Taliban with $80 billion-plus" in military-grade weapons. Only a fraction of that amount was spent over the 20 years for hardware; there has been no accounting of how much of it was left and is usable; and one expert told us the aircraft and other military equipment are likely worth less than $10 billion." https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/sep/01/viral-image/claim-overstates-military-weapons-equipment-us-lef/

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How much are 30 Blackhawks worth? Did the rich pay their fair share to provide the Taliban with 30 Blackhawks, or could we have squeezed a few more Blackhawks out of the rich?

I think Biden did fine with 30 personally. A very good look for him just like killing the kids. Very Presidential.
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@ILikePie5
Accountability and “I take responsibility” are the same things. Gimme a break
This is what the 'educated' left likes to do.

They'll take you into a funhouse wherein you'll argue over the shortest weeds that distract from the topic, and even if you follow them in there and win, you'll have to straighten the conversation because they'll dump a whole bunch of sophistry in there, too. These are bad faith actors 'educated' in distraction and sophistry.

The fact is that the Afghanistan withdrawal was botched. Joe Biden was the President of the United States when that happened. You can blame him for the botching because he was in charge. That's all. Whether it's "accountability" or "responsibility" doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the argument. What matters is that he screwed up and he should be blamed.
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i find myself agreeing with his take on getting out of afghanistan but why should we take refugees?
All non-partisan people should agree that Biden is right in wanting to get out of Afghanistan -- 100% agree.

We don't need to take refugees. There's absolutely no good reason to, either. 
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I think Biden handled the refugee question pretty well. Twenty years of military occupation tends to create some deep entanglements and obligations that we should make some good faith effort to respect. We definitely want to skim the top doctors and engineers and entrepreneurs, not only for US benefit but also so they aren’t aiding potential enemies. When Russia left, they left behind a well known Afghan Colonel who the Taliban forced to command and maintain their little Air Force of old MiGs. I’ve read that there’s 2-3 million who would like to immigrate but much of that number represents the same establishment that collapsed in front of the Taliban advance.  Do we really to take In huge numbers of disillusioned and corrupt- is that to US benefit?  Drawing the line anywhere is harsh and necessarily condemns some former allies but 120, 000 sounds right. I would guess the US takes less than half of those and only the best and brightest.   I call that the smart play. 

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You old humanitarian Doc.

We make a mess, we take some refugees.

Though most have gone to neighbouring Iran and Tajikistan.

Even kind hearted Uganda has taken some in.

So it won't hurt the U.S. to have a few.

It's not so long ago that the Irish sought refuge in the New World Doc.
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ipie....Zero accountability from the administration

Accountability and consequences for what specifically. I dont think you know political hot air speech is, even tho that is all the Trumpet and trumpeteers have done for 6 or more years now.  You need to review you reading comprehension abilities of what was stated and the actions taken by Biden with support from all advisors, military and other.


Zed...It's not so long ago that the Irish sought refuge in the New World Doc.

Zed, you do realize some of those 74 million+,  trumpeteers,  turn off their empathy centers in their brains more often than you turn off the lights in your home.

#19
drlebronski
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@Greyparrot
A viral image claims that the U.S. left what amounts to the "Taliban’s new arsenal." The image lists 19 categories of items ranging from 358,530 assault rifles to 22,174 Humvees to 33 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
But not only has there still been no accounting, but the figures cited are inflated because they are dated.
"The short answer is that all of the numbers are wrong," said Jonathan Schroden, a military operations analyst at CNA, a safety and security think tank.

from the same source i sited last post
#20
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@zedvictor4
It's not so long ago that the Irish sought refuge in the New World Doc.

right, they settled in western Christian nations, afghanis should be refugees in the ME
#21
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There's plenty of footage of Taliban flying around in the Blackhawks.

Aren't you upset that there are not more? If the rich paid their fair share, more copter footage would be around to make Biden look good.

Biden fucked up by not taxing the rich.
#22
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wtf are you talking about dude?
i don't care about god damn footage i care about data.
#23
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Data doesn't make Biden look good, but helicopter footage does.

And we all know since 2016 that optics are much more important than results.

You have to wonder how much money Drumph paid those guys to fall off the airplanes for a photo op?
#24
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lol ok god damn conspiracy theorist
#25
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Dude, your Orangemanbad needs some serious work. I suggest more late night viewing.
#26
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i notice you and dr franklin never really attack anyones points and instead come up with an "argument" after 2 seconds and when thats gone like you just did now you say "Dude, your Orangemanbad needs some serious work. I suggest more late night viewing."
attack my god damn points otherwise there is no point in engaging in any meaningful discussion with you.

The "liberal SWJ triggered feminist" videos really  destroyed your brain.
#27
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If you can't see how Drumph manipulated the images coming out of Afghanistan then I can't help ya buddy.
Topic's author
#28
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The notion that Biden left any aircraft is 100% faulty.  The Taliban has captured some aircraft but all that aircraft has been in the Afghan military for years.  Bush bought it for them (mostly Russian surplus from their war- the Russians specifically designed a small tough helicopter for their War in Afghanistan and  Bush bought a bunch from Ukraine and Eastern Europe for cheap and gave them to the Afghans. Obama trained their pilots. Trump kept up the maintenance program because military aircraft need constant maintenance and new parts to stay battle ready and The Afghan military was unwilling to make that investment

The US did leave some aircraft behind but absolutely gutted and destroyed those craft.  No American aircraft under Biden’s command are now in Taliban hands. Of the 33 UH Blackhawks in the Afghan Air Force on 12 were air worthy and a  Northern Alliance warlord captured 8 of those and is keeping them in Uzbekistan.  That leaves Taliban with a probable 4 blackhawks with expensive maintenance and spare parts needs and not enough money or know how.  Those helicopters probably won’t weeks. 

We could not have legitimately defended those afghani aircraft without getting back into the war.  So the claim that Biden gave the Taliban blackhawks has zero merit.  Bush is mostly to blame for giving the afghans old blackhawks
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#29
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Of all US presidents, only Biden can say that he gave his commanders a clear objective in Afghanistan,a short timetable, and stuck with that plan while ignoring all the fucking punditry. Generals can’t and shouldn’t hope for a commander in chief that wants to run the war and make the plans- the commander in chiefs jobs is to the state a necessary political objective that can only be accomplished by force and then sell that necessity to Congress and the media, sheltering his command from political interference as  much as possible. I’d say this is the first president since Bush 41 who understands his job as commander in chief.  
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#30
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Let’s also note that the founding fathers specifically put congress in charge of war powers and war budget.  The idea that any president owns a particular military result would be deeply disturbing to the authors of the constitution.