Current events in Afghanistan

[najaB]

If it's indicative of their presence at the Airport it does not bode well for their counter-terrorism capabilities and the future wellbeing of the populace.

Not necessarily. One possible scenario is that they were actively looking for the bomber and he detonated the device earlier than planned to avoid capture.

 

[Butts]

I was reading about the ISIS group who claimed responsibility, they regard the Taliban as infidels!

Quite an astute observation !!

 

[najaB]

Quite an astute observation !!

Indeed. The schisms between the various sects of Islam make the Protestant/Catholic divide look like "blue and gold/black and blue" or "Laurel/Yani".

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Indeed. The schisms between the various sects of Islam make the Protestant/Catholic divide look like "blue and gold/black and blue" or "Laurel/Yani".

The Christian schisms you refer to only go back to the 15/16th century, but the Sunni and Shia differences go back 1,500 years.

 

[eMeS]

As a diversion from the really serious events:-

I sincerely hope that no innocent blood is spilled when Pen Farthing and his collection of animals is airlifted out of Afghanistan.

 

[Butts]

As a diversion from the really serious events:-

I sincerely hope that no innocent blood is spilled when Pen Farthing and his collection of animals is airlifted out of Afghanistan.

He'll be like Doctor Doolittle or Noah herding his animal friends through the gates of hell !!

Hope he and his quarry (particularly the cats) make it back in one piece safely to the UK.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I am sure that those Afghani people who worked for the coalition forces and find they cannot be safely evacuated will be most unhappy to find that Pen Farthing's animals have taken priority over them...

 

[Gloster]

Ah, but it plays well with the electorate here, or at least those who post in newspaper Comment sections. Dead Afghans are a long way away, but cuddly ‘hero’ animals over here are a wonderful photo op for politicians.

 

[Typhoon]

I am sure that those Afghani people who worked for the coalition forces and find they cannot be safely evacuated will be most unhappy to find that Pen Farthing's animals have taken priority over them...

But did they make an appeal to the former Ms Symonds? I gather that not all Brits have been got out!

 

[najaB]

Ah, but it plays well with the electorate here, or at least those who post in newspaper Comment sections.

More specifically, those who post in the Telegraph comment pages.

 

[Gloster]

More specifically, those who post in the Telegraph comment pages.

I actually looked at the Mirror. I don’t look at Mail or Murdoch papers’ sites on principle.

 

[AlterEgo]

Ah, but it plays well with the electorate here, or at least those who post in newspaper Comment sections. Dead Afghans are a long way away, but cuddly ‘hero’ animals over here are a wonderful photo op for politicians.

Former Royal Marine who was running a charity in Afghanistan - aided in his evacuation by the Parachute Regiment - has all the hallmarks of a soft intelligence operation to me.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Have the Taliban now assumed security at some of the gateway airport entrances from the American forces?

 

[Typhoon]

Not certain who thought this one up:

Michael Gove has been accused of muscling in on Home Secretary Priti Patel’s patch after convening meetings on the Government’s response to the resettlement of Afghan refugees.

Ms Patel has been put in charge of Operation Warm Welcome, the Government scheme to help the thousands of UK allies fleeing Kabul to rebuild their lives in the UK.

I can only assume that it is to remind her that these are refugees that have aided us over (in some cases) many years and we have invited to the country so to ditch the stern face and aggressive talk for once.

As regards Gove:

Asked whether Mr Gove was ‘muscling in’, a source in his department said: ‘The PM asked Michael to chair a committee on Afghan resettlement to co-ordinate a cross-Government response.’

I sometimes wonder whether Johnson thinks things through, unless the plan is that Afghans see the chaotic way government is run and flee over the channel.

(quotes from: Michael Gove accused of 'muscling in' on Priti Patel's turf (msn.com))

 

[nlogax]

Priti Patel and 'warm welcome'. Like trying to weld a child's cuddly toy to an ICBM.

 

[backontrack]

I am sure that those Afghani people who worked for the coalition forces and find they cannot be safely evacuated will be most unhappy to find that Pen Farthing's animals have taken priority over them...

Quite! It's nice to know where our priorities lie...

 

[Butts]

Quite! It's nice to know where our priorities lie...

Was the "Animal Rescue" not privately funded though to be fair ?

 

[BananaRepublic]

Was the "Animal Rescue" not privately funded though to be fair ?

Why did those funding it, not fund the private evacuation of civilians instead?
That says something about the warped sense of morality of those funding this mad exercise.

 

[najaB]

Was the "Animal Rescue" not privately funded though to be fair ?

@AlterEgo hinted at above, the animal shelter was likely privately funded through Universal Exports or some similar company. So they'd have an interest in getting all the operatives volunteers out of country.

 

[birchesgreen]

Why did those funding it, not fund the private evacuation of civilians instead?
That says something about the warped sense of morality of those funding this mad exercise.

Because people can use their own money to fund whatever they like. You should question why others did not fund civilian evacuations if they feel so strongly about it.

 

[Butts]

@AlterEgo hinted at above, the animal shelter was likely privately funded through Universal Exports or some similar company. So they'd have an interest in getting all the operatives volunteers out of country.

Thanks for the update "M"

 

[Senex]

Because people can use their own money to fund whatever they like. You should question why others did not fund civilian evacuations if they feel so strongly about it.

Aren't a lot of people very happy to shew themselves virtuous as long as it's with other people's money?

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

All the British troops and diplomats have left Aghanistan today.

 

[Spamcan81]

Its a damning inditement of nearly 20 years of blood and treasure. So many lives, a trillion dollars and the mighty Afghanistan army collapses so fast they'd probably have been better off with literal cardboard soldiers.

Once the USAF withdrew air support for Afghan ground forces it was only going to end in disaster. Even highly trained and well armed Western forces had to call upon support from the most powerful air forces in the world to hold off the Taliban. The Afghan Air Force had nothing like the fire power needed to support the Army in the face of a fearless and determined enemy.

 

[Sm5]

@AlterEgo hinted at above, the animal shelter was likely privately funded through Universal Exports or some similar company. So they'd have an interest in getting all the operatives volunteers out of country.

All those cats and dogs into months of quarantine now though ?

I understand they left the charities helpers behind… I wonder how they feel about that ?.. left behind to give priority for cats and dogs.

Perhaps it was those pets collecting the intelligence ?

 

[najaB]

All those cats and dogs into months of quarantine now though ?

Got to stick to the cover story. Though, it has been reported that some/most of the animals may be put down!

The 173 cats and dogs rescued from Afghanistan by former marine Paul ‘Pen’ Farthing could be ‘destroyed on arrival’ in the UK, it’s been claimed.

The Sunday Times, quoting a senior official in Whitehall, predicted that the animals from Pen’s Nozad animal charity in Kabul could be condemned to death despite all the efforts and controversy to get them out of the country.

Pen Farthing's rescue animals could be 'destroyed on arrival' in UK

The animals could be condemned to death despite all the efforts and controversy to get them out of Afghanistan

www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk

 

[brad465]

All the British troops and diplomats have left Aghanistan today.

Reports coming in that the US has now also completed its withdrawal.

Now let the fallout under Taliban rule begin...

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It appears that two of the Pakistani soldiers on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been reported to being killed by an insurgent group by a senior Pakistani Army commander, on the Al Jazeera TV network, according to one of my neighbours who watches that news outlet.

 

[najaB]

Reports coming in that the US has now also completed its withdrawal.

If nothing else, America's longest war has finally finished.

 

[Butts]

Once the USAF withdrew air support for Afghan ground forces it was only going to end in disaster. Even highly trained and well armed Western forces had to call upon support from the most powerful air forces in the world to hold off the Taliban. The Afghan Air Force had nothing like the fire power needed to support the Army in the face of a fearless and determined enemy.

Was the Afghan Army not supposed to be a lot bigger than the Taliban with the latest American supplied equipment ?

The Taliban did not have an Airforce so the loss of Air Support should have just evened things up a bit.

They hardly did a "Stalingrad" and seemed to have given up at the first opportunity and handed their Country over on a plate.

One suspects corrupt Afghans are more responsible for their demise rather than the Coalition Forces.

Who was being airlifted out the middle and upper classes or the poor ?