Rolling Afghanistan Thread

V

version

Well-known member
Apparently the Americans left in the middle of the night without telling the Afghan soldiers patrolling the perimeter. They just abandoned the place, left loads of gear and supplies behind.
www.theguardian.com

Inside Afghanistan’s looted Bagram airbase after US departure – in pictures

After nearly two decades, the US military has left Bagram, now Afghan forces have invited the press inside the huge, eerily quiet facility
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
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Leo

Leo

Well-known member
but the scheduled withdrawal has been widely covered in the media for weeks.
 
V

version

Well-known member
"In one night, they lost all the goodwill of 20 years by leaving the way they did, in the night, without telling the Afghan soldiers who were outside," said Naematullah, an Afghan soldier who asked that only his one name be used.
 
Leo

Leo

Well-known member
version said:
"In one night, they lost all the goodwill of 20 years by leaving the way they did, in the night, without telling the Afghan soldiers who were outside," said Naematullah, an Afghan soldier who asked that only his one name be used.
Click to expand...

it's not the US military's job to inform Afghan foot soldiers on their plans, I'm sure his military commanders were well aware. also, broadcasting the exact day and time of a move like that could put the troops in harm's way or cause other sorts of complications, why open the door to that possibility.

I'm not defending the US role in the region, just thinking from a US military operations perspective.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
version said:
Apparently the Americans left in the middle of the night without telling the Afghan soldiers patrolling the perimeter. They just abandoned the place, left loads of gear and supplies behind.
www.theguardian.com

Inside Afghanistan’s looted Bagram airbase after US departure – in pictures

After nearly two decades, the US military has left Bagram, now Afghan forces have invited the press inside the huge, eerily quiet facility
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
Click to expand...
The Onion got there first - a decade ago!

www.theonion.com

U.S. Quietly Slips Out Of Afghanistan In Dead Of Night

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN—In what officials said was the "only way" to move on from what has become a "sad and unpleasant" situation, all 100,000 U.S. military and intelligence personnel crept out of their barracks in the dead of night Sunday and quietly slipped out of Afghanistan.
www.theonion.com www.theonion.com
 
V

version

Well-known member
Leo said:
it's not the US military's job to inform Afghan foot soldiers on their plans, I'm sure his military commanders were well aware. also, broadcasting the exact day and time of a move like that could put the troops in harm's way or cause other sorts of complications, why open the door to that possibility.

I'm not defending the US role in the region, just thinking from a US military operations perspective.
Click to expand...
www.aljazeera.com

US left Bagram without telling new commander: Afghan officials

Before the Afghan army could take control of airfield, looters ransack barracks and rummage through storage tents.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
shakahislop

shakahislop

Well-known member
it's a nice and poetic footnote on the whole war. but it really doesn't matter. great for the guys who live close to the base, and who have to deal with frequent attacks and explosions because of it, who were able to go into the empty base and hopefully make some serious paper from what they could scavenge. i've seen the lights of bagram from a distance; they are like something from sci-fi. huge floodlights lighting up a dark plain, you can see it from miles around. they've presumably been on every night since 2002. must have been quite a moment when they went off.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
shakahislop said:
it's a nice and poetic footnote on the whole war. but it really doesn't matter. great for the guys who live close to the base, and who have to deal with frequent attacks and explosions because of it, who were able to go into the empty base and hopefully make some serious paper from what they could scavenge. i've seen the lights of bagram from a distance; they are like something from sci-fi. huge floodlights lighting up a dark plain, you can see it from miles around. they've presumably been on every night since 2002. must have been quite a moment when they went off.
Click to expand...
What brought you there?
 
V

version

Well-known member
Mr. Tea said:
What brought you there?
Click to expand...
1200px-Seal-of-the-Central-Intelligence-Agency-svg.png
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Leo
shakahislop

shakahislop

Well-known member
Mr. Tea said:
What brought you there?
Click to expand...
i lived in kabul for four years, working a bit on the 'statebuilding' side of things, a bit on the development side, and then quite a lot on the humanitarian side. there were a few links to bits and pieces that the CIA was doing, but it was more directly related to things that the state department and the UN were trying to do. in terms of what psychological defect bought me there, there have been many hypotheses but no conclusive evidence as yet.

it was quite recent all of that, so in the period where the shit had well and truly hit the fan and the country had once again become incredibly violent but where there were only slow taliban territorial gains. that period is basically over now, given what has happened in the last month or so. the gains for them are coming faster than i ever expected. i still do a lot of work on afghanistan and am following it every day, with increasing despair.
 
sufi

sufi

lala
shakahislop said:
i lived in kabul for four years, working a bit on the 'statebuilding' side of things, a bit on the development side, and then quite a lot on the humanitarian side. there were a few links to bits and pieces that the CIA was doing, but it was more directly related to things that the state department and the UN were trying to do. in terms of what psychological defect bought me there, there have been many hypotheses but no conclusive evidence as yet.

it was quite recent all of that, so in the period where the shit had well and truly hit the fan and the country had once again become incredibly violent but where there were only slow taliban territorial gains. that period is basically over now, given what has happened in the last month or so. the gains for them are coming faster than i ever expected. i still do a lot of work on afghanistan and am following it every day, with increasing despair.
Click to expand...
What do you make of Massoud Junior, formerly of KCL, now back in Kabul (i think?)?

Apparently he reckons that Afg should be run like Switzerland, hard to know from here whether he has any real power or support though, beyond the reliably clueless western media adulation, but I suppose a charismatic figure might cut through
 
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