LaxPower Back-Up Stick

Brooklyn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:02 am

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:48 am When you use the word "you" with me, you've got the wrong guy (I'm not a caricature faux "conservative")...I'm simply saying that one can care about women's rights beyond our shores. I was never accusing you of not caring about American women (as do I), but clearly "it's their problem" says you don't really care beyond here in the US, so not really on principle.

I quite disagree that taking a country's power by force and threat of brutal reprisals is an act of "self-determination"...as an American "conservative", I'm in favor of democratic expression of self-determination, not which party of force is best organized for combat, most determined, most brutal.

We did not invade Afghanistan on behalf of the women of Afghanistan, we did so to address the threat from al Quaida, made possible by the Taliban led government. We, rightly or wrongly, believed that a more democratically based government would be less likely to harbor violent extremists than a Taliban led one. And key to such democracy would be the education and representation of women in such a society...and that takes a very long time, if not supported by many, perhaps most men, not overnight. But we're impatient as a nation.

"democratic expression"

As I wrote before, there is only one democracy in the Middle East and that is Iran. Nobody else in the region believes in democracy. It is not any of our business to impose our standards on them. You sure as hell wouldn't want the UN to invade us in order to impose its standards so why endorse invading others?

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:50 am

Brooklyn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:29 am GOP Removes Page Praising Donald Trump's 'Historic' Peace Deal With Taliban


https://www.newsweek.com/gop-removes-we ... an-1619605


The Republican National Committee has removed a webpage from 2020 in which it praised Donald Trump for signing a "historic peace agreement with the Taliban."

David Weigel, of The Washington Post, was the first to spot that the page had been removed with the web address redirecting to a 404 error page featuring the quip: "It looks like you're as lost as Biden is."

The Guardian's congressional reporter Hugo Lowell later confirmed the webpage's removal after successfully tracking down the now-deleted page via The Wayback Machine digital archive.

Featured as part of a section titled "President Trump Is Bringing Peace In The Middle East," the page described how the former U.S. president had "continued to take the lead in peace talks."

The page also claims that "while President Trump has championed peace, Joe Biden has taken the lead in pushing for endless wars."

It's also notable that the now-deleted webpage claimed Trump had "taken action to defeat ISIS and eliminate dangerous leaders."

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the organization's current political chief, was released from a Pakistani jail at the request of the US while Trump was in office.

Trump has been a vocal critic of President Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan branding it "one of the greatest defeats in American history."

The Taliban has quickly seized control of Afghanistan in the days since the U.S. withdrawal commenced.

"It is time for Joe Biden to resign in disgrace for what he has allowed to happen to Afghanistan," Trump said in the statement.

"It shouldn't be a big deal, because he wasn't elected legitimately in the first place," he added.


"What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan is legendary." Trump continued.

"It will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history!"

The criticisms come despite the fact it was the Trump administration which first brokered a deal to withdraw troops from the region.

In the now-deleted GOP webpage, it is stated that Trump negotiated a deal for the withdrawals by May 2021 "in exchange for a Taliban agreement to not allow Afghanistan to be used for transnational terrorism."

Upon his arrival in the White House, Biden instead decided to instigate a total withdrawal from Afghanistan, setting a deadline of August 31 for completion.

That process has been all but completed two weeks ahead of the planned date.


Biden has defended his decision to withdraw, claiming he was left with little choice given the deal Trump had negotiated with the Taliban which he felt left the organization "in the strongest position militarily since 2001."

"When I became president, I faced a choice—follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies' forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country's civil conflict," he said in the statement.


As recently as April, Trump was also voicing his support for withdrawal, stating that "getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do."

"Nineteen years is long enough, in fact, far too much and way too long," he said.

Newsweek has reached out to the GOP for comment.






Who enabled the Taliban to ascend into power? You guessed it ~ the CONSERVATIVE tRump.

On this we agree.

tech37 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:47 am

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:50 am

Brooklyn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:29 am GOP Removes Page Praising Donald Trump's 'Historic' Peace Deal With Taliban


https://www.newsweek.com/gop-removes-we ... an-1619605


The Republican National Committee has removed a webpage from 2020 in which it praised Donald Trump for signing a "historic peace agreement with the Taliban."

David Weigel, of The Washington Post, was the first to spot that the page had been removed with the web address redirecting to a 404 error page featuring the quip: "It looks like you're as lost as Biden is."

The Guardian's congressional reporter Hugo Lowell later confirmed the webpage's removal after successfully tracking down the now-deleted page via The Wayback Machine digital archive.

Featured as part of a section titled "President Trump Is Bringing Peace In The Middle East," the page described how the former U.S. president had "continued to take the lead in peace talks."

The page also claims that "while President Trump has championed peace, Joe Biden has taken the lead in pushing for endless wars."

It's also notable that the now-deleted webpage claimed Trump had "taken action to defeat ISIS and eliminate dangerous leaders."

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the organization's current political chief, was released from a Pakistani jail at the request of the US while Trump was in office.

Trump has been a vocal critic of President Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan branding it "one of the greatest defeats in American history."

The Taliban has quickly seized control of Afghanistan in the days since the U.S. withdrawal commenced.

"It is time for Joe Biden to resign in disgrace for what he has allowed to happen to Afghanistan," Trump said in the statement.

"It shouldn't be a big deal, because he wasn't elected legitimately in the first place," he added.


"What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan is legendary." Trump continued.

"It will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history!"

The criticisms come despite the fact it was the Trump administration which first brokered a deal to withdraw troops from the region.

In the now-deleted GOP webpage, it is stated that Trump negotiated a deal for the withdrawals by May 2021 "in exchange for a Taliban agreement to not allow Afghanistan to be used for transnational terrorism."

Upon his arrival in the White House, Biden instead decided to instigate a total withdrawal from Afghanistan, setting a deadline of August 31 for completion.

That process has been all but completed two weeks ahead of the planned date.


Biden has defended his decision to withdraw, claiming he was left with little choice given the deal Trump had negotiated with the Taliban which he felt left the organization "in the strongest position militarily since 2001."

"When I became president, I faced a choice—follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies' forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country's civil conflict," he said in the statement.


As recently as April, Trump was also voicing his support for withdrawal, stating that "getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do."

"Nineteen years is long enough, in fact, far too much and way too long," he said.

Newsweek has reached out to the GOP for comment.






Who enabled the Taliban to ascend into power? You guessed it ~ the CONSERVATIVE tRump.

On this we agree.

Such stupidity. Forty years of terrible policy, starting with the US supporting/weaponizing the mujahideen in the first place, and you people want to blame Trump. Beyond ridiculous.

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:56 am

tech37 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:47 am

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:50 am

Brooklyn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:29 am GOP Removes Page Praising Donald Trump's 'Historic' Peace Deal With Taliban


https://www.newsweek.com/gop-removes-we ... an-1619605


The Republican National Committee has removed a webpage from 2020 in which it praised Donald Trump for signing a "historic peace agreement with the Taliban."

David Weigel, of The Washington Post, was the first to spot that the page had been removed with the web address redirecting to a 404 error page featuring the quip: "It looks like you're as lost as Biden is."

The Guardian's congressional reporter Hugo Lowell later confirmed the webpage's removal after successfully tracking down the now-deleted page via The Wayback Machine digital archive.

Featured as part of a section titled "President Trump Is Bringing Peace In The Middle East," the page described how the former U.S. president had "continued to take the lead in peace talks."

The page also claims that "while President Trump has championed peace, Joe Biden has taken the lead in pushing for endless wars."

It's also notable that the now-deleted webpage claimed Trump had "taken action to defeat ISIS and eliminate dangerous leaders."

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the organization's current political chief, was released from a Pakistani jail at the request of the US while Trump was in office.

Trump has been a vocal critic of President Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan branding it "one of the greatest defeats in American history."

The Taliban has quickly seized control of Afghanistan in the days since the U.S. withdrawal commenced.

"It is time for Joe Biden to resign in disgrace for what he has allowed to happen to Afghanistan," Trump said in the statement.

"It shouldn't be a big deal, because he wasn't elected legitimately in the first place," he added.


"What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan is legendary." Trump continued.

"It will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history!"

The criticisms come despite the fact it was the Trump administration which first brokered a deal to withdraw troops from the region.

In the now-deleted GOP webpage, it is stated that Trump negotiated a deal for the withdrawals by May 2021 "in exchange for a Taliban agreement to not allow Afghanistan to be used for transnational terrorism."

Upon his arrival in the White House, Biden instead decided to instigate a total withdrawal from Afghanistan, setting a deadline of August 31 for completion.

That process has been all but completed two weeks ahead of the planned date.


Biden has defended his decision to withdraw, claiming he was left with little choice given the deal Trump had negotiated with the Taliban which he felt left the organization "in the strongest position militarily since 2001."

"When I became president, I faced a choice—follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies' forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country's civil conflict," he said in the statement.


As recently as April, Trump was also voicing his support for withdrawal, stating that "getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do."

"Nineteen years is long enough, in fact, far too much and way too long," he said.

Newsweek has reached out to the GOP for comment.






Who enabled the Taliban to ascend into power? You guessed it ~ the CONSERVATIVE tRump.

On this we agree.

Such stupidity. Forty years of terrible policy, starting with the US supporting/weaponizing the mujahideen in the first place, and you people want to blame Trump. Beyond ridiculous.

I don't think anyone is blaming Trump for Afghan resistance to the Soviets, nor the various decisions that preceded him...but yeah, the precipitous withdrawal commitment was remarkably stupid and entirely owned by him.

But note, I don't give Biden a pass either...at the very least, the withdrawal could have been better executed to enable the "friendlies" safe haven in the US. Better yet, a small international force was, and could have remained, effective in keeping the Taliban at bay. IMO.

You gotta admit it's rather rich for Trump to be critiquing Biden, and downright comical for the GOP to be scrubbing its website.

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:45 am

Brooklyn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:02 am

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:48 am When you use the word "you" with me, you've got the wrong guy (I'm not a caricature faux "conservative")...I'm simply saying that one can care about women's rights beyond our shores. I was never accusing you of not caring about American women (as do I), but clearly "it's their problem" says you don't really care beyond here in the US, so not really on principle.

I quite disagree that taking a country's power by force and threat of brutal reprisals is an act of "self-determination"...as an American "conservative", I'm in favor of democratic expression of self-determination, not which party of force is best organized for combat, most determined, most brutal.

We did not invade Afghanistan on behalf of the women of Afghanistan, we did so to address the threat from al Quaida, made possible by the Taliban led government. We, rightly or wrongly, believed that a more democratically based government would be less likely to harbor violent extremists than a Taliban led one. And key to such democracy would be the education and representation of women in such a society...and that takes a very long time, if not supported by many, perhaps most men, not overnight. But we're impatient as a nation.

"democratic expression"

As I wrote before, there is only one democracy in the Middle East and that is Iran. Nobody else in the region believes in democracy. It is not any of our business to impose our standards on them. You sure as hell wouldn't want the UN to invade us in order to impose its standards so why endorse invading others?

Actually, lots of people in the region "believe in democracy", but they're not in power.
I'd look at Israel as the closest, but not complete, expression of democracy in the Middle East rather than Iran, but hey, you're certainly correct that there's little close to what we would consider to be 'western' democracy at present.

And it's exactly our greater such expression of the full will of the people, including protection of minorities, that is IMO a greater source of legitimacy than is achieved by any such autocratic forms of government.

But there's close to zero legitimacy of any government in which half the population, due to gender, is completely powerless, unable to be educated, unable to be represented at all, with any violation subject to beheading. And, yup, that's what the Taliban "offers".

tech37 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:47 am

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:50 am

Brooklyn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:29 am GOP Removes Page Praising Donald Trump's 'Historic' Peace Deal With Taliban


https://www.newsweek.com/gop-removes-we ... an-1619605


The Republican National Committee has removed a webpage from 2020 in which it praised Donald Trump for signing a "historic peace agreement with the Taliban."

David Weigel, of The Washington Post, was the first to spot that the page had been removed with the web address redirecting to a 404 error page featuring the quip: "It looks like you're as lost as Biden is."

The Guardian's congressional reporter Hugo Lowell later confirmed the webpage's removal after successfully tracking down the now-deleted page via The Wayback Machine digital archive.

Featured as part of a section titled "President Trump Is Bringing Peace In The Middle East," the page described how the former U.S. president had "continued to take the lead in peace talks."

The page also claims that "while President Trump has championed peace, Joe Biden has taken the lead in pushing for endless wars."

It's also notable that the now-deleted webpage claimed Trump had "taken action to defeat ISIS and eliminate dangerous leaders."

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the organization's current political chief, was released from a Pakistani jail at the request of the US while Trump was in office.

Trump has been a vocal critic of President Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan branding it "one of the greatest defeats in American history."

The Taliban has quickly seized control of Afghanistan in the days since the U.S. withdrawal commenced.

"It is time for Joe Biden to resign in disgrace for what he has allowed to happen to Afghanistan," Trump said in the statement.

"It shouldn't be a big deal, because he wasn't elected legitimately in the first place," he added.


"What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan is legendary." Trump continued.

"It will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history!"

The criticisms come despite the fact it was the Trump administration which first brokered a deal to withdraw troops from the region.

In the now-deleted GOP webpage, it is stated that Trump negotiated a deal for the withdrawals by May 2021 "in exchange for a Taliban agreement to not allow Afghanistan to be used for transnational terrorism."

Upon his arrival in the White House, Biden instead decided to instigate a total withdrawal from Afghanistan, setting a deadline of August 31 for completion.

That process has been all but completed two weeks ahead of the planned date.


Biden has defended his decision to withdraw, claiming he was left with little choice given the deal Trump had negotiated with the Taliban which he felt left the organization "in the strongest position militarily since 2001."

"When I became president, I faced a choice—follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies' forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country's civil conflict," he said in the statement.


As recently as April, Trump was also voicing his support for withdrawal, stating that "getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do."

"Nineteen years is long enough, in fact, far too much and way too long," he said.

Newsweek has reached out to the GOP for comment.






Who enabled the Taliban to ascend into power? You guessed it ~ the CONSERVATIVE tRump.

On this we agree.

Such stupidity. Forty years of terrible policy, starting with the US supporting/weaponizing the mujahideen in the first place, and you people want to blame Trump. Beyond ridiculous.

tech37 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:13 pm

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:56 am

tech37 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:47 am

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:50 am

Brooklyn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:29 am GOP Removes Page Praising Donald Trump's 'Historic' Peace Deal With Taliban


https://www.newsweek.com/gop-removes-we ... an-1619605


The Republican National Committee has removed a webpage from 2020 in which it praised Donald Trump for signing a "historic peace agreement with the Taliban."

David Weigel, of The Washington Post, was the first to spot that the page had been removed with the web address redirecting to a 404 error page featuring the quip: "It looks like you're as lost as Biden is."

The Guardian's congressional reporter Hugo Lowell later confirmed the webpage's removal after successfully tracking down the now-deleted page via The Wayback Machine digital archive.

Featured as part of a section titled "President Trump Is Bringing Peace In The Middle East," the page described how the former U.S. president had "continued to take the lead in peace talks."

The page also claims that "while President Trump has championed peace, Joe Biden has taken the lead in pushing for endless wars."

It's also notable that the now-deleted webpage claimed Trump had "taken action to defeat ISIS and eliminate dangerous leaders."

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the organization's current political chief, was released from a Pakistani jail at the request of the US while Trump was in office.

Trump has been a vocal critic of President Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan branding it "one of the greatest defeats in American history."

The Taliban has quickly seized control of Afghanistan in the days since the U.S. withdrawal commenced.

"It is time for Joe Biden to resign in disgrace for what he has allowed to happen to Afghanistan," Trump said in the statement.

"It shouldn't be a big deal, because he wasn't elected legitimately in the first place," he added.


"What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan is legendary." Trump continued.

"It will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history!"

The criticisms come despite the fact it was the Trump administration which first brokered a deal to withdraw troops from the region.

In the now-deleted GOP webpage, it is stated that Trump negotiated a deal for the withdrawals by May 2021 "in exchange for a Taliban agreement to not allow Afghanistan to be used for transnational terrorism."

Upon his arrival in the White House, Biden instead decided to instigate a total withdrawal from Afghanistan, setting a deadline of August 31 for completion.

That process has been all but completed two weeks ahead of the planned date.


Biden has defended his decision to withdraw, claiming he was left with little choice given the deal Trump had negotiated with the Taliban which he felt left the organization "in the strongest position militarily since 2001."

"When I became president, I faced a choice—follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies' forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country's civil conflict," he said in the statement.


As recently as April, Trump was also voicing his support for withdrawal, stating that "getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do."

"Nineteen years is long enough, in fact, far too much and way too long," he said.

Newsweek has reached out to the GOP for comment.






Who enabled the Taliban to ascend into power? You guessed it ~ the CONSERVATIVE tRump.

On this we agree.

Such stupidity. Forty years of terrible policy, starting with the US supporting/weaponizing the mujahideen in the first place, and you people want to blame Trump. Beyond ridiculous.

I don't think anyone is blaming Trump for Afghan resistance to the Soviets, nor the various decisions that preceded him...but yeah, the precipitous withdrawal commitment was remarkably stupid and entirely owned by him.

But note, I don't give Biden a pass either...at the very least, the withdrawal could have been better executed to enable the "friendlies" safe haven in the US. Better yet, a small international force was, and could have remained, effective in keeping the Taliban at bay. IMO.

You gotta admit it's rather rich for Trump to be critiquing Biden, and downright comical for the GOP to be scrubbing its website.

You're wrong. This portion of the continued terrible policy belongs to Biden. He had been warned for months to get everyone out early. Also, he obviously misunderstood and mischaracterized the situation on the ground re the Afghan forces and their ability to fight. Huge mistake.

Trump should know better and STFU!, period. But he can't. As I've been saying for a long time now, the man is toxic for the country and cannot run for office again. If the Resistance isn't careful though, they will cause a Trump resurgence. Just more of the "you reap what you sow" concept I've mentioned before.

tech37 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:13 pm

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:56 am

tech37 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:47 am

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:50 am

Brooklyn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:29 am GOP Removes Page Praising Donald Trump's 'Historic' Peace Deal With Taliban


https://www.newsweek.com/gop-removes-we ... an-1619605


The Republican National Committee has removed a webpage from 2020 in which it praised Donald Trump for signing a "historic peace agreement with the Taliban."

David Weigel, of The Washington Post, was the first to spot that the page had been removed with the web address redirecting to a 404 error page featuring the quip: "It looks like you're as lost as Biden is."

The Guardian's congressional reporter Hugo Lowell later confirmed the webpage's removal after successfully tracking down the now-deleted page via The Wayback Machine digital archive.

Featured as part of a section titled "President Trump Is Bringing Peace In The Middle East," the page described how the former U.S. president had "continued to take the lead in peace talks."

The page also claims that "while President Trump has championed peace, Joe Biden has taken the lead in pushing for endless wars."

It's also notable that the now-deleted webpage claimed Trump had "taken action to defeat ISIS and eliminate dangerous leaders."

Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the organization's current political chief, was released from a Pakistani jail at the request of the US while Trump was in office.

Trump has been a vocal critic of President Biden's withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan branding it "one of the greatest defeats in American history."

The Taliban has quickly seized control of Afghanistan in the days since the U.S. withdrawal commenced.

"It is time for Joe Biden to resign in disgrace for what he has allowed to happen to Afghanistan," Trump said in the statement.

"It shouldn't be a big deal, because he wasn't elected legitimately in the first place," he added.


"What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan is legendary." Trump continued.

"It will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history!"

The criticisms come despite the fact it was the Trump administration which first brokered a deal to withdraw troops from the region.

In the now-deleted GOP webpage, it is stated that Trump negotiated a deal for the withdrawals by May 2021 "in exchange for a Taliban agreement to not allow Afghanistan to be used for transnational terrorism."

Upon his arrival in the White House, Biden instead decided to instigate a total withdrawal from Afghanistan, setting a deadline of August 31 for completion.

That process has been all but completed two weeks ahead of the planned date.


Biden has defended his decision to withdraw, claiming he was left with little choice given the deal Trump had negotiated with the Taliban which he felt left the organization "in the strongest position militarily since 2001."

"When I became president, I faced a choice—follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies' forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country's civil conflict," he said in the statement.


As recently as April, Trump was also voicing his support for withdrawal, stating that "getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do."

"Nineteen years is long enough, in fact, far too much and way too long," he said.

Newsweek has reached out to the GOP for comment.






Who enabled the Taliban to ascend into power? You guessed it ~ the CONSERVATIVE tRump.

On this we agree.

Such stupidity. Forty years of terrible policy, starting with the US supporting/weaponizing the mujahideen in the first place, and you people want to blame Trump. Beyond ridiculous.

I don't think anyone is blaming Trump for Afghan resistance to the Soviets, nor the various decisions that preceded him...but yeah, the precipitous withdrawal commitment was remarkably stupid and entirely owned by him.

But note, I don't give Biden a pass either...at the very least, the withdrawal could have been better executed to enable the "friendlies" safe haven in the US. Better yet, a small international force was, and could have remained, effective in keeping the Taliban at bay. IMO.

You gotta admit it's rather rich for Trump to be critiquing Biden, and downright comical for the GOP to be scrubbing its website.

You're wrong. This portion of the continued terrible policy belongs to Biden. He had been warned for months to get everyone out early. Also, he obviously misunderstood and mischaracterized the situation on the ground re the Afghan forces and their ability to fight. Huge mistake.

Trump should know better and STFU!, period. But he can't. As I've been saying for a long time now, the man is toxic for the country and cannot run for office again. If the Resistance isn't careful though, they will cause a Trump resurgence. Just more of the "you reap what you sow" concept I've mentioned before.

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 12:55 pm
When you say he "cannot run for office again", I assume you meant "should not be allowed" to do so, right? He definitely "can" unless he's convicted of a felony and in jail...(the GOP missed the chance to actually ban him from ever running again...all they needed to do was convict in the Senate...just 9 more GOP Senators' votes and he'd have been permanently banned).

kramerica.inc wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 1:54 pm Horrific.

https://twitter.com/JaneFerguson5/statu ... 4028209153

https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1427189616201895939

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday spoke with his counterparts in China and Russia about the security situation in Afghanistan.

The calls come as both Beijing and Moscow have signaled an openness to recognizing and working with the Taliban, which over the weekend swiftly ousted the Western-backed government in Kabul.

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:45 am
Actually, lots of people in the region "believe in democracy", but they're not in power.
I'd look at Israel as the closest, but not complete, expression of democracy in the Middle East rather than Iran, but hey, you're certainly correct that there's little close to what we would consider to be 'western' democracy at present.

And it's exactly our greater such expression of the full will of the people, including protection of minorities, that is IMO a greater source of legitimacy than is achieved by any such autocratic forms of government.

But there's close to zero legitimacy of any government in which half the population, due to gender, is completely powerless, unable to be educated, unable to be represented at all, with any violation subject to beheading. And, yup, that's what the Taliban "offers".

CU88 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 3:00 pm If only the taliban had the courage to go to Cancun when the going got tough...

Brooklyn wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 3:36 pm

CU88 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 3:00 pm If only the taliban had the courage to go to Cancun when the going got tough...

I'm sure they'd like the climate but not the food as it ain't kosher. Oops, I mean halal.

Farfromgeneva wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 3:47 pm

Are falafels halal or kosher? Besides tasty? No white sauce though. Just some chili paste with it.

MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:56 am I don't think anyone is blaming Trump for Afghan resistance to the Soviets, nor the various decisions that preceded him...but yeah, the precipitous withdrawal commitment was remarkably stupid and entirely owned by him.

But note, I don't give Biden a pass either...at the very least, the withdrawal could have been better executed to enable the "friendlies" safe haven in the US. Better yet, a small international force was, and could have remained, effective in keeping the Taliban at bay. IMO.

You gotta admit it's rather rich for Trump to be critiquing Biden, and downright comical for the GOP to be scrubbing its website.