By Aram Mirzaei for the Saker blog
These past weeks in Afghanistan have been what some would call a shit storm, in lack of better words. What is unfolding in front of our eyes is truly both a tragedy of great proportions and a spectacle of some sort I guess. After 20 years of occupation, Washington and its obedient dogs are not just retreating, they are fleeing in panic from Afghanistan. The US backed regime, just like all such puppet regimes, was fragile, corrupt and had no popular support whatsoever. This is why it collapsed after a few weeks since the start of the Taliban offensive. It was a collapse that shocked not just the Western imperialists and their propaganda tools, but even the Taliban themselves were surprised. The NATO trained and supplied Afghan Army either fled the battlefield or surrendered, often without even offering any kind of resistance.
To some of us observers, this didn’t come as a surprise at all. Those of us who have been following the war in Afghanistan for the past 2 decades are well aware of the problems that the so called Afghan armed forces have had. Rampant corruption, criminal incompetence, and drug abuse have plagued this army for as long as it has existed in its current form. It is a well-known fact that a large percentage of the Afghan armed forces were drug abusers, often getting high on heroin or opium while on duty. Furthermore, the corruption from top to bottom was unprecedented. Many police chiefs were outright rapists and pedophiles who would kidnap children to rape and kill, instead of fighting crime, and the level of turncoats who would sell arms and supplies to the Taliban was so high that most Afghan bases stood without any kind of heavy equipment or even fuel when faced against the Taliban onslaught. If you don’t believe me, then check this video: https://youtu.be/Ja5Q75hf6QI
To say the least, morale among these soldiers and officers was at rock bottom. And why would this be a surprise? All the good fighting men had joined the Taliban or been killed in the past years. The only people left were drug abusers and opportunists. I quote a former US soldier in Afghanistan:
“By and large the Afghan National Army is recruited from the dregs of society. The good soldiers went off and joined the Taliban.
I don’t mean that lightly. I have fought the Taliban and trained and been on joint operations with ANA. The Taliban are tough, brave, well-disciplined soldiers, and frankly, I respect them. If I had been born in Afghanistan rather than America and raised with Afghan morals I likely would have joined their ranks.”
Billions of dollars were poured in by the occupying NATO powers, to prop up warlords and criminals across Afghanistan, not to create a stable society, but to buy their temporary silence and loyalty, and this is the result after twenty years. The Taliban just had to wait patiently for the occupiers to one day leave, and they even warned the NATO regimes of this inevitable reality when they said many years ago: “You have the watches, but we have the time”. Alas, the arrogant and self-worshipping West, drunk with their own imaginations of superiority based on the number of cool US warships and awesome Navy Seal gear, could not, and still cannot understand why they lost in Afghanistan.
The sheer arrogance and incompetence of those in charge over at Washington is astonishing to watch. US intelligence had at first calculated that the Kabul regime would survive months or even years, this was later revised into 30-90 days and finally, it fell in less than two weeks after the Taliban began attacking provincial capitals across the country. Kabul itself fell in less than a day! Washington’s “guy” in Kabul fled the country, reportedly taking with him millions or billions of dollars in cash to the UAE while the Taliban waltzed into the presidential palace- the same palace where Ashraf Ghani had held a speech only 48 hours earlier, vowing to “resists and push back the Taliban onslaught”.
Which takes us to the reality of today. Over the past two weeks, NATO countries and their friends have been evacuating their troops, citizens, and Afghan collaborationists in a chaotic and shameful manner reminiscent of the fall of Saigon in 1975. This is while White House fool Joe Biden and his clown Secretary of State Anthony Blinken claimed that this wouldn’t be another “Saigon moment”. Tragic scenes have since played out at Kabul airport, where people have been flocking in hopes of catching a plane to flee the country. Men who have been holding onto the side or landing gears of planes, only to fall off mid sky after take-off, stampedes and people throwing their babies off fences to US soldiers standing guard on the other side. Thousands, if not tens of thousands have been left behind as NATO forces have prioritized the evacuations of their dogs, cats, and beer kegs.
One can only help but wonder how such “sophisticated” countries with the best military forces in the galaxy can be so pathetically disorganized in their evacuations, especially since they knew they were leaving several months ago. As if the Afghan people’s misery wasn’t enough, Daesh has entered the scene now as well, and allegedly conducted a heinous terrorist attack outside the airport, killing well over 200 people in the mayhem, including 13 US soldiers. The scenes from Kabul airport on that day were the pinnacle of the misery and death that the Western imperialists have brought upon the Afghans. I say this because it is the US that has brought Daesh into Afghanistan and I believe there are several suspicious things to mention with regards to the terrorist attack of last week.
Firstly, why is it that every time that the US is withdrawing or looking to leave a conflict zone, a Daesh terrorist attack suddenly occurs against its forces. The same happened in Syria 2019, when a Daesh terrorist blew himself up in the town of Manbij, killing US troops, just as former president Donald Trump had announced his intention to withdraw US troops out of Syria. Why is Daesh, a supposed “enemy” of the US, trying its hardest to make the US continue its occupation of these countries?
Secondly, isn’t it interesting that both British and French intelligence allegedly had knowledge about an imminent terrorist attack, several hours before it took place and didn’t do anything to stop it? Isn’t it also interesting that the US who hasn’t conducted a single strike on Daesh in Afghanistan by the way, suddenly knew exactly who was behind the bombings and “took them out” with pinpoint accuracy only a day after the bombings? And thirdly, isn’t it also interesting how the Pentagon refused to even release the names and identities of the supposed “planner and facilitator” that were killed, with spokesman John Kirby holding a mock press conference and refusing to answer any question whatsoever from the multiple journalists in place?
Well, I won’t go into further speculation but I find this terrorist attack to have been plotted in one way or another by Washington itself, in order to save face in some way. Perhaps they hoped that the focus won’t be on the evacuation disaster but rather on the “strength” they showed in “confronting terrorism” even now when they are leaving.
Elsewhere, the US seems to be plotting for another civil war in Afghanistan as former Vice president Amrullah Saleh and Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the famous Mujahid during the Soviet-Afghan War are amassing forces in the still unconquered Panjshir province, to the east of Kabul. It is worrying that they are seemingly stupid enough, to think they actually stand a chance against the Taliban and are both pleading and hoping for Western support. Apparently, they didn’t learn a damn thing from Ashraf Ghani’s mistakes, or any other puppet that put their faith in the West’s “benevolence”. But no matter what Washington is plotting, they cannot escape the fact that this defeat has been humiliating for them and more humiliation is to come. Their days in Iraq and Syria are also numbered. The scenes at Kabul airport won’t just disappear so lightly as they tell the tale of a failure and a disaster that will have consequences for many years to come.
General Allen of the US occupation forces in Afghanistan once declared, drunk by his own arrogance, in the belief that they had succeeded in Afghanistan that “This is victory, this is what winning looks like”. I would like to revise that phrase into – this is what a dying empire looks like.
“COL. HARRY SUMMERS, talking with victors after the fall of Saigon, once decided to provoke his Vietnamese counterpart. Never, he said, had North Vietnamese troops defeated Americans on the battlefield. The Vietnamese nodded thoughtfully. “That is true,” he replied. “It is also irrelevant.””
Flash forward
“The US has the watches, we have the time”
Different technology, different word phrase, same result. People who fight for an ideal, or their culture, on their home-land are difficult to defeat for those who fight for nebulous reasons.
These wars are not fought to win. They are fought to show who has the biggest “guns”. Winning is irrelevant. It’s wrecking it to rebuild.
Although you might be correct, there are many reasons why the US may have gone to war in Afghanistan.
Disaster Capitalism is only effective if you get the lion share of the rebuild contracts – probably not going to happen with Russia, China, and Iran there.
Another good reason may be the US penchant for tossing some small country against the wall to showcase their new weaponry and power – didn’t turn out well, and the majority of USAn’s will see this as a stunning defeat.
The pipeline may have had a good deal of consideration in the strategic decision to go to war, as well as the Lithium deposits, the opium, and the destabilizing underbelly route to Russia and China.
My take on the decision to toss Afghanistan against the wall would primarily be the latter four with a healthy mix of the former – but I am not a US Strategist.
In reference to the ‘hallowed’ 13 American “heroes” dead, out of the 200 killed, I have read that of the 200 casualties only 20 were not shot by U$ troops. I remember the announcement that the U$ was sending the creme de la creme of elite units, the 82nd Airborne Division and the 10th Mountain Division to provide airport security.
These punks cracked, panicked and shot up the crowd and each other. The best of the best of U$ troops had no fire discipline, no one in charge and were scared shitless. I thought it was a poor choice to send “the best of the best” to provide airport security but what would have happened if they didn’t?
This is a snowflake army and not seasoned troops or elite units. Just because a tobacco chewing moron can eat more grits, do more push ups, and change their gender while studying critical race theory and hence join an elite troop of trannies doesn’t make them anymore that a defeatist army in rag tag togs.
George, this is one of the sharpest description of the “exceptional, best in the history of the galaxy” US military power – “these punks cracked, panicked and shot up the crowd and each other. The best of the best of U$ troops had no fire discipline, no one in charge and were scared shitless”. In the nutshell. This is what US military is all about, while at the same time being promoted to the dumbass Americans as some “heroes, defending their national interests and values”! And lots of Americans STILL believe this BS. Living in the stupor. No hope for them.
@Katerina
Yes, indiscriminate murder is exactly what the Pindo military is all about and, yes, this is being promoted to the dumbass Americans as acts of heroism — more specifically ”defending US national interests and values”. The fact that the overwhelming majority of US Americans believe it — passionately even — is because, at bottom, it is the ”sweet little truth” about their national interests in general and their ”values” in particular. Stupor comes across as being slightly misleading to describe them. Rather, they are militant parasites (woke or not). The conclusion ”No hope for them” is absolutely correct though.
@ George,
I too have heard some very disturbing reports about the US forces opening fire into the crowd killing many civillians.
There was a quick move to remove the bodies from the scene, so I doubt very much proper, or even any form of post-motem examinations have been carried out to determine cause of death of each and every victim.
When I first heard about the large number killed and wounded, and no visible craters for a blast of the size required (even allowing for channeling of the blast in a confined space) alarm bells started ringing. I wondered at the time if grenades and machine gun fire had contributed to the death count.
Then rumours about US forces panic firing into the crowds started to surface.
I have also heard that a US drone was airborne at the time (and as the murder of a family a few days later by US drone shows, they have no issues about opening fire on civillians in a busy city).
Only a full autopsy of each and every victim will settle this issue, but I expect it is too late late now.
Also, any survivors of gun shots treated in hospital wil have had the injuries classed as shrapnel / fragmentation wounds.
My gut tells me there is a lot more to this story, but will we ever get the truth?
Yes, thank you for pointing this out. A single guy, with an explosive vest, can not kill 200 people. You need at least a van packed with explosive in a crowded place to do that. Which brings me to the next point: I have seen, but can not find now, versions of the incident were most of the fire came from the airport turrets. In short, this would have been an exact replica of Maidan 2014. It also seems more logical based on cui bono. No prizes for guessing the organizers.
Dear George,
What I found interesting was the fact that most of the marines killed were virtually kids straight out of training. There was only one sergeant, but from the army and only one person of a mature age. The two women, would have been irrelevant in any security role within this area.
So think about it for a moment; who would you send in for ‘covering party’ for a ‘retreat’? Would you give such a task to the experienced and professional soldier, or would you give it to the kids straight out of training? Ergo, why were these kids there?
Whatever one thinks of the US military leaders, they are not stupid, they may be many things but not stupid! So why send in kids to an extremely potential explosive scenario? In any sudden explosive situation, the reactions of these barely trained recruits would have been obvious.
This brings us to the next point; did the US military leaders anticipate such an event? If so, why? And then we see the reactions back home; The death of these unfortunate kids who in reality should never have been there, and they make the front page, and the inadequacy of the US forces in Afghanistan has been totally forgotten.
Could it be possible that these kids were offered up as sacrificial lambs to cover the inadequacy of their superiors? Of course not; could they?
And then we see the military ‘reactions’ of knowing exactly who planned this ‘suicide-bombing’ event or whatever else it may have been, and a reactionary strike that reportedly killed the evil planner, except the strike didn’t, it killed a family and children; more children to the sacrifice for a defeated military.
And again this should tell us why the best and most capable, didn’t join the US, but rather the Taliban; nobody wants to be a sacrificial lamb.
Dear Mr. MacGregor
It was a pleasure to follow your train of thought and power of deduction!
Your former career has served you well to analyze the scene of the crime.
The truth will out.
Again, thanks.
Dear A.H.H.
In my final days in the Victoria Police Farce, every time I said to myself, “They wouldn’t do that.” they had.
And every time from at least 2002, with the Bali bombing Washington always knew in advance, and that cannot be coincidental.
And when you look at the prior knowledge, none of this was ‘accidental’, it was planned, and I’ve witnessed these ‘plans’ from 1968, but it does take time to comprehend the evil that is done by men.
Dear Mr. Macgregor,
I always look forward to your anecdotes.
It was around this time-frame of Bali in 2002 that I was “red-pilled” by reading the CD-ROM archives of Col. Lester E. Prouty of the OCC (Mr. X of Oliver Stone’s JFK?).
Perhaps I was prepared by reading my parents’ library and developing an appreciation of pulp detectives, such as Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, etc. In that era of 1 to 3 TV channels, I was also stuck with my mother watching shows of Lieutenant Columbo, Kojak, and Perry Mason. 8-D
The diligent constable was at the heart of that Victorian or pre-War era, unfailingly polite but keeping human nature in mind; a pillar of his community. Contrast that to the current generation of police trained by Israeli consultants to view the people of their streets as the enemy. Or is this training part of the package of engineering a civil war?
Concomitant with serious detective work was the quest to get at the conspiracy angle, inevitable with top echelon crime. There are no coincidences.
Ironically my career now largely entails detective work – you have to always analyze the true agenda and needs of the patient, balance it with your own priorities whilst doing the least harm.
We live in a truly bizarre world Mr. McGregor. The MSM, politicians, and even now academia/medical field lie without blushing, and the supposed fiction of books, Hollywood, music industry, and the arts reveal that truth which is no longer permitted. A world run by conspiracy. I feel sorry for those who are triggered by that CIA-created term “conspiracy theory.”
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”
— Marcus Aurelius
@AHH,
“Contrast that to the current generation of police trained by Israeli consultants to view the people of their streets as the enemy. Or is this training part of the package of engineering a civil war?”.
Again the British crop up – Remember the Civil War in Northern Ireland where the resistance fighters were “Terrorists” and the British Police and Military (1000’s) locked down the cities before the term “lockdown” was common parlaance?
To this day the British Consult on how to “Police” a hostile population. They were Brutal in WW2 era India, used concentration camps on the South Africans, and developed the “Detention without Trial” model for the Irish.
I am familiar with British Police tactics, and yes, many Senior Officers (and many rank & file too) do indeed view sections of the public as the enemy.
It is interesting however that most Citizens are taught (programmed) that he Police are “Servents of the Public”, made up only of good people and can do only good things. This is one of the reasons we see terrible Police brutality (notably in British trained Australia at the moment) with little equal and opposite push back.
To this day, talk of the IRA as being anything other than brutal and bloody “Terrorists” (as opposed to citizens fighting British occupation, repression, and oppression) can illicit a visit from the Police, or worse.
Dear Remember,
In some instances you would be correct, especially when speaking of your own backyard. My backyard was somewhat different. When I joined the Victoria Police Farce, it was not compulsory to carry a firearm, and on many occasions I didn’t. The brownings and the colt 32’s were old, worn out untrustworthy, and bloody difficult to throw, and definitely not boomerangs. We also at that time had a ‘Drill Instructor, S/Sgt Derek Bateman who warned us of who our enemy was, the politican! Lovely man Derek with an extremely dry sense of humour and came from the Isle of Man.
Now may I point out a couple of errors? Firstly, “police trained by Israel”, Michel Chossudovsky a Canadian professor wrote an article on the 24th July 2005 titled, “British Cops trained in Israel” with the sub-heading; “Operation Kratos” . The articles was in regard to the cold-blooded murder of Jean Charles de Menezes, in the Stockwell underground. However, de Menezes’ murder was not committed by police, but rather an Israeli team attached to the British Army’s Force Reconnaissance Regiment which I believe completed similar operations in Ireland. I believe this team were later captured by the Iraqi police in Basra trying to set up a car-bomb. In this instance, I believe that Michel Chossudovsky was acting as a gatekeeper.
Ergo, Israel does not train British police, nor any of the Australian police; we are quite capable of making our own stuff-ups without the help of Israel. Besides that, there are sufficient Jews in Melbourne to assist our police in creating their own ‘Terrorist’ attacks (which they do).
Secondly ‘Police’ are not, or at least were not ‘Public Servants’ but rather ‘Officers of the Crown’ and were given their authority as individuals, not as a public service.
And I did notice some police, especially in ‘Traffic’ who displayed a distain (hatred) for the idiot drivers they had to put up with, and considered them the ‘enemy’.
Today, I believe that the police, especially the young are trained to recognise any individual who disagrees with the ‘governments’ ideology as being the enemy, but the few times I have run into them they have always been courteous. This ‘government ideology dates back to the 1990’s and was mentioned in the preparations for the 2000 Olympics held in Sydney.
Of course there were also those bent coppers, mainly in the CIB and Drug Squads, who considered themselves ‘God’ and on the odd occasion took the law into their own hands. Roger Rogerson in NSW was one such policeman and Brian Murphy from Port Melbourne was another in Victoria, and I’ve met some in the Stolen Motor Vehicle Squads, both in Melbourne and NSW..
When Stillburn and Murphy were suspended and charged with murdering a young criminal by the name of Collingburn, Murphy worked on the docks amongst the ‘Painters and Dockers’ the most famous of criminals, and they all called Brian Murphy ‘Sir’, as he was far more dangerous than they.
Now in regards to the IRA; back in the late 60’s or early 70’s the IRA made a decision to go political. The Home Office would have none of that so they ‘created’ their own ‘Provincial IRA. They made the headlines blowing up London double-decker buses and murdering Lord Mountbatten, and the Home Office ran the show. Then when it was time to leave, they invited three Australian SASR soldiers over, dressed them up as lawyers and sat them in a café in France I believe where the Provos duly assassinated them. Then, when it was announced that the ‘victims’ were Aussies, the Provos had to apologise, and called it a day.
Not much difference between back then and now. Never trust the government!
Dear Remember and Mr. MacGregor,
In this global village, we are all Palestinians!
I have long observed the American police. I lived in US for about 20 years and continue to follow the news. There are many articles of American police being trained by Israelis both in the US and traveling to Israel for training. You can see dozens of articles from US/UK/Israel if you search DuckDuckGo using the phrase “israel train us police.”
Those older than me can provide even better perspective – especially if they saw police in 1950s (before crazy 60s) and contrast with the current era. In some urban US areas, they have a default aggressive posture and are equipped with tactical gear, etc, even before BLM madness and no-go areas. Some is undoubtedly the MIC complex finding new customers, and also in response to risk from the drug users/cartels, but some was clearly a new mind-set. One of my mentors once remarked, “they have to shoot people every day to keep the well-armed rest controlled!” Lol! It may be an exaggeration, but it may be congruent with that aphorism of “smashing one little shitty country against the wall, in order to keep the rest cowed.”
Yes, the British are headmasters of this affair. They have no need to be trained by anyone. They wrote the book on counterinsurgency and policing urban hostiles, since British East India Co. days. Undoubtedly they are among the tutors of the Israelis.
I heard an Arab say that if two fish are fighting at the bottom of the sea, the British are behind it!
So it is disturbing to already hear of their SAS and other advisers setting up shop to help the shadow armies in their old stumping grounds of the Hindu Kush. If Empire wishes to continue Chaos for another 10 generations, these are the instruments that are sent.
Regards,
Dear A.H.H.
When I was researching the death (murder) of the journalist, Michael Hastings, I found an extremely informative blog site: : https://adriaen22.wordpress.com/tag/michael-hastings-murdered/ which has since been closed, but Adriaen informed us of the Jewish affiliation at the local police station in the LA neighbourhood. Such connections I believe would not be tolerated within Australia, but they are there in the US.
Again, when we look at the history of the American/Australian actor Mel Gibson (he was born in the USA) when he was arrested and set up by a Jewish policeman, much to the dismay of his senior officers as Mel had been extremely supportive of the local police, but all of this doesn’t support the tales of Israelis training policemen, unless of course you consider bribery which police are far more agreeable to.
However, it is the policemen’s bosses that are frequently targeted by the Israelis; and just think of the article featuring Julia Gillard and Peter Costello with a phot taken of the pair at the ‘Wailing Wall’.
Agree.
I wonder who thought this one up ?
Reminds me of the Boston Marathon Bombing setup, and the man linked to that – FBI A/Dir Special Agent James Yacone, and the shooting death of a friend of one of the boys (Ibragim Todashev) in highly questionable circumstances.
See
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/5/22/man-linked-to-boston-suspect-killed-by-fbi
That also involved the 2 FBI swat team witnesses who saw the execution of one of the alleged bombers and they conveniently both fell out of a helicopter to their deaths shortly afterwards on a training exercise. Dead men tell no tales.
https://gumshoenews.com/2018/01/28/connections-aurora-massacre-sandy-hook-elementary-hoax-boston-marathon-bombings-kiev-uprising/
“These punks cracked, panicked and shot up the crowd and each other.”
$16mil MOAB killed 37 militants.
Those merry guys managed to kill 13 soldiers and hundreds of civilians for (almost) free.
Walking weapons of mass destruction.
Please Blackring,
To call these uninitiated Marines “punks” is odious and unnecessary, but the rest of your sentence would be accurate.
One of my younger sister’s boyfriends had served in Vietnam, and told a couple of stories of the Australians working with the American soldiers.
One such story was when both were on a perimeter guard, and somebody fired a shot. The Aussies were quickly told to cease-fire as there was no return fire, but the next day the Americans reported three killed in action by an enemy that was not there.
The training given to US servicemen and women is totally inadequate, and it is this reason why there are so many ‘Killed in Action’. To place such uninitiated in a ‘crowd control’ situation is ludicrous, but to do so when there is an ‘anticipated’ attack’ is suicidal, and then to cover it up with the ‘suicide-bomber’ story has to tell you everything.
Then in the background there is Turkey, also guarding the Kabul Airport, and one thinks of Turkey’s ‘allies’ from Iraq and elsewhere and of course those little backroom deals. Yes; do not forget Turkey.
This may be of interest over at Moon of Alabama blog:
“It were neither the Americans at the gate nor the Islamic State but most likely the CIA’s Afghan death squads in the guard towers who caused the massacre.”
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2021/08/how-the-cia-used-isis-k-to-stay-in-its-afghanistan-business.html#more
”Alas, the arrogant and self-worshipping West, drunk with their own imaginations of superiority based on the number of cool US warships and awesome Navy Seal gear, could not, and still cannot understand why they lost in Afghanistan.”
For once, it wouldn’t be so far off the mark to blame — in typical Western Orwellian fashion no less — ’foreign meddling’ for imperialism’s fiasco in Afghanistan. The solidification of the SCO with Iran joining Russia and China exerts a very strong geopolitical pull. The contrast to the world’s political scene of 40 years earlier couldn’t be more stark. The USSR and the Afghan government which had invited Soviet troops in self-defence had to take on the CIA and its ’freedom fighters’ virtually alone. Neither China, nor Iran were allies of the USSR but outright hostile forces along with the Sunni Muslim countries and Israel. The only staunchly pro-Soviet government in Asia in those days was India under Indira Gandhi, but that didn’t make any difference whatsoever.
In 2021, we can see the effects of the exact opposite alignments. To wit: Both Iran and China are now cooperating with Russia, and the strong, coordinated commitment of these countries to peace, progress, prosperity, and stability in Central Asia is spelling doom for NATO and its mercenaries. As an aside, India is now ruled by an insane regime of incompetent, utter crackpots with a violent Hindunazi mass base. And the disintegrating country is firmly aligned with Western imperialism, primarily targeting China. But just like in Indira Gandhi’s days, India doesn’t matter much if at all.
To cheer up — and simultaneously enrage —butthurt Westerners one could say tongue-in-cheek that ”the Taliban didn’t defeat any woke invincibles — it was Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Ebrahim Raisi who resorted to dirty tricks. Let’s enact some sanctions on these bastards, eh?”
I think that Pakistan could be the key player in this geopolitical drama. A realignment with the SCO would seem the obvious route for Pakistani integration into the BRICS. We shall see.
It has been a serious mistake to think of Pakistan as a “failed state”. No country with so much space and so much time can fail taht way. Also a mistake to dismiss Taliban as incapable of running over the puppet govt , which, they ultimately did in a matter of weeks. Read M K Bhadrakumar, retired Indian Diplomat for incisive analysis. And very prophetic.
You are so right both about Indira Gandhi in 1980s being the sole commitedly pro-Soviet national leader and on the current Nazi-style mess in Modi’s India. I speak from within the heart of this mess. I am in Mumbai, where , fortunately , the State Govt is anti-Modi. (One saving grace in India is that Modi cant entirely make a mockery of State rights , which Hitler could do with his dismissal of the Social Democratic govt in Prussia in1933 and the “Concordat” with the dedicatedly anti-Semitic Pope Pius XII that disbanded the Catholic Centre Party and sank the autonomy of Bavaria). I have come to believe that India should have joined he Soviets then and invaded Pakistan . The book “Silent Soldier” about teh Pak General Akhtar Abdur Rahman ( book apparently sponsored by Rahman’s tycoon sons), speaks of actual forays of Mujaheddin into Soviet Central Asian Republics ! However, I have read that Brezhnev had declared that , if any Mujaheddin enter the Stans, Soviets would invade Pakistan. India , with Soviet support, had defeated US ally Pakistan in 1971 decisively and got 90000 Pak armymen as POWs. Bangladesh was born after Pakistan’s then division. The POWs were returned to Pakistan only in 1974. Pak morale was shattered, but Kissinger made it his business to regenerate their morale and strength. Thanks to K, India was unable to consolidate its victory with becoming the most influential across South and Central Asia. CIA managed to organise a coup in B’Desh in 1975 , killing Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, the Father of B’Desh. Later, CIA also instigated a coup in Pakistan to depose and kill Bhutto , the elected PM and bring in Gen Zia Ul Haq who made Pakistan a platform for US to attack Soviets in Afghanistan after 1980. Mrs Gandhi, reportedly did not want Soviet troops to enter Afghanistan and is believed to have pulled up Brezhnev for this. Anyway, India always had the option of threatening a conventional attack on Lahore , which is hardly 25 km from th Border. This attachk was done by India in Sept 1965 in second Indo_Pak war ans was effective. So, it would have been only just recompense for the Soviet help in 1971, for India to help out the Soviets by threatening Lahore in 1980s. Indira Gandhi did help out with assisting the pro_Soviet govt in Kabul those days including flying planes for them etc. Today, India has been sucking up to the US for too long , so US withdrawal has made India irrelevant. Modi is now trying to open talks with the Taliban and he needs to take tjis as a godsend and move out of the embrace of the fleeing Americans. Embark on anew foreign policy.
Excellent writing thank you Mr Mirzaei
Excuse my ignorance in this matter, I am not a financial scholar, (but like to figure- out , well… topics) :
I do not intend this to detract from the writing which I highly agree with, and liked very much, much thanks,
What is the exact relationship between war and whatever “we” (: there is not an actual “we” in the room- when this occurred on some island somewhere in the past) define as “legal tender” and what might this imply (as in who is actually responsible ? In charge? Where exactly? Who is pulling the strings on the “we” part of the world?”
Firstly, why is it that every time that the US is withdrawing or looking to leave a conflict zone, a Daesh terrorist attack suddenly occurs against its forces. The same happened in Syria 2019, when a Daesh terrorist blew himself up in the town of Manbij, killing US troops, just as former president Donald Trump had announced his intention to withdraw US troops out of Syria. Why is Daesh, a supposed “enemy” of the US, trying its hardest to make the US continue its occupation of these countries?
Could it be that America and its Coalition of the Killing are actually aiding and supporting ISIS (in all its forms), even as they claim to be “fighting terrorism”?
There are not a few nations and political figures who have explicitly stated that America and Britain, among others, have been oh-so-helpfully moving ISIS terrorists from the Syria to Afghanistan in order to serve Anglo-American imperial destabilization wars:
”The list of governments, former government officials, and organizations in the region that have accused the US of supporting ISIS-K is expansive and includes the Russian government, the Iranian government, Syrian government media, Hezbollah, an Iraqi state-sponsored military outfit and even former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who called the group a “tool” of the United States as journalist Ben Norton recently noted, characterizing Karzai as “a former US puppet who later turned against the US, and knows many of its secrets.”
Did the US Support the Growth of ISIS-K?
https://realalexrubi.substack.com/p/did-the-us-support-the-growth-of
In short, ISIS is U.S.
ISIS IS US: The Shocking Truth: Behind the Army of Terror
https://www.amazon.com/ISIS-US-Shocking-Behind-Terror/dp/1615771522
“Napoleon still doesn’t get it: one of his sillier complaints is that Kutuzov doesn’t understand strategy; well it’s not Kutuzov who’s plodding through icy roads littered with abandoned equipment, butchered horses and dead soldiers, is it? “I beat the Russians every time, but that doesn’t get me anywhere”. Winning every battle and losing the war is not as uncommon as all that: we have seen it from Darius and the Scythians to the US and Afghanistan.”
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/12/28/today-as-200-years-ago-cest-toujours-la-meme-chose/
During the Obama years, there was a vast purge of the military, traditionally a stronghold of the “right”, whatever that might mean these days (or those days). And of course competent generals were forced into retirement and replaced with party hacks with no loyalty to country and honor.
Then Trump, who did not want to along with some of the processes the global elite wanted to push, also got purged. With now complete control, the elites found themselves depending on generals and politicians with no honor or competence, and this is one of the outcomes. As an anti-imperialist, I voted Trump in 2016, but I am happy to acknowledge that Biden’s team is helping my agenda more.
And the loss of face has had immediate consequences. Never ending lockdowns and vaccines are the only things with the elites unanimous support. Just this week Japan, Denmark and Romania announced major deviations from global covid policy. Given how harshly dissident head of states have been punished (five dead so far since 2020, one surviving a color revolution), I expect more and varied acts of disobedience from the imperial periphery in the coming months.
Insightful and stylish writing, making an impression as if I have been there myself. Especially in combination with Mr. Escobar’s overwhelming factography.
I dare to say that with such articles and analyses the chaos in Afghanistan is becoming truly comprehensible, even here, thousands km from the spot.
Among many things I learned that the time is separated from the watch. A new claim of the Theory of relativity?
But it seems that the TR should encompass several phenomena more.
For example, inserting 5,56 mm bullets into a bomb to turn into shrapnels in blast and kill people much effectively.
These reports/rumors mentioned in some comments above sound quite disturbing, and show a measure of lying and manipulation. I am sure it will face the truth, since it is so clumsy organised, leaving many tails behind. As if you clean the mud with the mud.
Despite shadow army, isis-k, provoked civil war etc, I have a deep feeling that the things in Afghanistan evolve in good direction. Is it my subconscious wish, instinct or conclusion? Hard to say in such intricate mesh of processes, influences and events.
Sometimes, simple words can point out the way out. In this case it might be the wisdom hidden between the time and the watch.
Don’t walk up on no dead bucks to fast. Sometimes they jump up and goar you.
There is no mystery with creating proxy army, feeding and fueling it and then fighting against it. After collapsed of USSR the Empire desperately tried to find new dangerous enemy. First it was drug lords (remember Norriega etc) but soon masterplan was jihadists. The problem here is now: we have too often seen same movie.
Al Qaeda/ISIS area in ending. New enemy needed. But it can’t be Russia/China/Iran, they are too strong. Next move done by Israel?
Since invading Afghanistan in 2001, the United States has spent $2.26 trillion on the war, which includes operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Note that this total does not include funds that the United States government is obligated to spend on lifetime care for American veterans of this war, nor does it include future interest payments on money borrowed to fund the war.
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/figures/2021/Human%20and%20Budgetary%20Costs%20of%20Afghan%20War%2C%202001-2021.pdf
how many generations of USA taxpayer will be paying for this?
and this is only numbers for one war! (and not including war crime compensation)
bwbs
The USA were bombing Daesh for years in Syria, and Daesh keept on gaining and taking more Syrian terriority.Recall President Putin, at the UN showing the satellite photos taken from 33k feet up,the ratlines of tanker wagons- kilometers long, stealing Syrian oil, in Daesh held terriotity.While the US claimed to be bombing the same area in daily sorties! No in Afghanistan your same intelligence agencies- yes those WMD boys and girls suddenly have intelligence on the planner and facilator-wrong again murder then members of one family.Including children-three years old,six years old- children, children- so,so evil the intelligence community got it sooo wrong again .Sincere sympathies, to the survivours hope you heal physically, mentally and otherwise it’s is not possible-nevertheless stand strong I and thousands of others are with you always.Salaam.