It wasn’t just about contractors and air support. General Whoever said that because he could not say “The Afghan Leadership and Afghan National Army are a bunch of degenerate Ghazal-singing Boy Bonkers who have zero chance of being able to fix a broken down tank or manage a radio net”. He also couldn’t say out loud that long experience had taught Americans on the front line that the ANA couldn’t be relied on for *anything* and in fact tended toward running and/or treachery when it suited.

The only question is whether or not Sapir-Whorf kicked in and American decision makers began kidding themselves and each-other… and the answer to that question is a resounding Yes.

It was all lies from top to bottom. A Bright and Shining Lie… Ring a bell?:P

There is a place for manners and decorum. But our supposed Western Civilization is so mired in lies and untruths that a Restorative Season of Bluntness is called for. I try to contribute my Widow’s Mite.

https://twitter.com/ryanlongcomedy/status/1439954606914682881

Yeah, I’m pretty sure Trump would have handled the withdrawal better than Biden, but possibly at the risk of not actually being able to get out because the military kept telling him that the “conditions” were never right.

My point is that both Trump and Biden probably set clear, specific deadlines for getting out far in advance because they experienced SERIOUS resistance from the military and foreign service and needed a public bugout date to fight back against attempts to delay or impede withdrawal.

Mike

Which means they knowingly facilitated that collapse. Only by resigning prior to the pullout and immediately holding a public news conference where they exposed Biden’s intent could they avoid that charge.

And because those who heard McKenzie’s statement did not immediately and publicly level that charge against Austin and Milley, they too are complicit in the coverup.

I haven’t watched most of the Congressional hearings in which Blinken was interrogated, but my guess is that some of the Republican members of Congress asked him versions of that question, and he probably dodged the answer.

We had already spent billions, and many lives, setting up conditions in Afghanistan to have a military presence there in order to prevent it becoming another center for and exporter of terrorism. Withdrawing troops 100% and withdrawing all support including air support at this time was always going to result in a Taliban takeover, but that’s not (according to Pompeo and Trump) what they contemplated. They have said they would not have withdrawn air support and would have kept Bagram. They wanted to reduce our presence there to a minimum, but realized that would not mean zero support for the Afghans, at least not now. I don’t know how long it would have been necessary to stay there in these more minimal ways, but we already stay in many places, including some dangerous places, for similar preventative reasons. It’s a question of pay now or pay later.

And of course, even if the goal is to withdraw 100%, Biden did it in the most effed-up order and the most effed-up way possible.

Trump’s deadline was conditions-based. It was not a firm deadline – it was a goal. Trump was serious about getting out, but was aware he might not be able to. Trump was the dealmaker, and part of the deal was that the Taliban FIRST had to form a coalition government with the then-government of Afghanistan, for example. He was well aware that might not happen, and he was perfectly willing to walk away if the conditions weren’t met. The goal was to state his intent of leaving, but leaving only if certain things were secure and only in certain ways.

And the May 1 date he set was set for a reason – the idea being that it was before what’s called “fighting season” in Afghanistan. In winter the Taliban always retreated to Pakistan. Now, obviously, they could have changed that, but because of weather and other logistics the May 1 date would have made it harder for them to return in force to take over the country quickly. And air support would have continued, one way or another, as well as certain other things Biden paid no attention to or withdrew. Biden also pulled out in the middle of fighting season, making it very easy for the Taliban (plus no conditions whatsoever of course – Biden’s pullout date was FIRM and not part of any negotiations).

Setting a date was a very small part of it for Trump, actually. The differences were enormous.

There is no doubt that he sat in on whatever meetings there were with the powers that be that originated the FUBAR Afghan “get out now” plan.
Did he just sit there with his thumb up his anal orifice (i.e. his mouth) and say nothing?
Or did he actually emit some sort of facial flatulence sounds – disguised as words – and say something?
I wish some “reporter” (i.e., a Joke Bidet propagandist) would perhaps have the cohones to ask Blinkenlites that question.

Sorry if the noun “cohones,” offends anybody, but we all know that gender is a social construct and any carbon based human life form can have cohones (as well as a hysterectomy; though I have been searching for formerly defined as males having their ovarian cysts removed.
But hey, maybe an episode will appear on Pimple Poppers where we all can see that.
Dr.Lee are you listening?