Afghanistan. It's fucked

[Seabass]

As thousands of people in Afghanistan attempt to flee the country before the United States’ withdrawal on August 31, we look at how the Trump administration made it much harder for Afghans who worked with the U.S. to apply and receive what is known as a special immigrant visa, or SIV. Oliva Troye, a former top aide to Mike Pence who resigned in protest, has placed the blame on Trump’s xenophobic adviser Stephen Miller, saying he peddled “racist hysteria” in White House meetings about bringing Afghan allies to the U.S. “Stephen Miller would say, 'Well, these are terrorist cells in the making if you bring them here,'” says Troye, director of the Republican Accountability Project and former homeland security adviser to Pence. “I know for a fact that the Trump administration was planning this withdrawal for several years,” says Troye. “Why were they not actively prioritizing this population so that we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in today?”

[Seabass]

U.S. announces joint arrangement to continue evacuating Afghan allies past Aug. 31

The United States, along with 97 other countries, announced Sunday that they had reached an agreement with the Taliban to allow them to continue to get Afghan allies out of the country after the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline.

https://www.axios.com/us-announces-join ... 8232e.html

[JimC]

I bet that came with an offer to keep the aid flowing...

[Svartalf]

they should offer to finance a bunch of korans, duly treated with the kind of drug found on the pages of the treatise on comedy in Name of the Rose...

[Scot Dutchy]

Once again corruption lead to the country's downfall.

Afghanistan collapsed because corruption had hollowed out the state

The Afghan state was held together by theft, extortion and nepotism – at the highest levels

When the Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, the militant group faced almost no resistance. The country’s now former president, Ashraf Ghani, fled to the United Arab Emirates, accused by one of his own ambassadors of stealing $169m (£123m) on his way out – and the Afghan military melted away without a fight. President Joe Biden blamed the Afghan people for the Taliban’s conquest. “We gave them every chance,” he said. “We couldn’t provide them the will to fight for their future.”

But blaming Afghan citizens, some of whom may be tortured or killed in the near future, for their country’s collapse is wrong and immoral. The Taliban victory is the product of the corruption and cronyism of elites – especially senior US military personnel and Afghan politicians.

Corruption in Afghanistan has long been an open secret among international observers and its own citizens. In 2020, Transparency International ranked Afghanistan among the top 20 most corrupt countries in the world. Reports of US government funds flowing into the pockets of warlords and criminal syndicates were common, while nepotism marred public trust in successive administrations. If the Afghan people – and its military – refused to fight for the state, it was, in part, because they had no faith in it.

One reason the Afghan military collapsed so quickly was because, in part, it did not actually exist. In July, President Biden claimed that the Afghan army had 300,000 troops, but the Pentagon knew those numbers were inflated. Afghan military commanders had been pocketing extra money allocated for fake soldiers. “The number of ghost personnel may go into the tens of thousands,” said John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghan reconstruction, in a 2017 speech. A West Point report, released in January, estimated the Afghan government had a real fighting force of only 96,000. And by the time Kabul fell, these soldiers were reportedly no longer receiving a salary, or even food.

Not only did the Afghan military exist largely on paper, but through US military contractors, the Pentagon was inadvertently financing the Taliban. A 2009 report in the Nation cited US military officials who estimated that between 10% and 20% of the money from Pentagon logistics contracts in Afghanistan – hundreds of millions of dollars – went to the Taliban. “Afghanistan’s intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security, had alerted the American military to the problem,” reported the Nation. But 10 years later, the payments were allegedly still happening. In 2019, a group of families who had lost loved ones to the Taliban sued a different set of military contractors for allegedly paying off the Taliban. (The case is ongoing.)

What a bloody mess. Chumocracy on a grand scale.

[rainbow]

Once again corruption lead to the country's downfall.

Those Dutch corruptors are everywhere.

...but the are the best.

[Brian Peacock]

US military spokesperson says the US armed forces do everything to avoid civilian casualties. Even when they bomb someone on their front doorstep in a residential area. 10 dead, including an interpreter for US forces and a two year old girl.

[Scot Dutchy]

Once again corruption lead to the country's downfall.

Those Dutch corruptors are everywhere.

...but the are the best.

Says the guy that claims to a millionaire...

[rainbow]

Once again corruption lead to the country's downfall.

Those Dutch corruptors are everywhere.

...but the are the best.

Says the guy that claims to a millionaire...

Dutch jealousy is the best jealousy.

[Scot Dutchy]

Once again corruption lead to the country's downfall.

Those Dutch corruptors are everywhere.

...but the are the best.

Says the guy that claims to a millionaire...

Dutch jealousy is the best jealousy.

Says the guy that claims to a millionaire...

Wtf am I jealous of? You living in a shit...

I have my own miljard.

This is the internet, INTERNET. Where all claims are valid. Get used to it. Especially African claims. Go and ask your Nigerian Aunty.

[rainbow]

. Especially African claims. Go and ask your Nigerian Aunty.

Fuck off, you little racist.

[Scot Dutchy]

. Especially African claims. Go and ask your Nigerian Aunty.

Fuck off, you little racist.

The racist card; are we surprised: NO.
Unsupported claim. Keep them coming. You will never learn will you.

[rainbow]

Keep them coming. You will never learn will you.

Learn from a narrow minded bigot?
I certainly hope not.

[Scot Dutchy]

Keep them coming. You will never learn will you.

Learn from a narrow minded bigot?
I certainly hope not.

Pot calling...

[Brian Peacock]

Dear All,

We would like to remind all members of our prime directive, the 'Play Rule', and ask anyone tempted to personal opprobrium to think twice before posting.

Yer Mods