https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/do...to-send-more-troops-to-afghanistan-1501804513
sending more troops is an extremely novel strategy.
sending more troops is an extremely novel strategy.Afghanistan
- Thread starter Sherzad
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TrumpenFuhrer is meant to announce up to 4000 extra troops for war in Afghanistan.
From 2013 -
From 2013 -
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As far as I can see four thousand extra troops ain't going to make a lot of difference to the military situation, and even if it did then the Taliban would simply hunker down until they'd gone away again.
True. No amount of troops will resolve Afghanistan without a regional solution that includes Pakistan.
Over 70 dead in suicide attacks on a Shia and a Sunni mosque. Another 117 soldiers and civilians were killed in multiple Taliban attacks over the past few days.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ed-in-twin-bombings-of-mosques-in-afghanistan
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ed-in-twin-bombings-of-mosques-in-afghanistan
@Distracted Steward - Ever thought you would see the day Hek was being interviewed out in the open in Kabul ?
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If you would have told me that the day I stood by the building he used as a command post to rocket Kabul in the 90s, I would have laughed in your face.
Hindsight being 20/20, a lot of these washed up warlords are angling to revive their fiefdoms, and this fits his position. He’s been an outsider for a while. HiG was dying on the vine as a remnant of the past. I guess he had to get over not being able to grab Kabul by force in the mid-90s and do this.
Do you think he’s anymore than a figurehead from the past or does he hold some sort of sway—even if only regionally?
Not sure how much sway he still holds as he's been a fugitive outside the country for a couple of decades. I think Ghani just wanted to make peace with as many groups as possible to reduce the militant threat from the outside and Hek was one of those he thought he could tame.
I think that’s it right there. Bringing the warlords in is always the struggle, and this was a reachable target for Ghana & Co.
Will he call it a shithole though
That's a 5 month old tweet.
Definitely encouraging to see. How long it last is another matter. I hear Karzai is eyeing another run for the Presidency (not sure if that's allowed or not).
I was pretty happy when I saw his name. I know the attack on the school got a lot of headlines, but his radio propaganda and what the ideological cohesion that brought to his part of the FATA is why I was really happy to see him go.
Another day of slaughter in this 17 year-old war...
Afghanistan: Suicide bomber targets school in Kabul
At least 48 killed in a suicide bomb attack outside an educational centre in Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi area.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018...xplosion-hits-kabul-city-180815114313817.html
Afghanistan: Suicide bomber targets school in Kabul
At least 48 killed in a suicide bomb attack outside an educational centre in Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi area.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018...xplosion-hits-kabul-city-180815114313817.html
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The Taliban (at least elements of them) may well want peace but the country is now having to deal with the Haqqani network and now rogue IS elements attempting to worm themselves into the insurgency.
Killing kids, despicable!
Afghanistan is going to get worse. The CIA has now airlifted Daesh from Syria into Afghanistan. They are currently fighting the Afghan Taliban.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/afgha...-over-base-that-fell-taliban-2018-8?r=US&IR=T
http://uk.businessinsider.com/afgha...-over-base-that-fell-taliban-2018-8?r=US&IR=T
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Afghanistan blast: Sikhs among 19 dead in Jalalabad suicide attack
A suicide bombing in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad has killed at least 19 people, most of them members of the country's Sikh minority.
Police said they had been travelling in a vehicle to meet President Ashraf Ghani, who is visiting Nangarhar province, when the bomber struck.
Among those killed was the only Sikh candidate who had planned to contest October's parliamentary elections.
The Islamic State (IS) group said it carried out the attack.
Hours earlier, Mr Ghani had opened a hospital in Jalalabad during his two-day visit to Nangarhar. Officials said he was not in the area when the suicide blast occurred.
The Indian embassy in Kabul condemned the "cowardly terrorist" attack.
It confirmed that Awtar Singh Khalsa, the only Sikh candidate running in the 20 October elections, was among the dead.
"The attack underlines the need for a united global fight against international terrorism without discrimination and accountability of those who support terrorists in any manner," the embassy tweeted.
Nangarhar health director Najibullah Kamawal told AFP news agency that 17 of the dead were Sikhs and Hindus. Another 20 people were wounded, he added.
The bomber targeted the vehicle as it passed through Mukhaberat square in the city, governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said. The explosion badly damaged shops and buildings.
Small communities of Sikhs and Hindus live in Afghanistan which is otherwise an overwhelmingly Muslim nation.
Correspondents say increasing numbers have moved to India due to persecution and repeated threats.
IS said on its Amaq news agency that it had carried out the attack although it gave no evidence for the claim.
The latest attack comes after last month's three-day ceasefire between government forces and the Taliban.
The brief truce did not include IS which is fighting both the Taliban and government forces.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44677823
Hindus and Sikhs targeted in bombing in Jalalabad last month.
A suicide bombing in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad has killed at least 19 people, most of them members of the country's Sikh minority.
Police said they had been travelling in a vehicle to meet President Ashraf Ghani, who is visiting Nangarhar province, when the bomber struck.
Among those killed was the only Sikh candidate who had planned to contest October's parliamentary elections.
The Islamic State (IS) group said it carried out the attack.
Hours earlier, Mr Ghani had opened a hospital in Jalalabad during his two-day visit to Nangarhar. Officials said he was not in the area when the suicide blast occurred.
The Indian embassy in Kabul condemned the "cowardly terrorist" attack.
It confirmed that Awtar Singh Khalsa, the only Sikh candidate running in the 20 October elections, was among the dead.
"The attack underlines the need for a united global fight against international terrorism without discrimination and accountability of those who support terrorists in any manner," the embassy tweeted.
Nangarhar health director Najibullah Kamawal told AFP news agency that 17 of the dead were Sikhs and Hindus. Another 20 people were wounded, he added.
The bomber targeted the vehicle as it passed through Mukhaberat square in the city, governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said. The explosion badly damaged shops and buildings.
Small communities of Sikhs and Hindus live in Afghanistan which is otherwise an overwhelmingly Muslim nation.
Correspondents say increasing numbers have moved to India due to persecution and repeated threats.
IS said on its Amaq news agency that it had carried out the attack although it gave no evidence for the claim.
The latest attack comes after last month's three-day ceasefire between government forces and the Taliban.
The brief truce did not include IS which is fighting both the Taliban and government forces.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44677823
Hindus and Sikhs targeted in bombing in Jalalabad last month.
The country seems in worse shape than 2007. As shit as it tastes in the mouth,the only solution is to negotiate with the Taliban. ISIS have taken hold and both need to work together to get rid of IS.
Agree. The Taliban are basically the same as the Saudi's but without the oil wealth. It's not like they're a different kind of extremist. Mainstreaming them should have been the goal since 1996 when they took power. 911 and Al Queda could have been avoided.
In that case ISIS, Al Nusra could have been normalised as well. Would have prevented the civil war in Syria from going on for as long as it did. Maybe Boko Haram should be mainstreamed in Nigeria and asked to take power. Will result in them no longer attacking civilians.
Ok - you go fight the war then. The worlds biggest army fought the Taliban for 17 years and lost. It lost because the Afghans (pukhtuns) and the Taliban are practically the same people with the same tribal ways and same backward take on Islam. Minority puppet governments always fall.
The Afghans have been holding elections for a while now and and are building the country up through infrastructure projects and greater civic participation. Why would they want to go back to the Taliban days ?
How do you explain the success of the Taliban? In the presence of NATO and the Afghan government, it's just taking over the country, overwhelming military bases, taking cities and then running shadow government. The fact the country is falling into Taliban hands suggests at some point they might have a choice anymore. I suspect people living in Kabul or non pukthun regions don't want the Taliban, but the Taliban is running a shadow government in like a third of Afghanistan or something like that?
The world is a lot more dangerous than the Taliban. Most of the Afghans are "ultra conservative" tribal folk, just like the Taliban. It's not what you and I want, but it's what they know and in some parts exactly what they want. When you lose wars, you don't get to dictate the outcome. The Taliban have won this war.
The next step is to try and get a government in Afghanistan that is willing to abide by international law, rather than whoever comes out on top of the war.
And let me tell you, there is a lot worse out there than them. The Afghan taliban seem content to stay in their own country and run it how they want it. There are people out there intent on waging war across the world, it's those kind of Al-Queda type terrorists that we need to focus on.
I remember reading an article about this Taliban faction in Syria, one of their commanders gave an interview. These people were a few hundred in number, had control of a couple of villages, and yet were intent on "hopefully" waging war in Europe. It's terrifying. I felt for the people they were "governing". These people if not stopped will try their best to bring their war to our doorsteps, and suicide bombers don't check to see who's on the bus when they blow it up.
They have a porous border they can train behind, launch their operations in Afghanistan from, then scamper to safety once finished. When you can conduct an insurgency from behind the safety of another neighboring country then you can survive for a long time.
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No they don't. The border is largely fenced and mined and the Pakistani army has been operating one on side and NATO/ana forces have been operating on the other side.
What they do have is complete control in about a third of Afghanistan.
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2016/08/afghanistan-controls-160823083528213.html
A lot of those red areas are nowhere near Pakistan.
The kabul regime has failed to provide governance and security and the Taliban have stepped in. Nobody welcomes warlords into thier Village willingly but for many people they now represent the least bad option. We should reflect on how poor the alternative is, if these people are the least worst option.
The south is where the Taliban maintain their power base. They do pop up in random enclaves in other parts of the country as well but its largely a Pakistan based operation that uses the border for protection. The Quetta Shura - the leadership council that controls the Taliban is based in Pakistan.No they don't. The border is largely fenced and mined and the Pakistani army has been operating one on side and NATO/ana forces have been operating on the other side.
What they do have is complete control in about a third of Afghanistan.
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2016/08/afghanistan-controls-160823083528213.html
A lot of those red areas are nowhere near Pakistan.
The kabul regime has failed to provide governance and security and the Taliban have stepped in. Nobody welcomes warlords into thier Village willingly but for many people they now represent the least bad option. We should reflect on how poor the alternative is, if these people are the least worst option.
Peace talks are currently ongoing
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ful-us-talks-as-boost-to-afghan-peace-process
McRaven is a war criminal. Speaking up against Trump doesn't turn war criminals into heroes. It's the easiest position in the world.
What did he do?
Go on...
I must've napped through his fantasy trial
Same here.
Hm. Is being convicted the hallmark of a war criminal?
What war crimes did he commit?
He oversaw the operation and attempted cover up of a JSOC raid that killed a family celebrating a newborn, killing among other 2 pregnant women. Then proceeded to carve out bullets from the dead bodies.
You’re talking about a botched February 2010 raid that ended up killing civilians.
McRaven personally went and apologized, using local customs of offering a sheep, to the family killed in the raid after it became evident that the initial report given to NATO/SOCOM/JSOC was inaccurate.