Tell me what's happening in Afganistan (no CR. Can't we all just get along?)

[InkaUtexas 25,991]

Just now, 'stache said:

The University of Tulsa adopted the old Big 8 convention of reversing the letters. (OU, KU, NU, CU, MU). I always assumed they did it to differentiate themselves from the older eastern and west coast schools which already used the U_ marketing convention. But I've never really looked it up.

I vote he stays. Good poster. And would rather see UT than TU. 

[Not a cat 5,660]

2 minutes ago, 'stache said:

The University of Tulsa adopted the old Big 8 convention of reversing the letters. (OU, KU, NU, CU, MU). I always assumed they did it to differentiate themselves from the older eastern and west coast schools which already used the U_ marketing convention. But I've never really looked it up. I think I read that Indiana is the only one that has it consistent as it is officially The Indiana University.

Sorry, if I was unclear, I was pointing out to poster above me that your use of tu was in reference to Tulsa and not an aggyesque swipe at Texas.  Phrasing could have been better on my part.

[dcar00 14,271]

7 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

 

its like showing outtakes of naked and afraid and someone is planting a dead antelope in a tree in Africa.

The Taliban leaders saying there will be womens rights is straight up lying.  this thing will be the 8th century again in no time at all.

Edited August 18, 2021 by dcar00

['stache 21,820]

1 minute ago, Not a cat said:

Sorry, if I was unclear, I was pointing out to poster above me that your use of tu was in reference to Tulsa and not an aggyesque swipe at Texas.  Phrasing could have been better on my part.

I know, i was just expanding on the explanation because I find it interesting. Carry on.

[52-80 19,168]

1 minute ago, dcar00 said:

its like showing outtakes of naked and afraid and someone is planting a dead antelope in a tree in Africa.

agreed.  but it is funny.

[workswithseed 2,112]

1 hour ago, InkaUtexas said:

What they got is not anything for us here to worry about. The comms equipment for me is the big issue, and I am sure we have experts who can chime in. A radio without the right crystals or repeaters is a brick. Weapons? Meh. Sucks for India, Pakistan and neighbors to the north. Drones? To see what? Their goat herds? 

Most of the aircraft is out. None of it was that modern. The Super Tucanos were pretty cool but limited for Close Air Support. They are not flying across the world and hitting anything. And they were out. The rest left was left cuz it could not fly. And shit, if you have 40K you can buy a hummer. I would take a Hilux over them anyways. 

 

Could they not just sell that to any buyer i.e. China?

Edited August 18, 2021 by workswithseed

[Parliament 14,260]

9 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

its like showing outtakes of naked and afraid and someone is planting a dead antelope in a tree in Africa.

The Taliban leaders saying there will be womens rights is straight up lying.  this thing will be the 8th century again in no time at all.

Dunno.  This looks like the kinder, gentler Taliban.  The Taliban of yore woulda raped her then killed her.  Or is that, kill her then rape her?  Either way, they're getting soft.

[InkaUtexas 25,991]

Who cares. They already have M-4's and shit. A super tucano is a turbo prop built in Latin America we bought for the Afghans. it is NOT one of our aircraft. 

Sorry- this was meant to reply to @workswithseed 's post. 

Edited August 18, 2021 by InkaUtexas

[MillerEP 30,491]

To answer what a good withdraw should've looked like. We held onto varying airbases around the country, we had Bagram near Kabul in the North and Kandahar in the South and now we have Kabul proper. Instead of pulling up and sneaking off in the middle of the night, you send out the call and have them report to the closest held US airfield. In Inka's friend's case, you could've had them report to Kandahar and then fly out from there. You get all personnel out FIRST and then you evacuate the military. We did it backward, security left like thieves in the night, and now civilians are left scrambling trying to figure out how the hell they can safely get all the way to Kabul airport through miles of Taliban-controlled territory and checkpoints. A lot of innocent people are going to end up paying the price.

We were holding up just fine, the Taliban didn't come out of the woodwork until after we started abandoning bases and consolidating around the Embassy. We even had a date set it just kept getting seemingly arbitrarily changed, we should've started the evacuation months ago instead of assuming we can save it for the very end.

[InkaUtexas 25,991]

Even smaller sites like Leatherneck or Bost Airfield. Mazar? Nice runway. Herat? Can handle anything we want to fly in. Gets a bit rougher in the mountains but could be done.  Drop in a company of rangers and put an AC 130 plus over them. Talibs do not like our tactical AirPower. Once they are in towns, well we cannot use our heavy shit. We did a few times in Lash and it is not pretty. Again, this man fucks AND stays at a Holiday Inn Express. 

[TwiceHorn 31,497]

33 minutes ago, Parliament said:

So what would a proper evacuation have looked like?  Tell all American civilians to fly home immediately, and work to confirm they do.  Start with the furthest bases and move all the gear out.  Blow up what you can't move?  Something like that?  How long would a proper evac take?

While I think a "proper" or more acceptable evacuation/withdrawal would not have been impossible, by any means, it would have required months to execute, which was never going to happen on the US political timeline.  That is, everyone that needed or even wanted to be evacuated would be, along with whatever equipment.

The other thing is that an orderly extraction would have relied to some extent on secrecy.  At some point, more marginal "targets for evacuation" were going to figure it out, bumrush the thing, and it would turn into a shitshow anyway.  And the slow evolution of such a withdrawal may have given enemy forces time to "respond more effectively," i.e. kill more people and fuck more stuff up.

[Bateshorn 9,928]

10 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Who cares. They already have M-4's and shit. A super tucano is a turbo prop built in Latin America we bought for the Afghans. it is NOT one of our aircraft. 

Sorry- this was meant to reply to @workswithseed 's post. 

I have a friend on Armed Services who worked on the Super Tucano deal.  For awhile there was a move to have the Air Force acquire some to act as a ground support bridge between helicopters and A-10s.  But the bidding process was fucked up, so I was under the impression we bought some for the Afghani’s. Those planes have gotta be getting near the end of their lifespans by now if they haven’t been refurbished.  

Edited August 18, 2021 by Bateshorn

[InkaUtexas 25,991]

Just now, TwiceHorn said:

While I think a "proper" or more acceptable evacuation/withdrawal would not have been impossible, by any means, it would have required months to execute, which was never going to happen on the US political timeline.  That is, everyone that needed or even wanted to be evacuated would be, along with whatever equipment.

The other thing is that an orderly extraction would have relied to some extent on secrecy.  At some point, more marginal "targets for evacuation" were going to figure it out, bumrush the thing, and it would turn into a shitshow anyway.  And the slow evolution of such a withdrawal may have given enemy forces time to "respond more effectively," i.e. kill more people and fuck more stuff up.

Nah, you tell the Talibs. "See Amir, we are going to take Bost Airport. These people are coming in. Fuck with them and a Drone finds you." 

We see everything in that country. We were just not looking for this type of situation. 

[InkaUtexas 25,991]

Just now, Bateshorn said:

I have a friend on Armed Services who worked on the Super Tucson deal.  For awhile there was a move to have the Air Force acquire some to act as a ground support bridge between helicopters and A-10s.  But the bidding process was fucked up, so I was under the impression we bought some for the Afghani’s. Those planes have gotta be getting near the end of their lifespans by now if they haven’t been refurbished.  

I think they got the 2 series. And the process was fucked up cuz Army wanted them and AF said nah, we got F-16s. Having seen the A-10s in Helmand I will go BRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT all the way. But yeah, older stuff for sure. 

[dcar00 14,271]

9 minutes ago, Parliament said:

Dunno.  This looks like the kinder, gentler Taliban.  The Taliban of yore woulda raped her then killed her.  Or is that, kill her then rape her?  Either way, they're getting soft.

even the Taliban has millenials. what is this world coming to?

[Muy Frio 182]

10 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

To answer what a good withdraw should've looked like. We held onto varying airbases around the country, we had Bagram near Kabul in the North and Kandahar in the South and now we have Kabul proper. Instead of pulling up and sneaking off in the middle of the night, you send out the call and have them report to the closest held US airfield. In Inka's friend's case, you could've had them report to Kandahar and then fly out from there. You get all personnel out FIRST and then you evacuate the military. We did it backward, security left like thieves in the night, and now civilians are left scrambling trying to figure out how the hell they can safely get all the way to Kabul airport through miles of Taliban-controlled territory and checkpoints. A lot of innocent people are going to end up paying the price.

We were holding up just fine, the Taliban didn't come out of the woodwork until after we started abandoning bases and consolidating around the Embassy. We even had a date set it just kept getting seemingly arbitrarily changed, we should've started the evacuation months ago instead of assuming we can save it for the very end.

 

1 minute ago, InkaUtexas said:

Nah, you tell the Talibs. "See Amir, we are going to take Bost Airport. These people are coming in. Fuck with them and a Drone finds you." 

We see everything in that country. We were just not looking for this type of situation. 

Appreciate both of your inputs on this thread. It’s very interesting to see how things actually get done there and what’s possible vs the mostly useless media reports. 

[Da Fino 2,783]

Yes. Thanks @MillerEP and @InkaUtexas for the interesting information. 

[Bateshorn 9,928]

24 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

I think they got the 2 series. And the process was fucked up cuz Army wanted them and AF said nah, we got F-16s. Having seen the A-10s in Helmand I will go BRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTT all the way. But yeah, older stuff for sure. 

That sounds right.  The Army wanted them because they could get to a hot zone faster than a helicopter and linger on station. As he put it, “They’ve been trying to bring back the Skyraider pretty much since it retired”.   
 

Air force is a bunch of jet jockeys and hate that shit.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Bateshorn

[TwiceHorn 31,497]

16 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

Air force is a bunch of jet jockeys and hate that shit.

And of course, the USAF First Commandment:  The Army shall have no aircraft, er, fixed-wing aircraft.

[Santo89 18]

Not always a big Vice fan but they still do some solid stuff. Good watch -

 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,976]

1 hour ago, MillerEP said:

You don't need to be too worried about the captured weapons and vehicles if they stay in Afghanistan. The most likely outcome is most of that stuff gets sold to Iran if they maintain good relations with them (Remember Iran is Shi'ite Muslim, Taliban is a Pashto version of Suni). It's not easy for them to get American-made parts to the vehicles and aircraft, it'll be nearly impossible when we levy sanctions against the Taliban, so they'll all become pretty useless to them soon. American humvees and personnel carriers are also notorious gas guzzlers, which isn't a problem for US forces and US-supported forces, but again will be almost useless to them relatively quickly. So I imagine they'll resort back to the Toyota Hiluxes we were giving to the police, in which case that's about equivalent to what they already owned, so nothing to be gained there.

The same goes for the US weapons. We outfitted their military with M16 and M4s, which all use NATO ball rounds, which like vehicle parts, I imagine will not be easy to get, so they'll resort back to AKs, which is easy to ammo for.

For every two Humvees they capture, they have one for parts and one for operations. But the point about them being gas guzzlers has merit, so let's assume they use them for special occasions. That means they have plenty of vehicles to part out in order to keep a few operational for tactical reasons. Y'all act like these folks are a bunch of idiot, they are not. This is not insignificant, especially when one has to determine whether thay humvee that just pulled up next to them is friendly or not.

1 hour ago, hayden_horn said:

um, yeah. i imagine that it wouldn't take more than 3 months. 

while you control the real estate, you get people the fuck out, you disable anything functional, and you prepare for complete air retreat. hell the romans perfected this shit in the 0s ad. 

Second only to the mystery of the Greek fire is the mystery of Roman air support.

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

5 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

the mystery of Roman air support.

[fattyflattie 4,639]

I did the same thing.  Got damn they’re mad about this SEC shit to being going full aggy. Then noticed it was capitalized.  So, I say this to say there are 2 idiots here.  

1 hour ago, AUS-97HORN said:

then I am the idoit and Oklahoma is the freakshow...       neg away boys, I deserve it.

[Trey3216 15,347]

12 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

For every two Humvees they capture, they have one for parts and one for operations. But the point about them being gas guzzlers has merit, so let's assume they use them for special occasions. That means they have plenty of vehicles to part out in order to keep a few operational for tactical reasons. Y'all act like these folks are a bunch of idiot, they are not. This is not insignificant, especially when one has to determine whether thay humvee that just pulled up next to them is friendly or not.

Second only to the mystery of the Greek fire is the mystery of Roman air support.

They called down the wrath of Jupiter. 

[Hate 20,115]

3 hours ago, Parliament said:

I did the same.  He served in the Navy and planned air strikes.  My dad is a Vietnam veteran, and I'm worried about how similar the images from Kabul are to the fall of Saigon.

Sounds like the evacuation of foreign nationals is not going well.  We have the airport secure, and flights are fine.  But right outside is a gong show, and folks can't get in.  That's what has me most worried.

Because of my father, I know quite a few Vietnam Vets and keep up with them on a Facebook group.  They are overwhelmingly taking the same perspective and reaching out to whomever they can to make sure the Vets from Afghanistan and Iraq know what they did is appreciated. 

[DDD Dad 14,339]

Thank you all for keeping this political shit-flinging free.  Hoping it stays that way.

[Neonmoon 38,129]

This may be a dumb question, but why don’t they try going to other airports? Did they think of that?

[EuroHorn 3,265]

3 hours ago, 'stache said:

University of Tulsa is offering 2 full ride scholarships to Afghan refugees. I wish it were more, and I hope every college does something similar. We owe the good people of Afghanistan support, especially those who helped us and remained loyal. If we can get them here, it should lessen any feeling of regret for the work our soldiers did over the last 20 years. It'll be tangible proof of some positive outcomes, especially if we can bring in and educate women and girls who dream of more freedoms than they'll be allowed under the new regime.

https://www.newson6.com/story/611c295b35de050bfb6c2429/university-of-tulsa-to-provide-2-afghanistan-refugees-with-fullride-scholarship

Now that Texas and Oklahoma are moving to the SEC I’m sure OK State will indeed recruit in Afghanistan.  

[Guest Lobo]

Despite its landlocked, mountainous topography...Afghanistan seems like the Florida of Asia.  

[InkaUtexas 25,991]

1 hour ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

For every two Humvees they capture, they have one for parts and one for operations. But the point about them being gas guzzlers has merit, so let's assume they use them for special occasions. That means they have plenty of vehicles to part out in order to keep a few operational for tactical reasons. Y'all act like these folks are a bunch of idiot, they are not. This is not insignificant, especially when one has to determine whether thay humvee that just pulled up next to them is friendly or not.

Second only to the mystery of the Greek fire is the mystery of Roman air support.

I posted earlier in one of the many threads something along these lines. I think the Humvees go to their red line units and special protection force. Other than that Hilux and Motorcycles for all. 

They are quite intelligent, they know logistics, but fuel is going to be an issue.  

[MillerEP 30,491]

35 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

This may be a dumb question, but why don’t they try going to other airports? Did they think of that?

There are no planes at those airports for anyone to fly out of:

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/airlines-reroute-flights-avoid-afghanistan-airspace-2021-08-16/

[Da Fino 2,783]

I noticed that a Turkish c-130 just recently landed in Kabul. Is that most likely for transporting their people or anyone that can get there?

[MillerEP 30,491]

Germany started flying out Afghans now after their earlier debacle and flying them to Uzbekistan. More and more people from outside of Kabul are now arriving hoping to get to the airport, but the Taliban is increasingly starting to encircle the airport and make it harder for people. Desperate people are trying to pass babies to British troops:

Taliban whipping people outside of the airport:

In Khost, supposedly the Taliban started firing into a crowd of Afghans trying to protest by waving the Afghanistan flag:

There are also multiple reports claiming that girls 15 and older are being forced into marriages, and some young men are bing pressed into service.

Also, Maybe the "new Northern Alliance" can pick up some steam afterall? Ghani is in UAE now claiming he still wants to negotiate even though he fled.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42051/a-new-northern-alliance-against-the-taliban-is-forming-in-afghanistans-panjshir-valley

 

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

1 hour ago, Harrison Bergeron said:

Ambassador Karen has asked to speak to the Taliban manager via a strongly worded letter:
https://www.mediaite.com/news/biden-un-ambassador-assures-wolf-blitzer-taliban-received-a-very-strongly-worded-statement-about-human-rights/

Please tell me it had DickButt as a watermark...

[dcar00 14,271]

Not SEC Ready

 

 

[Guest Lobo]

Do you even lift, brosef yasef?  

[InkaUtexas 25,991]

1 hour ago, Bateshorn said:

That sounds right.  The Army wanted them because they could get to a hot zone faster than a helicopter and linger on station. As he put it, “They’ve been trying to bring back the Skyraider pretty much since it retired”.   
 

Air force is a bunch of jet jockeys and hate that shit.

Dad worked a team in the early 1980's that wanted to bring back the P-47 with modern components. Imagine that beast. USAF said nah, we have the A-10. And now we have?  

['stache 21,820]

1 hour ago, EuroHorn said:

Now that Texas and Oklahoma are moving to the SEC I’m sure OK State will indeed recruit in Afghanistan.  

Their monkey bar workouts are impressive on film.

[InkaUtexas 25,991]

27 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

Germany started flying out Afghans now after their earlier debacle and flying them to Uzbekistan. More and more people from outside of Kabul are now arriving hoping to get to the airport, but the Taliban is increasingly starting to encircle the airport and make it harder for people. Desperate people are trying to pass babies to British troops:

Taliban whipping people outside of the airport:

In Khost, supposedly the Taliban started firing into a crowd of Afghans trying to protest by waving the Afghanistan flag:

 

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42051/a-new-northern-alliance-against-the-taliban-is-forming-in-afghanistans-panjshir-valley

 

Video 1- Sadness. Vid 2- Sadness, hope we at least get that interpreter's family out. Video three is vicious, get used to seeing it, but damn, I respect the old man selling water. Video 4 - hearing the same and also in J-bad. Fuck Ghani. But lets see what Masood's boy can do. 

[Trey3216 15,347]

27 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

Not SEC Ready

 

 

Looks like he's training for the French Army on that elliptical  

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,976]

33 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

Germany started flying out Afghans now after their earlier debacle and flying them to Uzbekistan. More and more people from outside of Kabul are now arriving hoping to get to the airport, but the Taliban is increasingly starting to encircle the airport and make it harder for people. Desperate people are trying to pass babies to British troops:

Taliban whipping people outside of the airport:

In Khost, supposedly the Taliban started firing into a crowd of Afghans trying to protest by waving the Afghanistan flag:

There are also multiple reports claiming that girls 15 and older are being forced into marriages, and some young men are bing pressed into service.

Also, Maybe the "new Northern Alliance" can pick up some steam afterall? Ghani is in UAE now claiming he still wants to negotiate even though he fled.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42051/a-new-northern-alliance-against-the-taliban-is-forming-in-afghanistans-panjshir-valley

 

That second video is going to haunt me. The despair in that girls voice. Damn.

[MillerEP 30,491]

 

Also @InkaUtexas I got this from a veterans group I belong to on facebook:

Since M.A.I.N admin won’t post this information in efforts to help extract Americans, Allies & Afghans. Not like there isn’t 100s of us all trying to help right now. This is from my Afghan & DC contacts.

George P. Bush (TX Land Commissioner), Scott Taylor (Seal) former congressman & Andy Wilson (ODA) CEO of Quiet Professionals LLC out of Tampa have all been combining efforts to help. Here’s the latest info.

The State Department has now set up a hotline at 1-888-407-4747(domestic calls) and 1-202-501-4444 (overseas calls), as well as a Repatriation Assistance Request form online for any U.S. Citizens seeking emergency flights out of Kabul. DO NOT CALL OR GO TO THE US EMBASSY IN KABUL, as of this time the US Embassy is now under the control of the Taliban.

https://lnkd.in/gmxJZN4D

For Afghan Citizens seeking evacuation please contact the email below.

برای شهروندان افغان که قصد تخلیه دارند لطفاً با ایمیل زیر تماس بگیرید.

afg-evac@ossoff.senate.gov

SIV: If you/someone you know has an approved petition for a Special Immigrant Visa, email NVCSIV@state.gov or call 1-603-334-0828. For those with/without approved petitions, you can also email congressional office so we can try and push for an urgent evac.

SIV: اگر شما / کسی که می شناسید درخواست درخواست ویزای ویژه مهاجرت را دارید ، به NVCSIV@state.gov ایمیل بزنید یا با شماره 1-603-334-0828 1-603 تماس بگیرید. برای کسانی که درخواستهای تأیید شده / بدون آنها دارند ، می توانید به دفتر کنگره ایمیل ارسال کنید تا ما بتوانیم تلاش کنیم که یک فوریت تخلیه را انجام دهیم.

RepKimEvac@mail.house.gov

For those already here, there are some additional resources available through the No One Left Behind Organization that can further aid SIV holders here.

برای کسانی که در حال حاضر اینجا هستند برخی منابع اضافی از طریق سازمان هیچ کس باقی نمی ماند که می تواند به دارندگان SIV در اینجا بیشتر کمک کند.

https://lnkd.in/geJxt7Rz

HELPING HERE IN U.S. - If you’re in the United States and wish to help people evacuating Afghanistan. You can volunteer for airport pickup, apartment setups, and/or meals for Afghans, go to:

https://lnkd.in/gGviGHab

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

Pictures of our embassy falling are going to be Taliban posters in every Talibar. 

[ChickenSandwich 9,843]

SIAP

 

 

 

[MillerEP 30,491]

2 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

SIAP

 

 

 

Yeah supposedly it's the Taliban:

 

[dcar00 14,271]

12 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Pictures of our embassy falling are going to be Taliban posters in every Talibar. 

was the plan to give up the embassy and all airfields/bases?

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

1 minute ago, dcar00 said:

was the plan to give up the embassy and all airfields/bases?

I can't imagine it was. I believe "the plan" was that the Afghan Army would not go Full France.

[C-Man 27,230]

4 hours ago, Parliament said:

Dunno.  This looks like the kinder, gentler Taliban.  The Taliban of yore woulda raped her then killed her.  Or is that, kill her then rape her?  Either way, they're getting soft.

Ah, yes the old #6

[ChickenSandwich 9,843]

It’s TMZ, but damn

https://www.tmz.com/2021/08/18/taliban-shoot-kill-woman-refuse-wear-burqa-afghanistan-rights/

[dcar00 14,271]

man, one shot(accidental or otherwise) from Yousef, hitting a US serviceman or citizen and this thing could go to 11. Its already a 10.