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

[Guest Lobo]

9 minutes ago, sidis said:

fify

incorrect.  your third president thomas jefferson oversaw the first barbary war from 1801 to 1805 and your fourth president james madison prosecuted the second for three whopping days.

you could say it was our country's first entree into fighting with muslim nations/pirates.

I mean, yes the U.S.A. existed.  But it was in its infancy, that we actually prosecuted an overseas war NOT against Britain was impressive.  I know we were a country, but we didn't really hit our groove until 1812.  Then about 100 years of internal and Indian wars.  Then we got our sea legs under us again.  I'll check out that book.

And yeah, no point in building aircraft in all that windy sand.  testing it.  I'm sure they still do some final assembly there.  They can't fly the finished product over us from Bethesda to the SW deserts.  I like that we tacked on the Gadsden Purchase for good reason.  

"We just won the war and signed the treaty.  What do we need with this other expensive tract of land to its south?  It's worthless high desert!"  

(Tucson has joined the call)_

[sidis 9832]

7 minutes ago, Lobo said:

I mean, yes the U.S.A. existed.  But it was in its infancy, that we actually prosecuted an overseas war NOT against Britain was impressive.  I know we were a country, but we didn't really hit our groove until 1812.  Then about 100 years of internal and Indian wars.  Then we got our sea legs under us again.  I'll check out that book.

And yeah, no point in building aircraft in all that windy sand.  testing it.  I'm sure they still do some final assembly there.  They can't fly the finished product over us from Bethesda to the SW deserts.  I like that we tacked on the Gadsden Purchase for good reason.  

"We just won the war and signed the treaty.  What do we need with this other expensive tract of land to its south?  It's worthless high desert!"  

(Tucson has joined the call)_

as has the entire state of california...the real prize (along with the utep handjob artists).

as for barbary, it was "impressive" but it was also necessary.  once it was known that the british were no longer protecting american merchant ships, there were more than 300 of them attacked and the united states was spending roughly a fifth to a quarter of its federal budget paying off the pirate "states" as tribute.  it was a big part of jefferson's campaign attacks on adams in the election...why are we paying millions in tribute when we could be building a badass navy with it.  he followed through and started fighting.

one of our biggest, baddest ships (the philadelphia) ran aground in tripoli harbor and was seized with the crew being put into slavery.  one of the first u.s. marine missions was to sneak onshore and destroy the ship to keep it from being used as a badass pirate ship.

Edited August 19, 2021 by sidis

[Guest Lobo]

Did they rescue the sailors?  How does it end, man?  Dammit, man! 

i know, I know...read the book

Edited August 19, 2021 by Lobo

[Chad Fuck 17685]

51 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

I just read today that the U.S. has ~200,000 troops stationed in over 150 countries worldwide, many of which have been stationed in locations over 60 years.

We're in a lot of places.

Such is the price of empire.

 

[Brisketexan 105156]

5 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Did they rescue the sailors?  How does it end, man?  Dammit, man! 

i know, I know...read the book

I know this book.....

 

[sidis 9832]

16 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Did they rescue the sailors?  How does it end, man?  Dammit, man! 

i know, I know...read the book

many, many months later...in 1805 some were freed after bombardment in the battle of derna which is what really made the marines famous for the first time.  the rest were freed as part of the negotiated resolution of the war.  the captain of the philly that ran it aground was none other than william bainbridge.  dude went on to become a war hero in the war of 1812 captaining the uss constitution which had a crazy battle against the hms java off of brazil. he then decided to re-up for some more north african ass-kicking in the second barbary war.

the arleigh-burke class destroyer that was involved in the rescue of the maersk alabama (captain phillips) carries the commodore's name...uss bainbridge.

Edited August 19, 2021 by sidis

[Chooky 13315]

Our biggest failure was not getting them into CrossFit.

[Guest Lobo]

3 minutes ago, Chooky said:

Our biggest failure was not getting them into CrossFit.

They got really good at the monkey bars part of it.  And you know once we leave, they'll be flipping Humvee and BFV tires end-over-end like champs.  

For resistance training, I suspect---they'll just shoot the resistance.  

[elfenix 34312]

An Afghan Interpreter Is On The Run From The Taliban. A Houston Veterans Group Says His Former Employer Won’t Help

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2021/08/19/406367/afghan-interpreter-on-run-from-taliban-stymied-by-former-employer/

[Gourmand 7774]

Thanks OBiden!

[ChickenSandwich 9843]

Is it in the interest of the Taliban to delay the evacuation to secure the high value equipment and or sell it?  When the evacuation is complete we would attempt to destroy aircraft etc, but not before due to the risk to the evacuation?
 

 

[InkaUtexas 25989]

35 minutes ago, elfenix said:

An Afghan Interpreter Is On The Run From The Taliban. A Houston Veterans Group Says His Former Employer Won’t Help

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/in-depth/2021/08/19/406367/afghan-interpreter-on-run-from-taliban-stymied-by-former-employer/

Glad I was able to get my two out when we could. But the concern about the families is a big deal right now 

[BillyGoatHill 4312]

2 hours ago, MillerEP said:

Barbary War is where we get the first line of the Marine Hymn from:
"From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli"

This just came out but happened earlier. Taliban killing Hazaras in Ghazni in incredibly brutal ways. A sign of things to come maybe?:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/afghanistan-taliban-responsible-for-brutal-massacre-of-hazara-men-new-investigation/

 

Also where the term Leatherneck came from. To keep from losing their head, Marines would wear a thick leather collar to to protect the neck and jugulars from the swords of the pirates (first AQ). 

[TwiceHorn 31496]

47 minutes ago, BillyGoatHill said:

Also where the term Leatherneck came from. To keep from losing their head, Marines would wear a thick leather collar to to protect the neck and jugulars from the swords of the pirates (first AQ). 

It wasn't just pirates.  Royal Marines wore them too.  Naval warfare in the 18th and prior centuries usually involved boarding and capturing the enemy vessel.  That task mostly fell to the Marines aboard.  

Master and Commander out front should have told ya.

 

 

[MillerEP 30491]

Some ANA linked up in Panjshir:

 

 

Edited August 20, 2021 by MillerEP

[BillyGoatHill 4312]

It wasn't just pirates.  Royal Marines wore them too.  Naval warfare in the 18th and prior centuries usually involved boarding and capturing the enemy vessel.  That task mostly fell to the Marines aboard.  
Master and Commander out front should have told ya.
 
 

I’m aware of boarding parties and the history of.
Master and Commander, Napoleanic Wars? Same time frame as the Barbary coast pirates.
My post was mainly about the term and how it is widely accepted to describe a US Marine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MillerEP 30491]

41 minutes ago, BillyGoatHill said:

I’m aware of boarding parties and the history of.
Master and Commander, Napoleanic Wars? Same time frame as the Barbary coast pirates.
My post was mainly about the term and how it is widely accepted to describe a US Marine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The quatrefoil on officer's covers supposedly comes from the same time. So Marines up in the masts shooting down on the decks could identify officers from the top so they don't brain them, only the enlisted, since that would be ungentlemanly. Although, I'm pretty sure we wore different headwear back then.

[dcar00 14269]

55 minutes ago, MillerEP said:

Some ANA linked up in Panjshir:

 

 

Trump/Biden long game.  Tell them to give up, let Taliban go to Kabul other major cities to bring them out of the caves, take all the supplies/equipment to Panjshir, get as many people out as possible, have them think they've won then bomb the shit out of every one of them on 9/11 and evicerate the Taliban.

yeah I know, movie plot, but how awesome would it be.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Northern Alliance is calling for the West to support a resistance movement. Interesting...... 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/18/mujahideen-resistance-taliban-ahmad-massoud/

I’ve forgotten all about the NA. Haven’t heard that name in 20 years

[InkaUtexas 25989]

5 minutes ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

I’ve forgotten all about the NA. Haven’t heard that name in 20 years

nah, they were always there. A lot of them formed the ANA's SF and Combat corps. 

From Charikar they are close to Bagram. Would be fun to go and see them take the base and all our equipment. This war ain't over by any means.

[berlinerbaer 678]

3 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Glad I was able to get my two out when we could. But the concern about the families is a big deal right now 

Probably a dumb question that has been answered already, but how can the Taliban identify people who supported us? Is there some kind of national registry of interpreters? Are they flying American flags in their front yard? Are people getting doxed on social media? Do they just assume that people who left the country did to avoid capture and then go after their families? Is there an accurate census of where people are living and is there information therein about their occupation or past work history?

I did read that State and the DoD have been scrubbing names and photos the past several days from websites and online registries to protect these people, so I'm sure that's a clue. I'd think that many of the people who cooperated during the occupation should be able to hide away. 

https://thehill.com/policy/international/568252-us-agencies-purge-websites-of-content-that-could-endanger-afghans

[InkaUtexas 25989]

One way is they had informers within groups, in towns (think Karen rats your ass out) and on our bases. The interpreters worked 24/7 in a lot of cases and lived with us. in my case we had two on a project for instance. The one I am talking about was in Helmand. So every time I went and met with anyone, the Afghan Government, farmers we were training, mullahs or village elders one of them was with me. 

They also now control all the biometric data created as a national ID card system. 

 

[52-80 19163]

 

[52-80 19163]

9 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

It wasn't just pirates.  Royal Marines wore them too.  Naval warfare in the 18th and prior centuries usually involved boarding and capturing the enemy vessel.  That task mostly fell to the Marines aboard.  

Master and Commander out front should have told ya.

 

 

they went from this -- wearing cool bondage gear in sea battles -- to getting their asses kicked in the asian jungles by men in pyjamas. 

somewhere along the lines these so called "marines" really lost their way there.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

8 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

nah, they were always there. A lot of them formed the ANA's SF and Combat corps. 

From Charikar they are close to Bagram. Would be fun to go and see them take the base and all our equipment. This war ain't over by any means.

Proxy war incoming. It's what we do best.

[Guest Lobo]

2 hours ago, 52-80 said:

they went from this -- wearing cool bondage gear in sea battles -- to getting their asses kicked in the asian jungles by men in pyjamas. 

somewhere along the lines these so called "marines" really lost their way there.

to be fair to my uncle Louis, USMC into the early 60's on SE Asia, used to say, "It's supposed to be humid on the shore over there, we're Marines.  But how in the fuck does it get more humid the farther you travel inland?  

[52-80 19163]

28 minutes ago, Lobo said:

to be fair to my uncle Louis, USMC into the early 60's on SE Asia, used to say, "It's supposed to be humid on the shore over there, we're Marines.  But how in the fuck does it get more humid the farther you travel inland?  

vizzini's classic blunder:  never get involved in a land war in asia using maritime troops

[InkaUtexas 25989]

2 hours ago, Cheeseweasel said:

Proxy war incoming. It's what we do best.

Not sure they will be our proxy. If I was Putin I would support them quietly just to maintain a buffer. Stranger things have happened over there. 

[DDD Dad 14339]

4 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Not sure they will be our proxy. If I was Putin I would support them quietly just to maintain a buffer. Stranger things have happened over there. 

Yeah the Russians have their own concerns with expansive Islamic terrorists/insurgents.  I would think they have a concern of things spilling out towards them and their satellites.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

7 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Not sure they will be our proxy. If I was Putin I would support them quietly just to maintain a buffer. Stranger things have happened over there. 

And we'll support the opposition. As is tradition.

[InkaUtexas 25989]

3 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

And we'll support the opposition. As is tradition.

We are going to lick our wounds for a bit. If we support it will be through a third party like Qatar/UAE. 

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

 

More than 5,000 US troops now in Kabul airport

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

There are now about 5,800 troops at the airport in Kabul, US officials say.

The troops are there to help with evacuation efforts at the airport, which is still under US control.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said today that he'd ordered a total of about 6,000 troops to Kabul.

He expects that number to be reached in the coming days.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-58279900

 

 

[MillerEP 30491]

Anti-Taliban Resistance retook Deh-e-Salah, Banu, and Andarab, and Pul-e-Heser in Baghlan Province:

 

Still a mess at the Airport, NATO forces trying to quiet the crowd, while people in the crowed shoot into the air, presumably to get their attention, when all it does it just scare people more, it is a complete clusterfuck, no organization:

 

In Zabul Province, the Taliban did a parade:

 

[SwAss 105]

Hopefully this is the start of a myriad of uprisings that will stretch the Taliban thin and give the Afghanis some courage to take action and take back their country.  

[dcar00 14269]

someone said it earlier, they probably did get stretched thin in their race to Kabul for the photo op/workout, so there may be opportunity for pockets of resistance. 

Interestingly this might be the perfect time to kick their ass due to no supply lines(thanks Hitler)...

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

6 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

Interestingly this might be the perfect time to kick their ass due to no supply lines(thanks Hitler)...

I've heard if often--our Armed Forced are superior because we are good at moving "Boots and Beans".

[Captainant 27680]

1 minute ago, Cheeseweasel said:

I've heard if often--our Armed Forced are superior because we are good at moving "Boots and Beans".

and bandages! It's how Ike won WWII

[TwiceHorn 31496]

1 minute ago, Cheeseweasel said:

I've heard if often--our Armed Forced are superior because we are good at moving "Boots and Beans".

They are exceptional at logistics.

However, I think the expertise and motivation gets applied to moving things in-theater rather than out.

[MillerEP 30491]

Taliban going door to door hunting for names on their blacklist, which shows that all their promises of amnesty in their press conferences were just a bunch of Bullshit (which we all knew):

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58271797

Afghanistan: Taliban carrying out door-to-door manhunt, report says
10 hours ago
 

In Asadabad, some Afghans protested yesterday and the Taliban opened fire on the crowd, killing several:

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghanistan-edge-after-anti-taliban-protest-east-kabul-calm-airlift-goes-2021-08-19/

 

We also all know the IMF froze all the Taliban's assets, but now all foreign aid which is a huge chunk of the economy has been stopped, so the entire economy has ground to a halt. Experts expect hyperinflation, which will probably cause famine. Those left behind are in for a very very uncomfortable future. 

However, as I predicted earlier, the Taliban is trying to court China:

 

Edited August 20, 2021 by MillerEP

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

 

 

[Parliament 14260]

25 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

someone said it earlier, they probably did get stretched thin in their race to Kabul for the photo op/workout, so there may be opportunity for pockets of resistance. 

Interestingly this might be the perfect time to kick their ass due to no supply lines(thanks Hitler)...

I've wondered that.  Ironically, we could fight them the way we always should have.  But it might be too late for that.  America is done with Afganistan.  

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

Just now, Parliament said:

America is done with Afganistan. 

Americans are done with Afghanistan. Not sure about the CIA...

[Muy Frio 182]

I missed this when it happened.  
 

 

[hayden_horn 11362]

34 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

I've heard if often--our Armed Forced are superior because we are good at moving "Boots and Beans".

it's true of any successful military. it's well illustrated throughout ancient greek and roman texts, and either of the "art of war" books. everyone from sun tzu to machiavelli understood that armies march on their bellies. it's why the romans built so many dang roads.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

44 minutes ago, SwAss said:

Hopefully this is the start of a myriad of uprisings that will stretch the Taliban thin and give the Afghanis some courage to take action and take back their country.  

Afghanis? Country? They’re just tribes fighting for power/land which they will continue to do forever.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

8 minutes ago, Muy Frio said:

I missed this when it happened.  
 

 

It’s because you weren’t there, but it was foretold by The Onion 10 years ago.

[dcar00 14269]

14 minutes ago, Muy Frio said:

I missed this when it happened.  
 

 

holy shit.  you have to be kidding me.

[MillerEP 30491]

^That Bagram report was what the old thread was about, hence it's name about "onion predicting it." I think that thread got moved to CR, not sure I don't go in there.

Looks like the Taliban is cracking down harder on dispersing the crowds at the Airport.

Meanwhile, the rank and file soldiers of the Taliban are telling the truth, while the "spokesman" is still just spouting lies to the press:

 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

36 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Afghanis? Country? They’re just tribes fighting for power/land which they will continue to do forever.

Maybe. They have been hoisting the Afghani flag in many places, so maybe there is some unity.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

3 minutes ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Maybe. They have been hoisting the Afghani flag in many places, so maybe there is some unity.