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Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Thu May 23, 2019 12:58 pm
by $iljanus
Holman wrote:Has Trump called for Lindh's re-arrest and execution yet?
He'll probably use his release to justify the pardoning one of the war criminals, I mean true American heroes mentioned in one of the threads.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Fri May 24, 2019 12:04 am
by Drazzil
Holman wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2017 9:37 pm link
Afganistan. The graveyard of empires.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:19 am
by Isgrimnur
WaPo
The Trump administration is preparing to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan in exchange for concessions from the Taliban, including a cease-fire and a renunciation of al-Qaeda, as part of an initial deal to end the nearly 18-year-old war, U.S. officials say.

The agreement, which would require the Taliban to begin negotiating a larger peace deal directly with the Afghan government, could cut the number of American troops in the country from roughly 14,000 to between 8,000 and 9,000, the officials said. That number would be nearly the same as when President Trump took office.

The plan has taken shape after months of negotiations between the Taliban and Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born American diplomat who was appointed by the Trump administration last year to jump-start talks. Officials said an agreement could be finalized ahead of the Afghan presidential election in September, though they cautioned that Taliban leaders could delay and that significant challenges remain.

The proposal is likely to be viewed skeptically by some U.S. and Afghan officials who question the Taliban’s honesty and wonder how the United States can verify whether Taliban leaders are following through. But if approved, it would be one of the most significant steps toward ending the war, a goal that increasingly has bipartisan support.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 2:05 pm
by tjg_marantz
Atta boy Kushner!

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2019 12:36 am
by Kraken
How Trump screws up his own Afghanistan policy.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the U.S. war in Afghanistan keep hitting a major roadblock: his own proclamations that he wants to get out.

Trump has repeatedly made it known he wants to remove all U.S. troops from the 18-year-old Afghan conflict, a topic he returned to Friday afternoon as his advisers briefed him on the status of peace talks with the Taliban.

But his public statements and leaks of his closed-door demands have weakened the hand of his negotiators by making it clear just how desperately the president wants a deal, according to multiple current and former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the deliberations.
The Taliban know that Trump has a hard deadline of Nov. '20. Why would they give up anything of substance?

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2019 11:16 am
by Jaymann
The Art of Mucking Up the Deal.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:08 pm
by gameoverman
Kraken wrote: Sat Aug 17, 2019 12:36 amThe Taliban know that Trump has a hard deadline of Nov. '20. Why would they give up anything of substance?
The Taliban live there, they aren't going anywhere. That fact alone would be reason enough to not give up anything substantial. With an election coming up it's like the gods are smiling down on them. This is going to be their year. Still, it's not over until it's over. Not that long ago I would have found it unbelievable that in 2019 our efforts in Afghanistan were not yet resolved. And yet here we are AND Donald Trump is President, so really, is any kind of crazy outcome off the table? No.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 9:52 pm
by Kraken
The Taliban knew they would eventually win the long game, as insurgencies usually do against invaders from the other side of the world. Leaving Afghanistan is long overdue; our mission arguably ended there when bin Laden went down. How many Americans have died since then, and for what?

Would Obama have gotten a cleaner ending? Would Clinton have? That's purely rhetorical since we haven't seen Trump's curtain yet. Whatever the particulars, you can bet that it will end with a victory dance -- the greatest American victory since the Revolution!

(Assuming Trump can really end it, that is.)

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:31 am
by Grifman
I am surprised we did not learn the lesson of Vietnam. At first the Bush admin put the fear of God into the Paki's but over time that fear vanished. Our efforts were doomed the moment Pakistan decided to support and give safe havens to the Taliban. Under those circumstances the Taliban can always control the pace of combat - when losses get too
high, they can retreat, recover, rearm, etc.. You can never defeat an insurgency when they have safe havens that they can retreat to when pressured.

We should have given an ultimatum to Pakistan - stop supporting the Taliban or we will attack over the border. In addition we end all military and economic support and will implement crippling sanctions on your country. We will support India instead of you. Give them a stark choice. We needed to stop thinking of them as a supposed "ally".

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:34 am
by tjg_marantz
Paki's...

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:48 am
by stessier
Grifman wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:31 am I am surprised we did not learn the lesson of Vietnam. At first the Bush admin put the fear of God into the Paki's but over time that fear vanished. Our efforts were doomed the moment Pakistan decided to support and give safe havens to the Taliban. Under those circumstances the Taliban can always control the pace of combat - when losses get too
high, they can retreat, recover, rearm, etc.. You can never defeat an insurgency when they have safe havens that they can retreat to when pressured.

We should have given an ultimatum to Pakistan - stop supporting the Taliban or we will attack over the border. In addition we end all military and economic support and will implement crippling sanctions on your country. We will support India instead of you. Give them a stark choice. We needed to stop thinking of them as a supposed "ally".
They have nuclear weapons and are no friend of India. That would seem to be a dangerous game to play.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:17 am
by Isgrimnur
Grifman wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:31 amPaki's
Wiki
Paki is a racial slur typically used towards people of Pakistani descent, but can also be used to refer to Pakistani people in general.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:53 am
by tjg_marantz
Isgrimnur wrote:
Grifman wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:31 amPaki's
Wiki
Paki is a racial slur typically used towards people of Pakistani descent, but can also be used to refer to Pakistani people in general.
I'll quote the rest to really drive home the point :)

Paki is a racial slur typically used towards people of Pakistani descent, but can also be used to refer to Pakistani people in general.[1][2][3] The term is also oftentimes indiscriminately directed towards people of perceived South Asian descent.[4] The slur is used mainly by certain Europeans and even North Americans to refer to anyone resembling South Asian descent. In more recent usage, the term has been used as a blanket term for all South Asians. A “paki move” is sometimes referred to someone who has initially screwed someone over.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:25 pm
by Grifman
stessier wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:48 am
Grifman wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:31 am I am surprised we did not learn the lesson of Vietnam. At first the Bush admin put the fear of God into the Paki's but over time that fear vanished. Our efforts were doomed the moment Pakistan decided to support and give safe havens to the Taliban. Under those circumstances the Taliban can always control the pace of combat - when losses get too
high, they can retreat, recover, rearm, etc.. You can never defeat an insurgency when they have safe havens that they can retreat to when pressured.

We should have given an ultimatum to Pakistan - stop supporting the Taliban or we will attack over the border. In addition we end all military and economic support and will implement crippling sanctions on your country. We will support India instead of you. Give them a stark choice. We needed to stop thinking of them as a supposed "ally".
They have nuclear weapons and are no friend of India. That would seem to be a dangerous game to play.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:27 pm
by Grifman
stessier wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:48 am
They have nuclear weapons and are no friend of India. That would seem to be a dangerous game to play.
What are they going to do? Use nukes against US troops in Afghanistan? That would be suicide. The point is that Pakistan should have paid a very heavy price, political and economic, for their support of the Taliban. Instead we've let them slide.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:29 pm
by Grifman
Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:17 am
Grifman wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:31 amPaki's
Wiki
Paki is a racial slur typically used towards people of Pakistani descent, but can also be used to refer to Pakistani people in general.
1. I was ignorant of it being a racial slur
2. I was using it as a short hand for Pakistani
3. My use was intended as "can also be used to refer to Pakistani people in general"

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:26 pm
by El Guapo
Grifman wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:27 pm
stessier wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:48 am
They have nuclear weapons and are no friend of India. That would seem to be a dangerous game to play.
What are they going to do? Use nukes against US troops in Afghanistan? That would be suicide. The point is that Pakistan should have paid a very heavy price, political and economic, for their support of the Taliban. Instead we've let them slide.
They could also have decided to get more aggressive in terms of nuclear proliferation.

But maybe more to the point, attacking across the Pakistani border would be incredibly risky for the U.S. Pakistan would naturally make a big stink about it internationally, which would likely cost the U.S. allies. But more problematic is that any such incursion would necessarily risk combat between U.S. and Pakistani forces. This is by definition risking war with Pakistan, which would further broaden the war (and expand the list of U.S. enemies in the region). It would be domestic political suicide (wait, you're telling me we're now fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, *and* Pakistan?). It would also risk pushing Pakistan into greater support of the Taliban, and also risks the nightmare scenario - destabilizing Pakistan's government, leading to Islamist forces toppling the government (and getting control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal).

Also, I tend to think that the military strategists probably thought of "we should deter Pakistan from supporting our enemies", and likely rejected that plan for a variety of the above reasons.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:53 am
by Grifman
El Guapo wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:26 pm
Grifman wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:27 pm
stessier wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:48 am
They have nuclear weapons and are no friend of India. That would seem to be a dangerous game to play.
What are they going to do? Use nukes against US troops in Afghanistan? That would be suicide. The point is that Pakistan should have paid a very heavy price, political and economic, for their support of the Taliban. Instead we've let them slide.
They could also have decided to get more aggressive in terms of nuclear proliferation.

But maybe more to the point, attacking across the Pakistani border would be incredibly risky for the U.S. Pakistan would naturally make a big stink about it internationally, which would likely cost the U.S. allies. But more problematic is that any such incursion would necessarily risk combat between U.S. and Pakistani forces. This is by definition risking war with Pakistan, which would further broaden the war (and expand the list of U.S. enemies in the region). It would be domestic political suicide (wait, you're telling me we're now fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, *and* Pakistan?). It would also risk pushing Pakistan into greater support of the Taliban, and also risks the nightmare scenario - destabilizing Pakistan's government, leading to Islamist forces toppling the government (and getting control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal).

Also, I tend to think that the military strategists probably thought of "we should deter Pakistan from supporting our enemies", and likely rejected that plan for a variety of the above reasons.
Those are all excellent points. However, historical precedent is with me. After 9/11 and before we invaded Afghanistan, President Bush sent an envoy to President Musharraf of Pakistan. The envoy made a number of demands of Pakistan and basically told him, "You're either for us or against us". Pakistan folded, and I think they would fold again because I don't see anything has changed over there that would have them make a different decision.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:03 pm
by Zarathud
Bush convinced Pakistan to fold because they knew a Bush administration was going to conduct military operations and get a coalition against any opponents.

Trump can’t even make up his mind about imposing American sanctions, doesn’t want to engage the world and has no friends. Plus, Trump has no diplomatic skills. Trump can say whatever he wants but the Orange Puppet has no credibility or leverage.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2019 11:24 pm
by Grifman
Zarathud wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:03 pm Bush convinced Pakistan to fold because they knew a Bush administration was going to conduct military operations and get a coalition against any opponents.

Trump can’t even make up his mind about imposing American sanctions, doesn’t want to engage the world and has no friends. Plus, Trump has no diplomatic skills. Trump can say whatever he wants but the Orange Puppet has no credibility or leverage.
I am not speaking specifically about Trump, I know he's incompetent.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:55 pm
by El Guapo
Grifman wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:53 am
El Guapo wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:26 pm
Grifman wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:27 pm
stessier wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 10:48 am
They have nuclear weapons and are no friend of India. That would seem to be a dangerous game to play.
What are they going to do? Use nukes against US troops in Afghanistan? That would be suicide. The point is that Pakistan should have paid a very heavy price, political and economic, for their support of the Taliban. Instead we've let them slide.
They could also have decided to get more aggressive in terms of nuclear proliferation.

But maybe more to the point, attacking across the Pakistani border would be incredibly risky for the U.S. Pakistan would naturally make a big stink about it internationally, which would likely cost the U.S. allies. But more problematic is that any such incursion would necessarily risk combat between U.S. and Pakistani forces. This is by definition risking war with Pakistan, which would further broaden the war (and expand the list of U.S. enemies in the region). It would be domestic political suicide (wait, you're telling me we're now fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, *and* Pakistan?). It would also risk pushing Pakistan into greater support of the Taliban, and also risks the nightmare scenario - destabilizing Pakistan's government, leading to Islamist forces toppling the government (and getting control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal).

Also, I tend to think that the military strategists probably thought of "we should deter Pakistan from supporting our enemies", and likely rejected that plan for a variety of the above reasons.
Those are all excellent points. However, historical precedent is with me. After 9/11 and before we invaded Afghanistan, President Bush sent an envoy to President Musharraf of Pakistan. The envoy made a number of demands of Pakistan and basically told him, "You're either for us or against us". Pakistan folded, and I think they would fold again because I don't see anything has changed over there that would have them make a different decision.
Did they really fold, though? They agreed to the U.S. demands, but those demands didn't stop Pakistan (or more specifically, Pakistani intelligence services, which are not always super under the control of the Pakistani head of state) from helping the Taliban. I assume the response to any U.S. demands would be similar - "We don't support or help the Taliban! But if you want we'll totally double-up our efforts to make sure that rogue agents within our government are not helping the Taliban. We're good for it!"

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 11:56 am
by Isgrimnur
WaPo
Two NATO service members, including an American, were killed in Kabul on Thursday, military officials said, just days after the top U.S. negotiator said he had reached a peace deal “in principle” with the Taliban.

The U.S. and Romanian soldiers died in a Taliban-claimed car bombing in a heavily fortified part of central Kabul just after 10 a.m., a U.S. military official confirmed. The Ministry of Interior originally said 10 people had died in the attack.

This brings the number of U.S. troops killed in combat in Afghanistan to 16 this year.
...
The Taliban said in a statement that it had targeted a convoy of foreigners.

In footage circulating on social media, a van is seen entering a crowded traffic circle before exploding close to two white SUVs, a number of sedans and some pedestrians, including one who appeared to try to run from the scene just before the bomb detonated. In Kabul, white SUVs are often armored and used by diplomats, military officers and government officials.
...
Under the draft agreement, 5,400 U.S. troops would leave Afghanistan and five U.S. bases would close within about five months, pending President Trump’s approval.

But Afghan officials expressed serious doubts over the pending deal this week, as the militant group claimed responsibility for the second deadly explosion in the capital in less than three days.

Two regional capitals were also attacked by the Taliban this past week.

The Afghan government has been excluded from peace talks with the Taliban, and on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said the Afghan government fears that the deal would have dangerous consequences.
I hope the embassy in Kabul can support helicopters on the roof.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:22 pm
by El Guapo
If the deal happens, when would U.S. troops leave? Politically I would be terrified if I were Trump of actually having troops leave before the end of 2020, because if the Afghan government collapses and you have Saigon-type photos coming over that would be utterly devastating for Trump's reelection. You would think he would want to announce a deal in July / August 2020 that takes effect in summer 2021.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:32 pm
by Jaymann
Fuck politics, get the goddamn troops out.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:53 pm
by El Guapo
Jaymann wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:32 pm Fuck politics, get the goddamn troops out.
I tend to agree, but I'm just trying to understand Trump's perspective. And he obviously cares more about his reelection prospects than the troops (or pretty much anything else).

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 11:27 pm
by Kraken
El Guapo wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:22 pm If the deal happens, when would U.S. troops leave? Politically I would be terrified if I were Trump of actually having troops leave before the end of 2020, because if the Afghan government collapses and you have Saigon-type photos coming over that would be utterly devastating for Trump's reelection. You would think he would want to announce a deal in July / August 2020 that takes effect in summer 2021.
There will still be 8,600 troops there. That's a couple hundred more than when Trump took office. The drawdown will occur over two years. Kind of a half-assed withdrawal...but then, the Taliban aren't conceding anything beyond a pinky-swear to hate terrorists.

The government didn't fall when Obama drew down to 8,400. Granted the Taliban are stronger now, but why should the government collapse at 8,600?

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2019 10:59 am
by LordMortis
El Guapo wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:22 pm If the deal happens, when would U.S. troops leave? Politically I would be terrified if I were Trump of actually having troops leave before the end of 2020, because if the Afghan government collapses and you have Saigon-type photos coming over that would be utterly devastating for Trump's reelection. You would think he would want to announce a deal in July / August 2020 that takes effect in summer 2021.

Do you think so? It seems to me Trump is a test case for if the US is lost or not. What makes Afghanistan any different to those who are still "undecided" voters that tracking toward Trump because they "don't see an alternative." We have plenty of visceral history these last three years.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2019 4:41 pm
by LawBeefaroni
Oops.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike intended to hit an Islamic State (IS) hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians resting after a day's labor in the fields, officials said on Thursday.

The attack on Wednesday night also injured 40 people after accidentally targeting farmers and laborers who had just finished collecting pine nuts at mountainous Wazir Tangi in eastern Nangarhar province, three Afghan officials told Reuters.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2019 11:49 pm
by Kraken
~Victory for democracy! They had an election! Yay!

(Somebody somewhere on the internet proposed using the ~ to indicate sarcasm. Makes sense to me cuz it looks like a sideways S, so let's do that.)

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2019 3:25 pm
by Kraken
After scuttling the last round of negotiations with the Taliban, the US is quietly giving them what they wanted anyway.
In a news conference Monday, the top US commander in Afghanistan, General Austin S. Miller, confirmed that the size of the US force in the country had already quietly dropped by 2,000 over the last year, down to between roughly 12,000 and 13,000.

Other American and Afghan officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the plan, said that the eventual force size could drop to as low as 8,600 — roughly the size of an initial reduction envisioned in a draft agreement with the Taliban before Trump halted peace talks last month. Rather than a formal withdrawal order, they are reducing the force through a gradual process of not replacing troops as they cycle out.
...
The decision to reduce US troops even before a deal with the Taliban means the United States is weakening its hand in future negotiations with the insurgents. And it is likely to mean a significant shift away from the US military’s longstanding mission of training the Afghan military as US officials concentrate on counterterrorism operations, officials said.

Reducing the number of troops ahead of a complete departure from the country was always the most important US bargaining chip in any negotiations with the Taliban to end the long war. But from the start, Trump made it abundantly clear that he wanted out of Afghanistan.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2019 5:14 pm
by Isgrimnur
NBC News
The Pentagon recently began drawing up plans for an abrupt withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan in case President Donald Trump surprises military leaders by ordering an immediate drawdown as he did in Syria, three current and former defense officials said.

The contingency planning is ongoing, the officials said, and includes the possibility that Trump orders all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan within weeks. Officials cautioned, however, that the planning is a precaution and there is currently no directive from the White House to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.

One of the officials called it "prudent planning."

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2019 5:21 pm
by Holman
What are the odds they're not also planning for sudden withdrawal from NATO?

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2019 11:43 am
by Isgrimnur
NPR
Two western hostages held for more than three years by Taliban forces in Afghanistan were freed today in southeastern Zabul province in exchange for three Taliban commanders held by the Kabul government, an Afghan official tells NPR's Diaa Hadid. The official requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the news media.

The Taliban has issued a statement saying they released 10 Afghan soldiers along with the two hostages. The group called the prisoner exchange "a step forward in good-will and confidence building measures" that could help the peace process.

Kevin King, an American, and Timothy Weeks, an Australian, were abducted at gunpoint from a car in 2016 just outside the walls of the American University of Afghanistan, in Kabul. Both worked as teachers at the university.

Last week Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said his government would release three prominent Taliban figures in a deal securing the freedom of King and Weeks.

In an address broadcast on state television, Ghani said he had granted the "conditional release" of three members of the Haqqani network, which is linked to the Taliban.
...
The Taliban figures that were released are Anas Haqqani, Haji Mali Khan and Hafiz Rashid.

Anas Haqqani is the younger brother of the Taliban's deputy leader. He is also the son of the founder of the Haqqani Network, a Sunni Islamist militant organization that's responsible for some of the highest-profile attacks in the Afghan war, including assaults on the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel and the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

He has been in Afghan custody since 2014, when he was arrested in Bahrain, the AP reports.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2019 2:15 pm
by Kraken
Trump drops in on Afghanistan unannounced, leaves confusion in his wake.
KABUL — After abruptly axing nearly a year of delicate peace talks with the Taliban in September, President Trump put the negotiations back on the front burner this week in a similarly jolting fashion by seeming to demand a cease-fire that his negotiators had long concluded was overly ambitious.

Despite a sense of relief at the prospect of resuming talks to end the 18-year conflict, Western diplomats and Taliban leaders were scrambling to figure out whether Trump had suddenly moved the goal posts for negotiations.

They were particularly confused by his remarks, made during an unannounced Thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan, that the United States was once again meeting with the Taliban to discuss a deal but that “we’re saying it has to be a cease-fire.”

Demanding a cease-fire would amount to a big shift in the US position and require a significant new concession from the Taliban — one that Americans have little leverage to extract.
We're already drawing down troops for nothing in return, and the Taliban are winning on the battlefield, so...yeah. Our diplomatic corps must wonder why they even bother going to work anymore. It's not covered here, but a different story I read said that Trump spent half an hour praising himself to the troops and bragging about how we're finally winning now.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2019 8:55 pm
by YellowKing
A buddy of mine's brother was there for the visit. He said Trump's hands were tiny, trembling, and crusty. So......ewwwww....

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2020 11:52 am
by Max Peck
Images coming from Ghazni clearly show the remains of a USAF E-11A BACN aircraft.
A U.S. Air Force’s E-11A BACN (Battlefield Airborne Communications Node) crashed during the morning on Jan. 27, 2020 in Afghanistan. The mishap happened in the Taliban-controlled area in Dih Yak, Ghazni. Early reports identified the jet as a passenger aircraft from Ariana Afghan Airlines, but the company immediately denied the reports.

In the meantime, however, photos and videos emerged on social media showed the remains of what clearly seems to be E-11A BACN, serial 11-9358. The tail section and the engines seem to be pretty intact in the video, with recognizable USAF roundels on the engine and the serial code on the vertical stabilizer. The rest of the fuselage and the cockpit burned up following the crash.


Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2020 12:27 pm
by malchior

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2020 2:21 pm
by Max Peck
The Taliban spokesman who claimed credit for the downing used interesting language in his statement.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed on Twitter that an “enemy intelligence aircraft” crashed. However, he subsequently told The Washington Post that “our mujahideen [fighters] tactically crashed the plane.” He did not explain what tactics were purportedly used to bring down the plane.

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:52 pm
by Freyland
The Chinese getting deniable field testing of their lasers?

Re: Win, Lose, or Draw in Afghanistan?

Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2020 4:00 pm
by LawBeefaroni
Unless it was very near takeoff or landing it wasn't Taliban mujahideen. That thing operates above 35K feet.