Afghanistan: that turned out well

[SaintK]

He wasn’t going to leave without the pets. But the staff …

It's in the British psyche. We give the same %age of donations to animal charities as we do children's charities!! And far more to them than disability and homeless charities.
Bonkers!!!

[fishfoodie]

Someone in ITV has a lovely sense of humor.

They're currently showing "Carry On Up The Kyber"

The casting of Sid James as the lecherous Bumblecunt is inspired; but he's a bit too smart; & I can't work out who is Raab ?

[Dogbert]

Someone in ITV has a lovely sense of humor.

They're currently showing "Carry On Up The Kyber"

The casting of Sid James as the lecherous Bumblecunt is inspired; but he's a bit too smart; & I can't work out who is Raab ?

Raab would not be in it - He got the OK from the director that he could stay on holiday rather than turn up for work

[sturginho]

Someone in ITV has a lovely sense of humor.

They're currently showing "Carry On Up The Kyber"

The casting of Sid James as the lecherous Bumblecunt is inspired; but he's a bit too smart; & I can't work out who is Raab ?

Raab would not be in it - He got the OK from the director that he could stay on holiday rather than turn up for work

Death by a thousand cuts! Oh don't worry dear, the British are used to cuts!

[Lobby]

Someone in ITV has a lovely sense of humor.

They're currently showing "Carry On Up The Kyber"

The casting of Sid James as the lecherous Bumblecunt is inspired; but he's a bit too smart; & I can't work out who is Raab ?

Raab would not be in it - He got the OK from the director that he could stay on holiday rather than turn up for work

Raab tells his FCO staff not to bother him again while he’s on holiday

[Thor Sedan]

He wasn’t going to leave without the pets. But the staff …

It's in the British psyche. We give the same %age of donations to animal charities as we do children's charities!! And far more to them than disability and homeless charities.
Bonkers!!!

I'm not sure if that is correct?

[Sandstorm]

He wasn’t going to leave without the pets. But the staff …

It's in the British psyche. We give the same %age of donations to animal charities as we do children's charities!! And far more to them than disability and homeless charities.
Bonkers!!!

I'm not sure if that is correct?

I agree. Brits give more to animal charities than all the rest put together.

[Thor Sedan]

It's in the British psyche. We give the same %age of donations to animal charities as we do children's charities!! And far more to them than disability and homeless charities.
Bonkers!!!

I'm not sure if that is correct?

I agree. Brits give more to animal charities than all the rest put together.

I'm not sure if that is correct.

[SaintK]

He wasn’t going to leave without the pets. But the staff …

It's in the British psyche. We give the same %age of donations to animal charities as we do children's charities!! And far more to them than disability and homeless charities.
Bonkers!!!

I'm not sure if that is correct?

Sorry my mistake.
9% of donations go to childrens charities compared to 8% to animal charities!!!
Donations to homelessness and disabilities are 7% and 4% respectively.

[Sandstorm]

It's in the British psyche. We give the same %age of donations to animal charities as we do children's charities!! And far more to them than disability and homeless charities.
Bonkers!!!

I'm not sure if that is correct?

Sorry my mistake.
9% of donations go to childrens charities compared to 8% to animal charities!!!
Donations to homelessness and disabilities are 7% and 4% respectively.

The other 72% goes to the Tory Party?

[Thor Sedan]

It's in the British psyche. We give the same %age of donations to animal charities as we do children's charities!! And far more to them than disability and homeless charities.
Bonkers!!!

I'm not sure if that is correct?

Sorry my mistake.
9% of donations go to childrens charities compared to 8% to animal charities!!!
Donations to homelessness and disabilities are 7% and 4% respectively.

Well that is shocking - do you have the link to the report for this?

[Openside]

You can't beat a bit of ride of the Valkyries - I am marching round the kitchen

[Openside]

Not only did he leave his Afghan staff behind, and threaten to ‘destroy’ the FO staff given the unenviable task of trying to assist the entitled twat, the likelihood is that most of the animals will have to put down when they arrive here.

It seems unlikely he was responsible for leaving any of his staff behind?

He wasn't - they had visas , Taleban wouldn't let them through. Vaguely dissappointed he opted to go anyway, it slightly contradicts his "we are all in this together" rhetoric...


They whole thing was a bit of a nonsensical sideshow, no one looked good...

[Sandstorm]

Not only did he leave his Afghan staff behind, and threaten to ‘destroy’ the FO staff given the unenviable task of trying to assist the entitled twat, the likelihood is that most of the animals will have to put down when they arrive here.

It seems unlikely he was responsible for leaving any of his staff behind?

He wasn't - they had visas , Taleban wouldn't let them through.

If they had all gone straight to the airport on Monday instead of waiting 2 days while the Egomaniac shouted at the world’s press, the Taliban wouldn’t have had a chance to stop any of them.

[Blackmac]

It seems unlikely he was responsible for leaving any of his staff behind?

He wasn't - they had visas , Taleban wouldn't let them through.

If they had all gone straight to the airport on Monday instead of waiting 2 days while the Egomaniac shouted at the world’s press, the Taliban wouldn’t have had a chance to stop any of them.

The attention seeking prick was on telly this morning. He made a suggestion that the British and Americans had changed the rules for his staff's visas purely to fuck him over. He also made a big play about offering his empty plane to take Afghans out and the authorities had refused. When asked how many empty seats there were on the plane he would only say "several",

[fishfoodie]

He wasn't - they had visas , Taleban wouldn't let them through.

If they had all gone straight to the airport on Monday instead of waiting 2 days while the Egomaniac shouted at the world’s press, the Taliban wouldn’t have had a chance to stop any of them.

The attention seeking prick was on telly this morning. He made a suggestion that the British and Americans had changed the rules for his staff's visas purely to fuck him over. He also made a big play about offering his empty plane to take Afghans out and the authorities had refused. When asked how many empty seats there were on the plane he would only say "several",

Yeah; between this, & the reports of other flights going out half empty, it really shows that the process of clearing Afghans, was what failed; & this is the most damning indictment of Raab et al.

They knew the timetable the shitgibbon signed up to; & they knew the numbers of people involved, & they had been warned of the problems; & he still pissed off on holiday, & removed the people, from Kabul; who could have sped up the process of getting people on planes.

[Flockwitt]

Well, it's finished. And given the speed of the Taliban takeover all you can really say is that the writing has been on the wall for years. It was only a question of when they were going to decide to be seen to publicly "lose".

[fishfoodie]

Well, it's finished. And given the speed of the Taliban takeover all you can really say is that the writing has been on the wall for years. It was only a question of when they were going to decide to be seen to publicly "lose".

I don't think it'll ever be finished; we're just going to go to a new phase.

Now the NATO nations will try & setup a safe railroad for Afghans & their dependents, who got left behind, out of the Country; & then I expect the US, (CIA Actually), to start encouraging friendly tribal groups, into guerilla organizations; that'll carry out attacks on the Taliban, & feed intelligence back to the CIA.

If the CIA is smart; they'll duplicate the way the Viet Cong, & NVA managed to infiltrate every aspect of South Vietnam, & undermine it.

[Flockwitt]

I doubt the US is going to actively target the Taliban if they keep up the friendly face. They'd rather keep the Taliban on side for a while yet given the ISIS splinter groups and other issues with geopolitics vs. China and Russia.

[Sandstorm]

If the CIA is smart; they'll duplicate the way the Viet Cong, & NVA managed to infiltrate every aspect of South Vietnam, & undermine it.

The CIA is not smart. They're stupid, arrogant cunts who should stay the fuck out of Afghanistan this time. They won't and they'll get busted in the press within a year and made to look even more stupid.

[tc27]

The new phase is to persuade the Taliban through carrot and stick not to allow ISIS or AQ to openly operate in the territory they control.

[assfly]

The new phase is to persuade the Taliban through carrot and stick not to allow ISIS or AQ to openly operate in the territory they control.

It's been interesting watching various world leaders insist that the Taliban adhere to world norms and respect human rights. They couldn't be doing it from a weaker position or with any less credibility. As if the Taliban give a fuck about any of those things.

[I like neeps]

RAF launching airstrikes against ISIS in Afghanistan. What is the difference between war and air strikes?

[tc27]

The new phase is to persuade the Taliban through carrot and stick not to allow ISIS or AQ to openly operate in the territory they control.

It's been interesting watching various world leaders insist that the Taliban adhere to world norms and respect human rights. They couldn't be doing it from a weaker position or with any less credibility. As if the Taliban give a fuck about any of those things.

I think the more perceptive Taliban leaders will realise there ui a window were they can offer some minor concessions and guarantees and in return get the massive benefits of becoming the recognised legitimate government with the diplomatic and trade advantages this brings. Also the US/NATO whilst no longer on the ground can life very dangerous and difficult using air/drone strikes

[Jock42]

4 US Marines killed and 3 injured

Interested to know from a military person how Boris’ comments will go down.

“It’s not going to interrupt our progress”

“There was always going to be vulnerabilities to terrorist attacks, but I’m afraid it is something we have to be prepared for”

Sounds a bit General Melchett to me, but maybe you just accept that as part of the job

It grates a bit when you're down range but it's the truth. Don't get issued an SA80 and Virtus body armour for nothing.

[Slick]

The new phase is to persuade the Taliban through carrot and stick not to allow ISIS or AQ to openly operate in the territory they control.

It's been interesting watching various world leaders insist that the Taliban adhere to world norms and respect human rights. They couldn't be doing it from a weaker position or with any less credibility. As if the Taliban give a fuck about any of those things.

I think the more perceptive Taliban leaders will realise there ui a window were they can offer some minor concessions and guarantees and in return get the massive benefits of becoming the recognised legitimate government with the diplomatic and trade advantages this brings. Also the US/NATO whilst no longer on the ground can life very dangerous and difficult using air/drone strikes

I don't think they are going to give too much of a fuck about the US and NATO. Russia and China will be all over them making deals to ensure security and using their veto's at the UN. They will let them get on with it as long as it doesn't overspill their borders.

[Sinkers]

The new phase is to persuade the Taliban through carrot and stick not to allow ISIS or AQ to openly operate in the territory they control.

It's been interesting watching various world leaders insist that the Taliban adhere to world norms and respect human rights. They couldn't be doing it from a weaker position or with any less credibility. As if the Taliban give a fuck about any of those things.

I think the more perceptive Taliban leaders will realise there ui a window were they can offer some minor concessions and guarantees and in return get the massive benefits of becoming the recognised legitimate government with the diplomatic and trade advantages this brings. Also the US/NATO whilst no longer on the ground can life very dangerous and difficult using air/drone strikes

They only need to be recognised by China and her sidekicks to get all the infrastructure and trade they want with no mention of human rights or similar.
They really don’t need the west lecturing them on anything in return for trade/ investment

[SaintK]

I'm not sure if that is correct?

Sorry my mistake.
9% of donations go to childrens charities compared to 8% to animal charities!!!
Donations to homelessness and disabilities are 7% and 4% respectively.

Well that is shocking - do you have the link to the report for this?

Charities Aid Foundation 2019 report
Think its this one
https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default ... a29a40_4

[Paddington Bear]

Yeah not sure what the Taliban need now from the West that they can't get on more generous terms from the Russians or Chinese. We've lost, time to move on.

[Thor Sedan]

Sorry my mistake.
9% of donations go to childrens charities compared to 8% to animal charities!!!
Donations to homelessness and disabilities are 7% and 4% respectively.

Well that is shocking - do you have the link to the report for this?

Charities Aid Foundation 2019 report
Think its this one
https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default ... a29a40_4

OK - but on the pie chart in that report it shows 1 section just for animal welfare - and 13 sections devoted to various 'human' orientated charities.

Wouldn't that suggest that animal charities get about 8% (according to the pie chart) of the total pot where 'human' based charities get around 80% - just that it is spread over a greater number of needs?

Split the animal welfare into similar subsections - rehoming animals, wildlife sanctuary's, medical aide, cat and dog homes, RSPCA etc etc etc. I'm sure that cat and dog homes receive far less funding than say children charities.

Or am I interpreting that wrong?

[GogLais]

RAF launching airstrikes against ISIS in Afghanistan.

From where? Re the general situation I don’t think it’s the British Army’s job to facilitate women’s education or gay rights anywhere in the world. What is shameful is that we led Afghans to believe that these things were possible, they behaved accordingly and now we’ve cleared off and left them to face the shit.

[tc27]

Yeah not sure what the Taliban need now from the West that they can't get on more generous terms from the Russians or Chinese. We've lost, time to move on.

The price of even basic diplomatic recognition/no airstrikes from the West is not to openly allow ISIS/AQ to base themselves in Afgan and I think it will happen. They can do this whilst remaining a hardcore Sharia state.

[tc27]

RAF launching airstrikes against ISIS in Afghanistan.

From where? Re the general situation I don’t think it’s the British Army’s job to facilitate women’s education or gay rights anywhere in the world. What is shameful is that we led Afghans to believe that these things were possible, they behaved accordingly and now we’ve cleared off and left them to face the shit.

Yes and even when HMG did think it was the armies job they weren't prepared to invest the resources it required to hold a single province.

[SaintK]

Well that is shocking - do you have the link to the report for this?

Charities Aid Foundation 2019 report
Think its this one
https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default ... a29a40_4

OK - but on the pie chart in that report it shows 1 section just for animal welfare - and 13 sections devoted to various 'human' orientated charities.

Wouldn't that suggest that animal charities get about 8% (according to the pie chart) of the total pot where 'human' based charities get around 80% - just that it is spread over a greater number of needs?

Split the animal welfare into similar subsections - rehoming animals, wildlife sanctuary's, medical aide, cat and dog homes, RSPCA etc etc etc. I'm sure that cat and dog homes receive far less funding than say children charities.

Or am I interpreting that wrong?

I read it as shown on the chart and didn't add all "human" orientated charity donations together
I guess you could split the animal charities down into subsections as well but it would still add up to 8% to the animal charities and the CAF still quote 9% to children charities.
Mind boggling!!!

[Slick]

Yeah not sure what the Taliban need now from the West that they can't get on more generous terms from the Russians or Chinese. We've lost, time to move on.

The price of even basic diplomatic recognition/no airstrikes from the West is not to openly allow ISIS/AQ to base themselves in Afgan and I think it will happen. They can do this whilst remaining a hardcore Sharia state.

True, but that will be the same basic requirement of Russia and China

[Jock42]

Pulling the last troops out is going to be a delicate operation - presumably the yanks will have to be last out as they probably are the only ones with enough helicopters to get everyone out with the runway overwhelmed.

Thankfully seems to have gone off without a hitch.

Bet this bloke arse was still twitching a bit though

Screenshot_20210901-175257_Instagram.jpg (212.95 KiB) Viewed 2004 times

[tc27]

Yeah fair play I suspect the Taliban had were controlling the perimeter at this point.

[Flockwitt]

Yeah fair play I suspect the Taliban had were controlling the perimeter at this point.

The Taliban were controlling the perimeter the entire time. That this didn't turn into bloodbath some minor miracle. The howling of the western media completely disconnected from the reality of the situation. You're talking about an enemy you've droned killed for 20 years FFS. And they let the US walk out. The handwringers and finger pointers need to go to the US negotiator and say... thank you very much for a job well done.

[Margin__Walker]

Yeah fair play I suspect the Taliban had were controlling the perimeter at this point.

The Taliban were controlling the perimeter the entire time. That this didn't turn into bloodbath some minor miracle. The howling of the western media completely disconnected from the reality of the situation. You're talking about an enemy you've droned killed for 20 years FFS. And they let the US walk out. The handwringers and finger pointers need to go to the US negotiator and say... thank you very much for a job well done.

It's in the Taliban's interest to let them go without a hitch. I assume they will have agreed the precise time in advance etc.

They are on a little bit of a PR campaign to look credible on the world stage and attacking any tail elements of the US forces as they left would only have brought punitive strikes down on themselves. They've already won, so it would serve no purpose for them.

[Flockwitt]

Yeah fair play I suspect the Taliban had were controlling the perimeter at this point.

The Taliban were controlling the perimeter the entire time. That this didn't turn into bloodbath some minor miracle. The howling of the western media completely disconnected from the reality of the situation. You're talking about an enemy you've droned killed for 20 years FFS. And they let the US walk out. The handwringers and finger pointers need to go to the US negotiator and say... thank you very much for a job well done.

It's in the Taliban's interest to let them go without a hitch. I assume they will have agreed the precise time in advance etc.

They are on a little bit of a PR campaign to look credible on the world stage and attacking any tail elements of the US forces as they left would only have brought punitive strikes down on themselves. They've already won, so it would serve no purpose for them.

Yep, it was managed with the Taliban, negotiating with and legitimizing them. That was the way it had to be.

But can you imagine what would have happened if the US had back tracked? If they hadn't got out? If Biden had torn up the general agreement Trump was working towards? I've yet to see anybody paint a credible picture of what an alternative was to the current situation.