Taliban sweep across Afghanistan's south; take 4 more cities

The US government, tax payers have pumped over $80 billion into the economic/security policy to prop up a moderate Afghan regime.

Donald Trump attempted a unique approach, that soon become clear the extremists are impossible to negotiate with, a form of extreme Islamic ideological fundamentalism will always take president.

In reality, the only option is to confront this form of Islam Ideology, consolidate, hold, complete occupation indefinitely, whilst at the same time, snuffing out the Islamic extremists. It will take patience and time.

The global community will have to share the costs.

US must not have to bear the burden alone.

an organized and properly scheduled withdrawal would have already dealt with these sensitive items before the Taliban was 30 mins drive away. total failure.

burn everything and then run. Great projection of “power” from Biden.

The Washington Post and CNN first reported that an internal memo from embassy leadership told staff to use incinerators, disintegrators and “burn bins” within the compound to destroy “sensitive material.” 

The memo also reportedly said to destroy “embassy or agency logos, American flags, or items which could be misused in propaganda efforts.”

I can agree with WHAT you do.

while pointing out that the nonsensical HOW and WHEN you do it is causing the whole thing to be a disaster.

Joe Biden owns the failure of the when and the how. The what was fine.

Interesting how many Trump supporters here are breaking with him and siding with Liz Cheney and Mitch McConnell...

Trump was very clear where he stood on Afghanistan and the "endless wars";

*Though the former President offered his support of President Joe Biden's plans to bring home American troops, he urged his successor to draw an end to America's longest war well before the September 11 deadline that Biden set last week. Trump said that leaving Afghanistan is "a wonderful and positive thing to do," *

First they refuse the "Trump vaccine" and say he's spreading medical misinformation....now they disagree with him that leaving Afghanistan is "wonderful"....

It appears the Emperor is losing his clothes...

Bidens Saigon moment.

Nixons botched Vietname withdrawal gave the world the boat people, and Obamas botched Irak withdrawal gave the world ISIS.

And here we go again.... yep, like the Biden regimes slogan says: America (i.e. the swamp) is back.

They just keep on posting these stories of American failure.

@GdTokyo

we’re not losing. We’re quitting

Semantics. Quitting for no obvious reason, at your free will, nobody forced you to leave? Fancy words can help you feel better, they won't help to camouflage the harsh reality.

It's bewildering how ineffective and futile all the American efforts were. The Soviets in 80s fared very much better. They built not just military bases, but also hospitals and schools, they tried to build a more or less working economy. What economy the Americans have helped to build, apart from the thriving opium production? After the Soviet withdrawal the government of Najibullah managed to survive for about three years without any foreign help. The present Kabul regime is crumbling even before the U.S. finishes its withdrawal. It would be a miracle if the present Kabul regime survives till the winter.

Wasted no time and here we are.

Trump warned Biden not to break the deal with the Taliban to withdraw by May 1st.

Biden immediately broke the deal

This is the end-result of continuity of policy from the previous administration.

No, this is the result of the Bush/Obama administration going in, not leaving, prolonging the war and focus too much on nation building.

We couldn’t stay forever, so Trump set a deadline and Biden followed through.

But at least Trump and Pompeo wanted a residual force, Biden did what Obama did to Iraq with NO residual force and here we are once again.

The US should have been in Afghanistan for 1 reason, Bin Laden. That's a job for 20 SpecOps teams, not thousands and thousands of troops.

The US didn't learn from Russia. Afghans are stubborn, just like most people who see a foreign military as an invasion force. Winning hearts and minds by building hospitals and schools when the religious fundamentalists had educated people was never going to stand as long as the religious fundamentalists can just fade into the crowd without any penalty.

Countries that are ruled by religion are doomed to superstitious decisions. Not science. Not facts.

One thing I'm sure about is Afghanistan will never be democratic even if other democratic countries try to change.

Afghanistan as a nation will not exist for long, the country is too divided to function and will break up under different factions.

The barbarism of taliban will not last long, thry will end up fighting amongst themselves and there will be an intervention soon.

**Q:* Mr. President, *some Vietnamese veterans see echoes of their experience in this withdrawal in Afghanistan. Do you see any parallels between this withdrawal and what happened in Vietnam, with some people feeling —

*THE PRESIDENT***:  None whatsoever. Zero. What you had is — you had entire brigades breaking through the gates of our embassy — six, if I’m not mistaken.**

The Taliban is not the south — the North Vietnamese army. They’re not — they’re not remotely comparable in terms of capability. There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of a embassy in the — of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable.

Biden also said that day, “the likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.”

Joe Biden said what is happening was “highly unlikely”.

No he wasn’t, he was clueless about Afghanistan.

Not really, at least he did listen to Pompeo, Patreus, Flynn, McMaster and Biden listened to the same old Democrats and GOP establishment fools that wanted to stay in that country indefinitely.

He released 5000 prisoners and got nothing in return. And those 5000 are out there killing innocents.

And now Biden has on the other hand let loose a fell million Taliban jihadist and decided to run and we got even less, not to mention we left our equipment over there for the Chinese and the Russians to exploit.

Unlike donald, Biden has a foreign policy !

Sorry, even the most liberal news sites are now calling this a black watershed moment of idiocy and lack of thought and preparation that will haunt and reverberate for decades smearing this administration and it’s all unfolding in real time as we speak. Keep the focus on Biden, he’s the one in office and he was the one that is making this call. Deal with it, the nation is and the veterans are.

@ulysses

One thing I'm sure about is Afghanistan will never be democratic even if other democratic countries try to change that. Afghans will stay in 1000 years ago and ever. Right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable thing that is Afghan leaders decide, not the US or not others.

The biggest problem IMHO is that the vast majority of Afghan people are unwilling to shed blood for their own country. Twenty years of western training and equipment has not changed this. The Afghan Air Force STILL relies on outside contractors to do maintenance on their planes! The Military Industrial Complex has shovelled billions of dollars worth of quality equipment to a country where it will just be used by the enemy. This is a fiasco that needed to end years ago. Once BinLaden was killed, there was no reason to stay in the area except hubris and political expediency.

Maybe this is a bit personal to me because I have family members in the military who both served there (one was shot 3 times but survived). I cannot see how one more drop of blood or dollar of support is called for.

As I said before, Afghanistan is one of Islamic countries, they have own rule for thousands of years

We were burning heretics, witches and anyone we didn’t agree with us, at stakes 500 years ago, doesn’t justify doing that today, So the argument that the taliban can stone people to death for adultery because it was acceptable 1000 years ago is wrong.

Adultery, different religion, revealing face, education for women,,,,,,, these are against their own rule and religion. If they broke it, be killed. 

That is despicable, I feel sorry for people whose brains are still stuck in caves!!!

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday praised withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan...

Though the former President offered his support of President Joe Biden's plans to bring home American troops, he urged his successor to draw an end to America's longest war well before the September 11 deadline that Biden set last week. Trump said that while leaving Afghanistan is "a wonderful and positive thing to do," he had set a May 1 withdrawal deadline and added that "we should keep as close to that schedule as possible."

"I wish Joe Biden wouldn't use September 11 as the date to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan, for two reasons. First, we can and should get out earlier. Nineteen years is enough, in fact, far too much and way too long," Trump said, adding: "September 11 represents a very sad event and period for our Country and should remain a day of reflection and remembrance honoring those great souls we lost."

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/18/politics/trump-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal/index.html

Sure sounds like he's all behind the drawdown...want's us out even faster than Biden...

How many Trump supporters here still agree with him?

Yeah, he did, he was always specific about that,

No he wasn’t, he was clueless about Afghanistan.

He released 5000 prisoners and got nothing in return. And those 5000 are out there killing innocents.

No, I wouldn’t and like Bob Gates said to that point: I think he's been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." 

Unlike donald, Biden has a foreign policy ! He will get some right and others not, but he is doing something!!!

Partisan bickering aside, this almighty mess was started by Bush 2 and his neocons and Obama,

Very true.

Trump and Biden have had to deal with it. All three presidents since Bush 2 can be criticised and partisans will home in on their particular target. 

I never disputed that.

There is no argument, the human right violations, against women and young girl is truly horrifying, and shocking.

Taliban Islamic extremists, despise every democratic value, every basic human right that western societies take for granted.

Afghanistan will again develop into a hot bed of terrorism, soon to be directed on your towns and cities.

As Taliban Offensive Escalates, Afghanistan at Dangerous Turning Point, Special Representative Warns Security Council amid Calls for Ceasefire, Aid Access

Permanent Representative Recommends Joint Session with Human Rights Council, as Military Advance Exacts Record Civilian Casualties

https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/sc14596.doc.htm

Read the statements from the independent observers

Shaharzad Akbar, Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said the ongoing storm of atrocities is costing lives and spreading terror, pushing the possibility of peace further away. Gains made are under attack and rapidly shrinking, she said, adding that the rights of women and girls, including access to education, markets and basic health services, are diminishing. Access to information and the freedom of expression is equally concerning, as independent media in the provinces is shut down, she said.

“This is not a civil war, but a war of criminalized and terrorist networks fought on the backs of Afghans,”

@Bass

Partisan bickering aside, this almighty mess was started by Bush 2 and his neocons and Obama, Trump and Biden have had to deal with it. All three presidents since Bush 2 can be criticised and partisans will home in on their particular target.

By the way, do you and your unnamed non-partisan historians still regard Bush 2 as a successful president?

I am unhappy many more innocent Afghans will die in the coming months, for crimes like adultery, following another religion, revealing their face in public, or even going to school.

As I said before, Afghanistan is one of Islamic countries, they have own rule for thousands of years. As long as they are following the rule, they will be not killed. The US has affected their rule and culture for decades. Adultery, different religion, revealing face, education for women,,,,,,, these are against their own rule and religion. If they broke it, be killed. The US should have stayed away from such Arabic/Islamic countries if even dictatorship regimes asked a big help from the US.

No he didn’t,

Yeah, he did, he was always specific about that, he wanted all the troops to come home and he and Pompeo believed a small contingency force would be enough for a limited time to keep our embassy safe, he and all the generals knew even the ones that were against the pullout that at least if you’re going to go that route that you need to do it incrementally and Biden didn’t.

As I said earlier, don’t let facts get in your way.

No, I wouldn’t and like Bob Gates said to that point: I think he's been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." 

Would he be an effective commander-in-chief?

ROBERT GATES: I-- I don't know. I don't know. I-- I think I stand by that statement. He and I agreed on some key issues in the Obama administration. We disagreed significantly on Afghanistan and some other issues. I think that the vice president had some issues with the military.

4 decades and I remember all of them and Gates is 110% correct. Biden pushed it, he got what he wanted and now we’re in a real big….mess would be the cleanest word I can use on JT.

I do not agree with Biden’s withdrawal, and I don’t let petty politics cloud my judgement!!!

God, I hope so.

So, we have two teams here....

On one hand, you have the NEOCONs - all Repubs - Liz Cheney, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, et al. They believe we should remain in Afghanistan and actually increase our troop presence there - and continue the fight against the Taliban...

On the other side are Trump and Biden, who think it's time to bring the troops home. That we've spent too much blood and treasure on a country that just doesn't want democracy - but prefers tribalism.

So, who's side are the Trump supporters here on?

The taliban are a bunch of barbarians driven by medieval mindedness and a poor understanding of their religion. It’ll not be long before they start plotting attacks on America.

We are growing our own Taliban who would do to America what America claims the Taliban will do to Afghanistan. Given what WE have done to Afghanistan, it's difficult to say that ANYONE could be worse.

Burning Bush, if you believe that, you should go live there. I know people who have just escaped from Afghanistan.

The rats ALWAYS leave their sinking ship when the people finally have had enough of them as we have seen with the Shah's people many of whom have landed in America and still think Reza Pahlavi was a great beneficent KING and the Savak just a bunch of good guys. Batista of Cuba, organized crime's great friend's sycophants took over parts of Florida when they were ousted by Fidel. Idi Amin and company to Saudi Arabia (where else?).

We didn’t lose. We were in a stalemate. Much like Korea. What does Korea look like today? Yes. It took time. No, it wasn’t always perfect. But today, Seoul is a beacon of democracy and capitalism while the North is a bad joke.

Are you sure "Beacon of Capitalism" is something you want to say out loud? Corporate, the most familiar form of capitalism is also the most pure form of psychopathy we have an example of.

Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir could have been that force.

If he truly was a man of good character, then American leaders would have despised him. Naw, America likes compliant tools and men of good character are rarely that.

History will repeat itself again!!!

'Deja vue all over again'...we have a roughly five thousand year written case history of Human group behavior. If we remove the trivia of names, dates, and places, we will see that we have THE SAME BEHAVIOR over and over and over again with nary a difference except maybe for the number of people brutally murdered in any turn in this continuous cycle of Empire. And this behavior was fully mature when written history began so probably developed many thousands of years before. We're stuck. NOTHING CHANGES. This is our species specific behavior much as ducks migrate in the Fall and Spring and cattle eat grass and warm our atmosphere. So, yeah, history WILL repeat itself again, if history actually has a future from now...

The Taliban would never be able to accomplish so much without the support of the Afghan people, so whatever the rest of the world think of them or try to paint a dark image of them turned out to be a LIE.

They very probably have the support of some of the Afghan people. I saw a Pew poll which showed almost universal support for a country ruled under Sharia. Execution for apostasy and blasphemy remained on the books even after the Taliban was ousted. The constitution of Afghanistan is a theocratic document.

That said, other Islamic countries have theocratic barbarism on the books but don’t go as far as the Taliban. There are different interpretations of Sharia ( non good as far as I can see but some less barbaric than others ). I don’t know how you can come to the conclusion that the Taliban have large support among the people or are not ‘dark’. Afghanistan is a poorly developed, tribal society. It’s not as simple as the Taliban versus the rest of Afghan society.

Dont even go there,

Oh let’s go there. Biden’s decision is mistaken by all means. But at least he didn’t do it (Syria, cough cough) for completely transactional purposes.

Dont even go there, Trump wanted to do a slow and incremental withdrawal and not ceding the country to the Taliban in one lump sum.

No he didn’t, he was essentially ready to hand over Afghanistan to the taliban without consulting our own military or even the Afghan government.

And Biden will have blood all over his hands for this. Leave we should have, been saying it for years, 

As I said earlier, don’t let facts get in your way. Donald’s drastic troop reduction has paved the way for what is happening today.

I do not agree with Biden’s withdrawal, and I don’t let petty politics cloud my judgement!!!

It sounds like America loves war.

Your hat for America is loud and clear.

"Here we are!!" is like US cavalry against American Indians.

How? Care to expand a bit more.

Are you happy about Afghanistan is 2nd Vietnam. Many soldiers and people died there in vain.

I am unhappy so many soldiers died , I am unhappy many more innocent Afghans will die in the coming months, for crimes like adultery, following another religion, revealing their face in public, or even going to school.

It seems to me America is cursed by wars.

The world is cursed by violence, don’t let hatred for America block your view of the world.

It's rather ironic that on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Taliban are going to be right back where it started.

If the taliban had handed over bin laden and his buddies, probably not. Thry didn’t and here we are!!!

It sounds like America loves war. "Here we are!!" is like US cavalry against American Indians. Are you happy about Afghanistan is 2nd Vietnam. Many soldiers and people died there in vain. It seems to me America is cursed by wars.

When donald suddenly reduced troops, negotiated with taliban, giving them everything they asked and getting nothing in return, he set in motion the collapse that is happening today.

Dont even go there, Trump wanted to do a slow and incremental withdrawal and not ceding the country to the Taliban in one lump sum. I wanted out and thought Trump should get us out and to his credit Obama was planting the seeds to start a withdrawal even though it was his idea to shift the troops from Iraq to go into Afghanistan. Biden owns this, he had the absolute nerve to insinuate that the Afghan military outnumber and can take on the Taliban and he said that with a straight face. Every single person that is rational knows that was the biggest and worst lie ever told. After 20 years the Afghan forces were slow, extremely hard to train, many had problems of military training retention, this was just overall bad all around politically. He and even Kirby are downplaying this as if this is not a real problem and the Afghanis will be ok, dismissing the power, the speed and determination of the Taliban to wanting to turn that country into an Islamic Sharia run country.

The taliban are a bunch of barbarians driven by medieval mindedness and a poor understanding of their religion. It’ll not be long before they start plotting attacks on America.

And Biden will have blood all over his hands for this. Leave we should have, been saying it for years, Biden was right to make the move, how he made the move though was reckless and irresponsible and will have enormous and devastating consequences because of that and I pray we can get as many people as out as we possibly can. There are already reports of women being burned alive and a few that aided Americans that are being brutally murdered. This is like the fall of Saigon all over again and it didn’t have to end like this. We even left our equipment in the haste and for what? So that they can use them or sell them to the Chinese or even Russians and Iranians? There’s a lot of technology in there that these countries would desperately and greatly want. This just all so bad and one of the worst nightmares ever. Disgusting! Let’s just hope we can get all these people out before Kabul falls.

Not one mask being worn in any of the photos. The only thing that will stop the Taliban is Covid 19

Even tribes and neighboring countries in Afghanistan were fighting each other sometimes, but the US had nothing to do with their troubles.

Doesn’t make sense, the US has had involvement in Pakistan, Iran and most of the countries in that region.

It is very natural women has no education in Islamic countries whatever you say about it. They have own rules there for thousands of years

Women in Iran, a neighboring country and essentially a theocracy have high levels of education. So there are no rules to keep women down, it’s a few medieval minded savages doing so.

The US did NOT have to send US soldiers at all to Afghanistan in the first place

If the taliban had handed over bin laden and his buddies, probably not. Thry didn’t and here we are!!!

This is a big mistake from the beginning.

The mistake was in giving arms to these savages to fight the Soviets, that I agree.

@ulysses

Even tribes and neighboring countries in Afghanistan were fighting each other sometimes, but the US had nothing to do with their troubles. It is very natural women has no education in Islamic countries whatever you say about it. They have own rules there for thousands of years. The US did NOT have to send US soldiers at all to Afghanistan in the first place even whatever problems the regimes have or even asked support from the US. This is a big mistake from the beginning.

They did not, the Al Qaddafi did,

That should be Al Qaeda.

The Taliban aren't a "terror group", they are the people of Afghanistan and they're taking their country back from the real terrorists, the US government.

It’ll be interesting to see donald’s boys respond to this, someone who apparently stands with donald and his policies, calling America ‘terrorist’

The Taliban have massive support amongst the civilians. Women, children, the elderly.

don’t make me laugh. The Taliban are an organized criminal gang that subverts innocents to their will by force of arms.

This much is known and I won’t stand four your gaslighting.

Afghanistan used be a peaceful country for a long time before Soviet/US bases/soldiers came in Arabic/ Islamic countries

Some history lessons are required. Afghanistan has always been a disorganized country with tribes fighting each other and outsiders.

> . It is very natural that women have no education at all unlike men

No it’s not. Keeping women out of the education system is unnatural.

As long as they are following their own rules, they will not kill any one.

Amputations for theirs, stoning to death for adultery, minorities made to wear identification badges…… In today works such barbaric practices cannot be tolerated.

Why Taliban terrorists attacked NY in 911? *

They did not, the Al Qaddafi did, and their leaders were in Afghanistan!!!

The US has been affecting their countries too much in middle east.

Its actually the other way, the dictatorial ME regimes seek American support to maintain a sense of legitimacy.

Afghanistan used be a peaceful country for a long time before Soviet/US bases/soldiers came in Arabic/ Islamic countries. It is very natural that women have no education at all unlike men. As long as they are following their own rules, they will not kill any one. Taliban dislike their Arabic/Islamic countries were influenced by other cultures, especially bringing democracy there. Why Taliban terrorists attacked NY in 911? The US has been affecting their countries too much in middle east.

Ultimately, the parallels to Vietnam are stark. On one side, you have an indigenous insurgency, who have a power base throughout the nation, especially among the poor and rural. It is a power base whose size and dedication is either underestimated or attributed to fear, rather than a genuine belief in the goals of the insurgency. On the other side, you have a central government, comprised of an educated, urban, elite minority, propped up by a foreign power. Its power base is illusory and it is riddled with corruption and repressive in its own right, all while being viewed as a puppet of some imperialist power. And in the middle, you have the vast majority of people, who want nothing more for than the fighting and dying to stop. Who is in charge is irrelevant. If the foreign-backed government remains in power, the populace will suffer from its corruption and lack of indigenous legitimacy. If the insurgents take power, the populace will have to live with their own repressions. Ultimately, most afghans just want the war to stop: who wins is ultimately a matter of politics. The flags change, but the methods remain the same.

Taliban leader should take out a life insurance policy,why Google Taliban Leader Death

The Taliban would never be able to accomplish so much without the support of the Afghan people, so whatever the rest of the world think of them or try to paint a dark image of them turned out to be a LIE.

The Taliban would never be able to accomplish so much without the support of the Afghan people, so whatever the rest of the world think of them or try to paint a dark image of them turned out to be a LIE.

We didn’t lose. We were in a stalemate. Much like Korea. What does Korea look like today? Yes. It took time. No, it wasn’t always perfect. But today, Seoul is a beacon of democracy and capitalism while the North is a bad joke.

we’re not losing. We’re quitting. My heart breaks for the people we are abandoning to their fates because we’ve gone back on our word and lost our will.

There are reports that the Taliban is planning to enter Kabul and declare victory on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack.

Smartacus...

I doubt that educated Afghan women and young girls are looking forward to Taliban rule again

No, they probably are not. They are more likely to be thinking back to the good old days of the Soviets.

The advancement of women and womens rights in Afghanistan is a smokescreen for western involvement.

The fact that the Taliban is able to accomplish so much in such a short time tells the world that NATO 20 occupation of Afghanistan was a TOTAL FAILURE.

Burning Bush, if you believe that, you should go live there. I know people who have just escaped from Afghanistan. They left, not because the Taliban were fair and just and wonderful, but because they knew the truth about the Taliban. They are brutal murders.

Biden will use the roper doper strategies,and let the Taliban leadership meet together,and lob cruise missile at them,from warships and subs,the US got eyes in the sky ,watching their every move

It's unfortunate the U.S. didn't align with Massoud of the Northern Alliance in the early days. He could have been the leader to unify Afghanistan against OBL and the Taliban. On the ground CIA operators had great respect for the man but as usual, D.C. had other plans. He had in earlier months warned the EU about foreign terrorists (Al Qaeda) in Afghanistan and two days after his assassination 9/11 occurred. OBL eliminated his greatest obstacle and executed his plan. The country would be hard pressed to rally against the Taliban at this point since there hasn't been anything to unify them against this group. Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir could have been that force.

It seems to me Afghanistan becomes 2nd Vietnam soon as if N Vietnam took over S Vietnam finally. More US soldiers, co-workers, supporters died for last 20 years than 911 deaths. The US should not have sent soldiers there in the first place. It seems America is cursed by wars.

...they are the people of Afghanistan and they're taking their country back from the real terrorists, the US government.

Much truth to ponder in that, amigo. But then come other truths about the so-called "Students" (Taliban), Muslim Machiavellians who are driven by medieval mindedness and a poor understanding of their religion and, as another poster put it, I doubt that educated Afghan women and young girls are looking forward to Taliban rule again. That said, the Taliban will soon face the reality of running a country in a world where science and technology rule and where Covid-19 roams. The Taliban leadership will need true friends to put them on a fast learning curve before they themselves get the "Darwin Award" surely coming their way.

The Taliban aren't a "terror group", they are the people of Afghanistan and they're taking their country back from the real terrorists, the US government.

That is the label they are stuck with. Maybe it’s the alliteration: Taliban Terrorists.

China is concerned about the Taliban’s rule paving the way for the war-torn country to become a hotbed for the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) linked to Al-Qaeda and is causing revolt and insurgency in Xinjiang. The Taliban has said that it perceived China as a ‘friend’ of Afghanistan and has confirmed that it will not host any Uyghur Islamic militants from the Xinjiang province.

The Chinese sees Afghanistan as a fixer upper well below market value in prime real estate, like a single family home in East Palo Alto in need of TLC. They can’t wait to have their infrastructure contractors reconstruct the country.

The taliban will go the ISIS way, delusions of power will lead them to attacking other countries, drone attacks, air attacks and then a coalition attack.

Brutal dictatorships like Russia and China will back the taliban, so it’ll turn into a larger conflict.

History will repeat itself again!!!

The Western media is full of pictures of little kids and stories about how the Taliban are just a gang of thugs.

The media is lying and has been lying for the past 20 years.

The Taliban have massive support amongst the civilians. Women, children, the elderly.

The Taliban aren't a "terror group", they are the people of Afghanistan and they're taking their country back from the real terrorists, the US government.

The Russians sure will never admit that they were driven out by a bunch of kids!!!

When donald suddenly reduced troops, negotiated with taliban, giving them everything they asked and getting nothing in return, he set in motion the collapse that is happening today.

The taliban are a bunch of barbarians driven by medieval mindedness and a poor understanding of their religion. It’ll not be long before they start plotting attacks on America.

Burning Bush and Mr Kipling

I doubt that educated Afghan women and young girls are looking forward to Taliban rule again.

Good grief... I'm agreeing with Burning Bush again!

The news we see from Afghanistan is from the western educated , English speaking elite in Kabul. Afghanistan is made up of thousands of small often isolated towns and villages. The rural people are generally very conservative. The Taliban have great support in these areas. The national government is seen as distant and corrupt if it exists at all. True there are thousands of refugees but most of these are fleeing fighting not the Taliban itself. Rural life in Afghanistan IS Taliban life. Also don't forget that while the US and its western allies have been propping up its puppet government, Pakistan with aid from the Saudis has been preparing the Taliban for power.

This is a disaster of our own making. We left these people to their fate. I know that it’s easy to say from Tokyo, but it seems to me that 3,000 troops to hold the Taliban at bay seems like a low risk high reward proposition.

I feel that we are making a huge mistake here.