Patterico's Pontifications

8/24/2021

President Biden To Hold To Aug. 31 Deadline In Afghanistan

Filed under: General — Dana @ 10:57 am



[guest post by Dana]

CNN is reporting that, despite pressure from our European allies and even from Congressmembers from his side of the aisle, President Biden has agreed to the Pentagon’s recommendation saying that the US will hold to the August 31 deadline:

President Joe Biden has decided, in consultation with his national security team, to stick with the August 31 deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official.

Biden made the decision mindful of the security risks in remaining the country longer, the official said, and he has asked for contingency plans in case he determines at a later date the US needs to remain in the country for longer.

On Monday, Democratic Representative Adam Schiff expressed doubts about being able to successfully evacuate all Americans remaining in Afghanistan by the Aug. 31 deadline:

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff [D-CA] said it was “very unlikely” that the U.S. completes its evacuation of Afghanistan by the Aug. 31 deadline.

“I think it’s possible but I think it’s very unlikely given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated. It’s hard for me to imagine that all of that can be accomplished between now and the end of the month.

I am encouraged to see the numbers of people evacuated increasing readily to the point where we evacuated 11,000 people in a single day. Nonetheless given the logistical difficulties of moving people to the airport and the limited number of workarounds it’s hard for me to see that could be fully complete by the end of the month. I’m certainly of the view that we maintain a military presence for as long as is necessary to get all U.S. persons out and to meet our moral and ethical obligations to our Afghan partners.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and who have previously served in the military reacted with skepticism to the hard deadline decision:

(Just two days ago, Crow, along with other Congressmembers called on the Administration to extend the perimeter in order to safely relocate the Afghans who aided the US in Afghanistan.)

And here is Republican Representative Peter Meijer sharing similiar concerns about the deadline:

Although the Taliban warned the US about extending the deadline, Biden officials said on Monday that such rhetoric would not influence the President’s decision…

And according to ABC News:

As the deadline to evacuate looms, approximately 58,700 people have been evacuated from Kabul since Aug. 14, when the Taliban took control of the government, according to a White House official. Since the end of July, the U.S. has relocated approximately 63,900 people.

Officials have been vague when asked how many Americans still need to be evacuated, only saying that there are “thousands,” and blaming it on citizens not registering with the embassy when they arrive or deregistering when they leave.

The thing is, no one doubts the might and ability of the US military to go in and evacuate every last American stranded in Afghanistan. But clearly, there has to be the will to do so by those with real power. With that, I’ll leave you with this:

*we will get as many as it is possible to get out. Oh.

–Dana

239 Responses to “President Biden To Hold To Aug. 31 Deadline In Afghanistan”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (174549)

  2. CNN is reporting that, despite pressure from our European allies and even from Congressmembers from his side of the aisle, President Biden has agreed to the Pentagon’s recommendation saying that the US will hold to the August 31 deadline

    None of these twits has ever haggled w/towelheads at a carpet bazaar…

    Good grief.

    Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FzCWLOHUes

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  3. Hip deep in sheep dip.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  4. Biden speech pushed back to 4:30 PM EDT.

    “You bought him. You own him.”

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  5. The stories from private citizens coming out of the country paint a significantly worse picture of the rapidly deteriorating situation. Just WTTSHTF…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  6. Breaking- U.S. Military has begun withdrawing from Kabul airport. ‘Stranded’ U.S. Civilians will soon be ‘on their own.’

    [ ] high crime

    [ ] misdemeanor

    Choose.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  7. LOL. Nice spin by the Biden administration…

    The Taliban made the deadline 31 August.

    Biden is just playing along, but making it seem like he drew the line in the sand.

    Good doggie, Joe. Good doggie.

    Hoi Polloi (15cfac)

  8. Can you guess why THIS MAN is smiling?!?!:

    https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-fc01411200d26acc65cfad513ef0d657-c

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  9. The airport has been closed by the Taliban.There is no way out.

    The never punctual and always babbling but nonetheless mouthy Biden or his handlers have pushed his “remarks” back to 430PM eastern. Only acceptable “remarks” shoudl begin “Today I resign from the office of…” . Let these liberals own this debacle. bring on President Kamala

    Bugg (024e40)

  10. DCSCA:

    You forgot the Gerald Ford Option, which is the only one that matters.

    And you own Biden too, just like I owned Trump. It’s that being an American thing…

    Appalled (1a17de)

  11. The US military has already begun their own withdrawal, per Jennifer Griffin.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  12. From the airport.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  13. Hell breaking loose. Fox News reports tunnel to airport blown up ‘stranding’ people; escape routes closing. Brits pulling out after a KIA. ‘Private’ efforts under way- civil aircraft, etc.

    Incompetence reigns.
    ______

    Kamala in Hanoi.

    Why is THIS GAL smiling?!:

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/64/7a/53/647a53c65aeabed4883586c07dbeddc0.jpg

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  14. @13. They don’t know how to dicker with towelheaded carpet bazaar hagglers.

    It’s pure incompetence.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  15. @10. Beaush!t. Here’s the deal: “You bought him. You own him.”

    Warned you about this dumb-azzed, brain damaged mick. But noooooo. Your hatred for Trump suckered you into buying this sack-of-crap from Wilmington–or is it Scranton this week.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  16. DCSCA?… I notice you’ve chosen Fox News to get your updates on Afghanistan.

    I’d say you’d nibbled on the red pill, but you’ve still got some wacky flowing through your veins.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  17. Credentials and an Ivy League education have certainly taken some recent hits. 🤬

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  18. @17. Running the dials- prefer CSPAN but they’re forced to cover House when in session and swtich cablers when they go to more sh!t shoveling about Covid-19 updates — and, of course, CNN is now a totally ‘Zucked’ concert channel.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  19. Coverage at daily mail is depressing enough.

    Joe (7b911f)

  20. Shorter Nikki Haley on Joe Biden, Coward-In-Chief:

    Not. A. Fan.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  21. $85B in US equipment and weapons given to the Taliban…

    Santa Biden.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  22. [√ ] Blunder.

    Unless lying and spinning about such a serious thing can be characterized as a misdemeanor.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  23. @19. Red pill, hell. Colonel, never denied being a Rockefeller Republican. The greatest joy in 50 years was watching Trump neuter the modern ideological conservative movement into irrelevancy.

    Glorious.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  24. I’m not clear where this scene is:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1F0BNgX7T8

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  25. They are dealing with this so badly, so incompetently, so incoherently, so ineffectually that one wonders if it is not done on purpose.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  26. $85B in US equipment and weapons given to the Taliban…

    Santa Biden.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/24/2021 @ 12:29 pm

    Most will probably be resold on eBay to our friends like China.

    Hoi Polloi (15cfac)

  27. 21; Niki still wants more interventionism to keep the spigots of campaign cash from her military industrial complex donors open. Been the problem with GOP Inc. for a very long time.

    Does it ever end? Are we capable of learning from our myriad mistakes? Almost every 9/11 hijacker got past a bordering on nonexistent immigration system, and then laughed past any oversight coupled by the FBI and CIA. Both indifferent to hostile to their actual jobs.

    Bugg (024e40)

  28. What I wonder is, if U.S. intelligence trusts sources it should not trust.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  29. Earlier today Bill O’Reilly: Trump had better people (even if they didn’t last long)

    Democrats would give Biden a D+ on this; Republicans, an F (but they are partisan)

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  30. Thing is, Colonel, everybody who knew anything about Biden over 50 years knew he was incompetent. Back in the 70s we’d get his BS piped into South Jersey over Channel 12 Wilmington.

    He’s a plagiarist, a mental lightweight, a ticking medical time bomb– and a swamp creature supreme– a bum. And now just to damn old for this gig. The Peter Principle in spades. He’s the very reason a ‘Trump’ was elected in the first place.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  31. “U.S. intelligence”… based on decades of failure, that’s an oxymoron.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  32. Democrats would give Biden a D+ on this; Republicans, an F (but they are partisan)

    Democrats aren’t “partisan”?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  33. Rockefeller Republican is as meaningless a term as WH Taft Republican would have been in 1964. If you want to define yourself in a meaningful way, say Nixon Republican. Your current incarnation does have the touch of the Spiro Agnew after all, and your language these days suggests that you are a ok with the circa 1968 Southern Strategy.

    Appalled (1a17de)

  34. Biden ran ‘to save America’s soul.’
    Now he’s running from saving American lives.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  35. @34. Beaush!t. Conservative whine; bitter dregs. Trump is one.

    Your time is done.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  36. I didn’t name who I was referencing in my earlier comment but it should be obvious.

    Appalled (1a17de)

  37. “America is back!” Which is why the best images of Joe are his backside as he runs away from podiums, cameras and a friendly press.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  38. lying demented POS

    JF (e1156d)

  39. The planning for 9/11 was done in Afghanistan or in Pakistan, and Osama bin Laden personally met with and approved every hijacker, but the training was done elsewhere (possibly hijacking practice in 1999 in Iraq) and in the United States.

    All hijackers got various forms of visditor;s visas.

    Most were from Saudi Arabia. Saudis generally got easy entry to the United States because the only big concern of the U.S. immigration system was whether they would stay here and the Saudi government had built up a good record of that not happening.

    The pilots were trained here. It was U.S. policy that as many foreign airline pilots as possible should get U.S. training = fewer accidents.

    In 2001, George W. Bush offered the Taliban the option of turning in members of al Qaeda. They declined (or couldn’t, or they didn’t believe that) so they got invaded.

    By 2002, someone wrote now, the Taliban were ready to surrender in exchange for amnesty – the U.S. had such a great victory, though, that W declined to grant impunity.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  40. The neocon whack-jobs have been tagged and bagged.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  41. Good Lord! Look at what the NBC News correspondent in Kabul is reporting:

    US embassy issues last alert for US citizens to leave afghanistan or they’re on their own, then recalls it 30 mins later.— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) August 24, 2021

    We can only pray that all American citizens can make it out of Kabul alive. I think we all now acknowledge that our Afghan collaborators are totally screwed.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  42. # 34 – I doubt my time ever arrived…

    Appalled (1a17de)

  43. Colonel Haiku @32.

    “U.S. intelligence”… based on decades of failure, that’s an oxymoron.

    I didn’t say it wasn’t. It’s been a roblem for along, long, time.

    Remember how in 2012 the best intelligence was that attacks in Benghazi were spontaneous? AS the week wore on, they got further and further from the truth.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  44. “America is back!” Which is why the best images of Joe are his backside as he runs away from podiums, cameras and a friendly press.

    You call that running!?!? That’s Joe’s Dementia Shuffle…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  45. Imagine Joe being worried the ‘troops’ are under threat. [He’s actually worried about a Biden-Carteresque hostage crisis.] That sorta is a core part of their the job, Joe. THat’s why they’re armed.

    So he meets w/t G7. Classic senator behavior: “go to committee” for cover- ‘safety in numbers.’

    Peter Principle in spades.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  46. Folks, here’s the deal: this is ‘the leader of the Free World,’

    Chaos. Utter chaos.

    “Would you believe KAOS?”- Agent 86, Maxwell Smart [Don Adams] ‘Get Smart’ NBC TV

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  47. Killing all the Americans-
    Lets all the voters for worse than Trump off the hook, because – No Hostages.

    mg (8cbc69)

  48. From another thread- this ‘high crime’ alone should merit impeachment:

    Staggering Costs – U.S. Military Equipment Left Behind In Afghanistan

    The U.S. provided an estimated $83 billion worth of training and equipment to Afghan security forces since 2001. This year, alone, the U.S. military aid to Afghan forces was $3 billion.

    Here is a breakdown of estimated vehicle costs:

    •Armored personnel carriers such as the M113A2 cost $170,000 each and recent purchases of the M577A2 post carrier cost $333,333 each.
    •Mine resistant vehicles ranges from $412,000 to $767,000. The total cost could range between $382 million to $711 million.
    •Recovery vehicles such as the ‘truck, wrecker’ cost between for the base model $168,960 and $880,674 for super strength versions.
    •Medium range tactical vehicles include 5-ton cargo and general transport trucks were priced at $67,139. However, the family of MTV heavy vehicles had prices ranging from $235,500 to $724,820 each. Cargo trucks to transport airplanes cost $800,865.
    •Humvees – ambulance type (range from $37,943 to $142,918 with most at $96,466); cargo type, priced at $104,682. Utility Humvees were typically priced at $91,429. However, the 12,000 lb. troop transport version cost up to $329,000.
    •Light tactical vehicles: Fast attack combat vehicles ($69,400); and passenger motor vehicles ($65,500). All terrain 4-wheel vehicles go up to $42,273 in the military databases.

    This month, the Taliban seized Black Hawk helicopters and A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft. As late as last month, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense posted photos on social media of seven newly arrived helicopters from the U.S., Reuters reported.

    Black Hawk helicopters can cost up to $21 million. In 2013, the U.S. placed an order for 20 A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft for $427 million – that’s $21.3 million for each plane. Other specialized helicopters can cost up to $37 million each.

    The Afghan air force contracted for C-208 light attack airplanes in March 2018: seven planes for $84.6 million, or $12.1 million each. The airplanes are very sophisticated and carry HELLFIRE missiles, anti-tank missiles and other weaponry.

    The PC-12 intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance airplanes use the latest in technology. Having these planes fall into Taliban control is disconcerting. Civilian models sell new for approximately $5 million each and the military planes could sell for many times that price.

    Basic fixed-wing airplanes range in price from $3.1 million to $22 million in the DLA database.

    Of course, helicopter prices also range widely depending on the technology, purpose, and equipment. For example, according to the DLA, general purpose helicopters range in price from $92,000 to $922,000. Observation helicopters can cost $92,000 and utility helicopters up to $922,000.

    Even if the Taliban can’t fly our planes, the parts are very valuable. For example, just the control stick for certain military planes has an acquisition value of $17,808 and a fuel tank sells for up to $35,000.

    The howitzer is the modern cannon for the U.S. military and each unit can cost up to $500,000; however most are in the $200,000 price range. At the higher end, there’s GPS guidance on fired shells.

    A common price of a M16 rifle is $749, according to DLA. Adding a grenade launcher can push the price of the M16 to $12,032. M4 carbine rifles are slightly more expensive with unit prices as high as $1,278.

    Just the sights on night-vision sniper rifle scopes can run as high as $35,000, however, most vary in price between $5,000 and $10,000.

    Here are the costs of other types of weaponry provided to Afghan forces:

    •Machine guns, i.e. the M240 model, were priced between $6,600 and $9,000 each.
    •Grenade launchers cost between $1,000 and $5,000 each; however, in 2020, the manufacture sold 53 for $15,000 each.
    •Army shotguns were acquired for only $150 each, according to DLA.
    •Military pistols cost $320 each, such as the .40 caliber Glock Generation 3.

    Each Aerostat surveillance balloon costs $8.9 million. Each ScanEagle drone costs approximately $1.4 million according to recent procurement news. Even as late at 2021, U.S. appropriations for the Wolfhounds radio monitoring systems approached $874,000.

    Night vision devices: The total cost for the 16,000 night-vision goggles alone could run as high as $80 million. Individually, the high-tech goggles were priced between $2,742 and $5,000 by the DLA. Other equipment like image intensifiers are commonly priced at $10,747 each; however, sophisticated models run as high as $66,000 each.

    Radio equipment: the cost of equipment adds up – receiver-transmitters ($210,651); sophisticated radio sets ($61,966); amplifiers ($28,165); repeater sets ($28,527); and deployment sets to identify frequencies run up to $18,908.

    However, if the Taliban doesn’t have the expertise or technologies to program the equipment, it will become obsolete quickly. Or it could be sold off to other countries who wanted to acquire U.S. technology.

    And there’s more… years 2017 through 2019

    From 2017 to 2019, the U.S. also gave Afghan forces 7,035 machine guns, 4,702 Humvees, 20,040 hand grenades, 2,520 bombs and 1,394 grenade launchers, according to the since removed 2020 SIGAR report, reported by The Hill.

    An unnamed official told Reuters that current intelligence assessment was that the Taliban took control of more than 2,000 armored vehicles, including American Humvees, and as many as 40 aircraft that may include UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters and ScanEagle military drones.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/08/23/staggering-costs–us-military-equipment-left-behind-in-afghanistan/

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  49. flushed peeved and smarmy
    arms waving fingers pointing
    pisshockey’s on it!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  50. Blinken, Milley, Austin, Sullivan, Rice–

    Fire them.

    Now.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  51. 47… and loving it!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  52. Stabbing Back Better

    JF (e1156d)

  53. “… part of the fabric of the United States.”

    er… um… fuss with hair… this is one, flustered ginger.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  54. She’s riding the adderall…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  55. Colonel Haiku 118 on another tread: I had to cut and paste this to see what this was:

    “Muh norms have been restored and America’s honor reclaimed!”

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  56. 51. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/21/opinion/afghanistan-kabul-biden-blinken.html

    Wynken, Blynken and Nod, as some in military circles are derisively calling Jake Sullivan, Tony Blinken and Biden, consider themselves foreign affairs savants.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  57. US embassy issues last alert for US citizens to leave afghanistan or they’re on their own, then recalls it 30 mins later.

    —- Richard Engel, NBC News

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  58. The silver lining is that this is on track to be the biggest airlift in US history and is anything but a success.

    frosty (f27e97)

  59. Delusional Daughter Darth, war profiteeress and ‘Halliburton Hussy’ emerges from her mud hole to slam Trump, Pompeo and Biden… checking on the $$$$ of your stock portfolio, piglette?

    Donated the family private jet to get ‘folks’ out of the mess your Daddy helped create.

    Neocon pig.

    Roast her ass.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  60. Biden offerred to pardon an Afghan drug dealer in exchange for the release of an American hostage, but first wanted proof of life.

    https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-biden-deal-taliban-last-hostage-needs-proof-life-1622286

    President Joe Biden’s administration is prepared to pardon an influential Afghan tribal leader, who has been sitting in a U.S. federal prison for 16 years, in exchange for the last American hostage abducted last year in Afghanistan.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  61. “NEW: Leaked State cable with evacuation numbers (as of Aug 23 at 1500 ET):

    Total manifested since midnight Kabul AUG 23: 483 AMCITS, 6,425 Afghans natls, 8 3rd country/unknown. Total = 6,916

    Total manifested since op began: 4,407 AMCITS, 21,533 Afghans, 642 TCNs. Total = 26,582”

    It will take a miracle to save those who remain. Remember them in your prayers.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  62. @62. OTOH, any of these contractees are extremely well paid- tax free- and knew the risks when they took the gig. If anything the private contractors have the responsibility to get them out and likely should have weeks ago– unless the ‘fine print’ shows their contract deal included having the U.S. military ferry them out if things go south. A caveat which only puts more $$$$$ into the Cheney Family Retirement Fund.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  63. Still waiting to hear from the president of the United States.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  64. Richard Cheney has had nothing to do with Halliburton, which is an oil services company, since 2001, *except for being owed money and which only could causeconcern for him if it went bankrupt, and that must have been paid in full a long time ago.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  65. Somebody buy Biden a watch.

    A Spiro Agnew watch; they run backwards– so it’ll never be August 31, Joe!

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  66. “I’m very confident we will get as many as it is possible to get out.”

    I am usually confident of my tautologies.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  67. We have a POW/MIA flag. Is there a Left Behind to Die As We Ran Away flag?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  68. @65. Dream on, Sammy.

    Hell, the even tried to recruit my old man for a Saudi oil gig years go.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  69. Biden’s entire term will be littered with stories of The Abandoned. Drip. Drip. Drip.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  70. 68.We have a POW/MIA flag. Is there a Left Behind to Die As We Ran Away flag?

    Believe there’s one of those flags flying on the WH now beneath the U.S. Flag- at least it looks like it in the video shots. Goes w/feeding his pet rocks.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  71. so many votes for honesty, decency and competence — wasted

    i mean the voters were wasted

    JF (e1156d)

  72. WNBC Channel 4 news in New York at 5 pm: Briefing by President Biden expected “any minute now.”

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  73. 69. DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/24/2021 @ 1:55 pm

    Hell, the even tried to recruit my old man for a Saudi oil gig years go.

    When?

    He worked for Halliburton for less than eight years.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  74. Build Back Bungled!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  75. elections have consequences.

    asset (471284)

  76. WTF? Build Back Better???

    Senator 101; this dumb-azzed, brain-damaged Mick is going to try to bluster, blarney, malarkey and Beaush!t his way through this like he was shoveling crap on the senate floor.

    The bottom line in my view, is you’re an idiot.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  77. When did he update us this morning?

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  78. Malarkey, senatorial word salad, horse dung… zero credibility.

    Resign.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  79. Going swimmingly well, per Joe. How many American citizens will you be leaving behind, Joe? How many Afghan allies?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  80. Who wrote this chop-suey for him?

    Blinken? Sullivan? Milley? Austin? Sounds like a bowl of Susan Rice.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  81. Blames Trump????

    Hey Joe– “Buck You.”

    That’s where it stops, chowder head.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  82. @74. In the early 80s, Sammy. You don’t understand how H & KBR, etc, and their affiltes ad subcontractors operate in the oil biz. They’re into everything.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  83. This makes Trump’s faux pas at Helsinki look like tripping on your shoe lace.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  84. Trump outta offer to put up Afghan escapees at any of his European hotels– and charge the Biden administration top dollar.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  85. Teh Gang Who Wouldn’t Talk Straight.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  86. We’re going to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies unless we need to shut down an airbase and leave in the middle of the night.

    frosty (f27e97)

  87. “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  88. Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/24/2021 @ 2:12 pm

    How many American citizens will you be leaving behind, Joe? How many Afghan allies?

    Oresident Biden said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will update (the press) about the situation with American citizens tomorrow.

    About Afghan allies, Biden only wants to talk about the number of Afghans (of all kinds) he and other countries got out, not those he didn’t.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  89. #6
    [X] Nobel Peace Prize for Biden

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  90. His doctors should fit Joe with an insulin pump filled with liquid adderall.
    I would almost guarantee that Joe was not cleared medically to speak, hence the delay

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  91. DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 8/24/2021 @ 2:15 pm

    Blames Trump????

    He blamed Trump for shutting down the refugee admission process – and the other day I think Jake Sulivan said the SIV process was dead in the water since March, 2020.

    He’s had had seven months to set it up again. They claim they have, and they have a little, but he didn’t have the courage to fully reverse Trump’s policies and go beyond them – this, at least some of it, (the Afghans U.S. people know and worked with and sometimes depended on) on a matter which was a priority for members of Congress.

    Literally, every member of Congress (and some retired members) is getting calls from someone says NBC News’s Richard Engel, who went back to Kabul, or is it the airport?

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  92. Oh, Trump said at his rally in Mississippi the Afghan soldiers were only in the army because they got paid more, and when the money stopped coming, they quit. Not exactly the explanation.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  93. US intelligence services information is distilled through Joe’s brain.
    Biden voters were hoping for the two negatives to produce a positive through a feat of alchemy
    Where are disloyal bastards like Vindman when we really need to impeach someone

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  94. Some commenters here appear to hate Biden far more than they love America (assuming they love this country and its people at all).

    That’s the only way I can explain the glee in some of the comments on this disaster.

    I can understand that emotion in “Czar” Putin, and other enemies, but not in decent people.

    (In January 2009, I predicted the ways Obama would fail — and I said that I hoped I would be proved wrong. I wasn’t, but I still wish I had been.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  95. Paraphrasing Gutfeld, we are sooo fortunate the media and Big Tech deep-sixed that laptop story.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  96. 94… damn straight! Where’s that modern day Rambo, Bearclaw Vindman when he’s needed!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  97. Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/24/2021 @ 2:53 pm

    This was a goto during the Trump years too. Anyone not on board with the D/NeverTrump/TrueCon narrative hated America. I wonder how much all of this gaslighting contributes to global climate change.

    You want to fire unvaxxed people so that you can feel safe getting a haircut and you want to lecture everyone on decent people?

    frosty (f27e97)

  98. Babble incoherently, pretend we exist in an alternative universe where this is competence, say God bless America, answer no questions and turn tail and RUN AWAY!!!

    We can expect a repeat performance within days.

    Thanks voters, or…Atlanta, Philadelphia, Detroit, Arizona, Vegs Dem crooks! As a famous war criminal might say, “Great job, Brownie!”.

    Bugg (024e40)

  99. Trump would have left these folks behind because he didn’t care. Biden did it for Principle. See the difference. No word on what Hunter gets out of it.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  100. 98… ouch.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  101. President Biden, as he does every time, opened up with something other than Afghanistan. He spoke about the infrastructure bill (he talked about it like there was just one bill or at least like there was not this splitting things up into only two bills) and about the voting bill he would like to see pass.

    He stated that when he came in as president we needed to overcome the most significant economic downturn, [he said recession] if not since the depression, then from the time of (Lyndon) Johnson. (!??) [This makes you wonder what alternate universe he is living in. Better ask Jeff Greenfield.]

    That done, having reassured Americans that he cares mostly about America, he turned to Afghanistan.

    In brief, he said, we and NATO and the European Union are united, and nobody is going to do anything to recognize the Taliban before the others, except that the Secretary General of the United Nations will try to get some humanitarian aid sent to Afghanistan. He wants to thank NATO, the EU, etc.

    The evacuation is proceeding very well, and 70,700 people have been taken out of Afghanistan since August 14 (when Kabul was falling) and 75,900 if you go back to July 31. Just in the past 12 hours, 19 military U.S. flights have left, and 31 from other countries, for a total of 50 flights in just the past 12 hours, 6,400 on the 19 U.S. planes and 5,600 on the 31 other planes.

    The Taliban is co-operative, but the longer this goes on the more dangerous it gets. here is danger from ISIS-K, which he keeps on saying is an enemy of the Taliban. If the evacuation is not finished, he might extend it past August 31.

    The terrorist threat is now different than 2001 and comes from many countries.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  102. [X] Nobel Peace Prize for Biden

    And an Emmy for Presidential Statements. Of course, they took Cuomo’s Emmy back.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  103. Biden took no questions.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  104. You want to fire unvaxxed people so that you can feel safe getting a haircut and you want to lecture everyone on decent people?

    No, but I won’t get a haircut where they employ unvaxxed barbers or won’t tell me they don’t. Freedom!

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  105. This is now Day 10 of the Afghan Hostage Crisis.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  106. The never Trump voters cant understand Independents pointing out the facts joe cellar was worse than Trump.
    Man up, Karen.

    mg (8cbc69)

  107. White House delayed these “remarks” for 3 1/2 hours. It was 6 minutes long. How much prep and narcotics does he need to talk for 6 minutes? The remarks were the usual boilerplate nonsense about allies, and really Biden raised 2 domestic issues to fill even that brief a statement. He took no questions.

    Pretty clear this man is physically incapable of doing this job.

    Bugg (024e40)

  108. Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/24/2021 @ 3:16 pm

    Should I have asked who “some commenters” are first? It would be the decent America loving thing to do I suppose.

    frosty (f27e97)

  109. He’s a bum.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  110. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/24/2021 @ 3:21 pm

    Not being sarcastic; I’m starting to think some sort of badge would be a good idea. Then people who wanted to associate based on vaccine status could. It’d make it much easier for you to know which places are safe for you.

    frosty (f27e97)

  111. #98 frosty – Oh, I don’t doubt that some Trump haters made the same mistake that Biden haters are making now — but I wasn’t one of them, wasn’t even commenting here, then. (In fact, in the 2016 election, I gave reasons for voting for Trump (least bad for social conservatives), Hillary Clinton (least bad on foreign policy) and Libertarian Gary Johnson (least bad on economic policy).

    If you can find a single comment here in which I have expressed glee at an American disaster, please point it out to me, so that I can correct the record, and apologize.

    And I don’t want to fire any stylists. I want them to get vaccinated, mostly for their own good and for the good of all the people they regularly come into contact with. But I do think I have a right to protect myself by not having my hair cut by someone who isn’t vaccinated.

    And I predict that, if enough people feel the same way I do, stylists will be under pressure from their shops (and, possibly governments) to get vaccinated.

    But what I predict is not what I prefer. I hope that is clear, now.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  112. 108.White House delayed these “remarks” for 3 1/2 hours. It was 6 minutes long. How much prep and narcotics does he need to talk for 6 minutes?

    He led w/domestic Beaush!t. But given her credentials, it has the stink of Susan Rice all over it:

    ‘In July 2020, it was widely reported that Rice was under consideration to be Joe Biden’s vice presidential running mate in the 2020 general election. However, Kamala Harris was selected as Biden’s running mate on August 11, 2020 [Why? Rice had never campigned for an elected office before.] On September 5, 2020, Rice was announced to be a member of the advisory council of the Biden-Harris Transition Team, which planned the presidential transition of Joe Biden. In November, she was named a candidate for Secretary of State in the Biden Administration.’

    ‘President-elect Joe Biden chose Rice to head the Domestic Policy Council. This was considered a surprise by many political commentators, noting her experience in foreign policy over domestic policy.’ [So her nose -and ass- be inside the tent, behind the curtains.]

    Also: ‘Rice married former ABC News executive producer Ian Officer Cameron.’ Hence, ABC News is the go to for one-on-ones like that GMA Beaush!tter last week.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  113. It’s going to be amazing: Biden is going to turn out to be such an awful President that the GOP is going to lazily re-nominate Donald Trump, who will pull a Grover Cleveland and defeat the guy who defeated him four years earlier. And then we’ll have four more years of Trump, whose successor will lose to the Gavin Newsom-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez co-Presidency ticket in 2028.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  114. Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/24/2021 @ 3:46 pm

    Who do you think is gleeful over this disaster besides DCSCA?

    frosty (f27e97)

  115. 108. Bugg (024e40) — 8/24/2021 @ 3:30 pm

    White House delayed these “remarks” for 3 1/2 hours. It was 6 minutes long…The remarks were the usual boilerplate nonsense about allies, and really Biden raised 2 domestic issues to fill even that brief a statement. He took no questions.

    They were maybe waiting to see what happened on the infrastructure bill (Nancy Pelosi scheduled a vote on the smaller, bipartisan bill for Sept 27) and they had to carefully word things about how much the allies agreed.

    It had to be consistent with the truth, and yet tend to mislead.

    It looks simple but required much work.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  116. 113. Joe Biden probably set up his criteria for vice president with Susan Rice in mind. But Rice could have become a campaign issue because of Benghazi and so Kamala Harris was substituted.

    The same Benghazi problem stopped Joe Biden from nominating her for a position that required Senate confirmation.

    He must have thought she made mistakes on foreign policy to name her for the position she has. Or was i t just that her appointment would be criticized??

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  117. *we will get as many as it is possible to get out. Oh.

    Talking and not saying anything has always been a Biden hallmark. I attributed it to “old-timey politician” (our very own Dan Rostenkowski was even better at it), and recently I found out that Biden’s father was a successful used car salesman as well.

    nk (1d9030)

  118. Here’s a small story that cheered me up — a little.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  119. @115. Gleeful? Moi?

    ROFLMAOPIP the glee is seeing the vindictive conservative ideological imbeciles so angry at being shuffled to the bottom of the deck; so hateful toward Trump’s persona; who jumped ship and bought into the idiocy of a known plagiarist an lying-azzed, brain-damaged mick out of spite, get what they paid for.

    “You bought him. You own him.”

    Glorious.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  120. 109… no, the sanctimony is seen and recognized when it surfaces, frosty.

    Some folks have a tendency to conflate alarm and concern with hate. The sometimes have difficulty understanding the gravity of actions taken, lack of action, our leaders’ disconnection from reality.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  121. @117. Nah. This has her fingerprints all over it. Just stay behind the curtain and work the smoke and mirrors around the image of the Wizard..

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  122. Joe Biden probably set up his criteria for vice president with Susan Rice in mind.

    Joe Biden’s criteria for his VP seems to have consisted of two items:
    1. A woman (this was mandatory)
    2. A minority, preferably a black woman (this was strongly encouraged, though in a pinch he might have settled for an Amy Klobuchar)

    JVW (ee64e4)

  123. Talking and not saying anything has always been a Biden hallmark. I attributed it to “old-timey politician” (our very own Dan Rostenkowski was even better at it), and recently I found out that Biden’s father was a successful used car salesman as well.

    Yep.

    “Radio. Heater. Easy payments!” – Richard Nixon [David Frye] ‘I Am The President’ 1969

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  124. “When Biden said “the buck stops here,” he meant bribes and graft, not responsibility for his policies and actions (or lack of action).”

    —- Big Mike

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  125. “To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger

    The first two are in the hands of the Taliban now, but we can still spare ourselves the third one.

    nk (1d9030)

  126. Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/24/2021 @ 3:46 pm

    But I do think I have a right to protect myself by not having my hair cut by someone who isn’t vaccinated.

    You can do what I suggested to KM. Come up with a badge or something you can wear that clearly communicates that unvaccinated people should not associate with you. You can also ask every business you want to go to whether they will reveal their employees vax status and tell them clearly that you don’t want to do business otherwise.

    You’ll still need a solution for the vaccinated but at least you’re not putting demands on people you’ll never associate with.

    frosty (f27e97)

  127. Jim Miller (edcec1) — 8/24/2021 @ 3:46 pm

    I want them to get vaccinated, mostly for their own good and for the good of all the people they regularly come into contact with.

    I know. This is something every authoritarian says. The greater good is the general motto of every effective dictator.

    Are you willing to allow any medical exceptions? I might have missed any comments you made on that. I’ve got a family member who’s been told by their doc to not get vaccinated so asking for a friend.

    frosty (f27e97)

  128. Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/24/2021 @ 4:04 pm

    It had to be consistent with the truth, and yet tend to mislead.

    We’re still talking about the speech this afternoon? You got “consistent” with the truth and “tend” to mislead? Remind me to not make you press secretary when DCSCA gets elected via write in votes.

    frosty (f27e97)

  129. what i find hilarious are the commenters who think biden has impaired faculties

    this guy was a zero back in ‘88

    if you’re learning anything new about the guy now, you are the problem

    JF (e1156d)

  130. @124. Thought provoking interview. Thanks for posting it.

    Chris (3d25b0)

  131. #129 Frosty – Here’s a definition of authoritarianism. I can’t think of anything I have said on this site — or elsewhere — that fits that definition.

    As for your relative, of course I think medical exemptions can be appropriate, and seem to recall mentioning that once or twice on this site.

    I hope your relative is protected against the disease and that those he or she meets have vaccinations and take other precautions, because that is best for everyone. Is that authoritarian, in your opinion?

    And here’s a little story for you: Years ago, I was doing some work in our garden, being watched by my mother and my girlfriend at the time. My mother noticed that I was using a tool I said I didn’t need for the task.

    My mother, to needle me, said something like: “I thought you said you didn’t need that tool.”

    I replied, simply: “I was wrong.”

    And both women broke out laughing, because it is so hard for anyone to admit they were wrong, so I surprised them.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  132. The other day the Sheriff of LA County said that the City Council of LA, the Board of Supervisors LA County put out position statements one day and pay PR firms to immediately fire off 500 emails praising the position. So the next day the PR firms send out announcements saying “We got 500 positive emails in less than an hour”

    I am assuming former Obama minions if the WH are familiar with and even more sophisticated PR campaign… unfortunately the USA falls for it, the Taliban? Not so much

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  133. Mr Finkelman wrote:

    Remember how in 2012 the best intelligence was that attacks in Benghazi were spontaneous? AS the week wore on, they got further and further from the truth.

    And in 2002, the best intelligence was that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  134. Col.
    Thoughts on “Stand by Your Man” by Tammie Wynette?

    mg (8cbc69)

  135. As President, Joe Biden is ultimately responsible for this debacle, but he’s hardly the only one at fault.

    We’ve put trillions in resources in Afghanistan, but didn’t have enough time and energy and money to come up with contingency plans, just in case the withdrawal, which was in the planning for over a year, didn’t go quite as neatly as hoped?

    What the f(ornicate) is that big building with a spare side there for, if it’s not to house military planners who are supposed to have us ready for any contingency? Was there no one who thought that, hey, maybe we need an alternate plan just in case the Afghan military doesn’t hold back the Taliban for three weeks? Was there no one there who thought, hey, maybe we ought to plan on getting all of our military equipment out of there?

    There are a lot of military officers who should be filling out their retirement papers now.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  136. How about some retirement papers from LoWest Point?
    The flushing needs to start.

    mg (8cbc69)

  137. what i find hilarious are the commenters who think biden has impaired faculties

    this guy was a zero back in ‘88

    He’s never been an intelligent or perspicuous man, but 30+ years ago he could string together a series of sentences into a spoken paragraph — loquacious and stupid though his thoughts may have been — whereas today he can barely get through one and a half sentences without losing his train of thought or staring with those beady and confused eyes into his teleprompter as he struggles to transfer the jumbled thoughts in his dim brain to his garrulous mouth.

    So no, I do indeed think he’s worse for the wear these days, even if he never was anything more than a third-rate mind in his heyday, and I believe that videos of Biden from 30 years ago which are readily available on YouTube make that abundantly clear when compared with the disaster that is a present-day Joe Biden speaking odyssey.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  138. Mr M wrote:

    You want to fire unvaxxed people so that you can feel safe getting a haircut and you want to lecture everyone on decent people?

    No, but I won’t get a haircut where they employ unvaxxed barbers or won’t tell me they don’t. Freedom!

    How far do you take that, Mr M? Do you decline to go to a grocery store in which a possibly unvaccinated employee worked in the deli or the meat counter? Do you decline your prescription, just in case an unvaccinated pharmacist filled it?

    Of course, the big question is: do you ask other people about their vaccination status?

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  139. Irony: VP Kamala got to Vietnam; Biden got deferments… just like Darth Cheney.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  140. He’s never been an intelligent or perspicuous man, but 30+ years ago he could string together a series of sentences into a spoken paragraph…

    …only if he stole them from others, plagiarist that he be.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  141. Mr Snowman wrote:

    Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/24/2021 @ 3:21 pm

    Not being sarcastic; I’m starting to think some sort of badge would be a good idea. Then people who wanted to associate based on vaccine status could. It’d make it much easier for you to know which places are safe for you.

    I’m sure if the government could figure out how to make the unvaccinated wear six-pointed yellow stars prominent identification badges, the Democrats would require such. But, since it’s proof of vaccination, not unvaccination, the identification cards would have to be issued to and worn by the vaccinated, and they might not like that.

    Perhaps a laminated, picture identification to be worn on your shirt, like an employee ID badge. It could even have four spaces, in which a special mark could be placed, indicating how many doses of the vaccine you have had. After all, booster shots down the line will be pushed.

    Heck, with that kind of system, we could mandate those badges for everyone, and the marks would tell us who hasn’t had even a single shot. They could be used for everything in society.

    Except voting, of course; that would be wrong.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  142. For a site which attracts so many people with law degrees, do you guys ever ask yourselves how Joe Biden ever made it through law school?

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  143. Heck, with that kind of system, we could mandate those badges for everyone, and the marks would tell us who hasn’t had even a single shot. They could be used for everything in society.

    Except voting, of course; that would be wrong.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9) — 8/24/2021 @ 6:45 pm

    Or something even simpler–a three-digit number discreetly tattooed on the right hand or forehead, for example.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  144. #95
    Is it decent to take a position as a puppet?
    Does a throroughly decent man extort the Ukraine so his son can get a huge payday for doing nothing but a few face to face meetings with “the big guy” then deny those meetings occurred even though there are photos?
    Does a decent man use his postition to leverage people into financing the drug fueled lifestyle of his son.

    I could go on, but Biden is not more decent than Trump simply by not being Trump.
    Joe is a stand alone ass, leader of a family of Washington grifters and a guy who Obama said could F-up anything.

    I’m not so much laughing at his failures at I am laughing at anyone who believed he was better than Trump. Biden was simply different than Trump. He has 30 years of grifting, he says mean stupid things, He can’t tweet because his mind is too far gone and every time he opens his mouth on Kabul he belches lie after lie after lie.

    I’m ok being called unpatriotic by dunces supporting Biden. I support the USA. Biden is at his best when he celebrates his core constituency; fools, dotards and wishful thinkers to name a few. Best way to support the USA is to change the make up in Congress to at least impede the old billy goat dumber urges

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  145. The biggest character swindle is that he ‘has empathy’– he cares.

    Makarkey, blarney and Beaush!t. The Afghan desperate is exhibit A.

    This Irish punk has a history of being a mean, quick-tempered mick, always ready to brawl but somehow ends uphold another’s coat and never leaving the saloon. Corn Pop could take him- and Trump sure as hell could- behind the gymnasium or outside the ring:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkghtyxZ6rc

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  146. @145 this seems like a question only a person who hasn’t gone through law school and has been lucky enough to go through life only meeting the top 50% of lawyers would ask. Please read that as the complement I intended.

    frosty (f27e97)

  147. Mr Snowman wrote:

    @145 this seems like a question only a person who hasn’t gone through law school and has been lucky enough to go through life only meeting the top 50% of lawyers would ask. Please read that as the complement I intended.

    I have used an attorney solely for buying property, securing power of attorney documents, and wills. Somehow, I’ve managed to go through 68 years of life without committing any felonies.

    Or, at least not getting caught for committing any felonies! 🙂

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  148. @144 – this is why I’m warming to my system. I don’t need tattoos or anything invasive. A QR code anyone can scan from outside the 6’ social distancing recommendations would be fine. If you can’t see mine assume I’m unvaxxed.

    No government mandates are required for that. Businesses are free to tell people not wearing the badge they aren’t welcome. Other businesses should also be free to tell people wearing the badge they aren’t welcome. I’m good with badged and unbadged seating on public transportation. I’m interested in seeing how that works out.

    I suspect the pro-mandate crowd has worked out some of the problems with the passport system though and that’s why they’re pushing mandates. There are a lot of problems if you “allow” unvaxxed to roam free with the same rights as the vaxxed.

    frosty (f27e97)

  149. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Cheney#Assassination_attempt

    On February 27, 2007, at about 10 am, a suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded 20 more outside Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan during a visit by Cheney. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and declared that Cheney was its intended target. They also claimed that Osama bin Laden supervised the operation.[121] The bomb went off outside the front gate while Cheney was inside the base and half a mile away. He reported hearing the blast, saying “I heard a loud boom… The Secret Service came in and told me there had been an attack on the main gate.”[122] The purpose of Cheney’s visit to the region had been to press Pakistan for a united front against the Taliban.[123]

    Now if this was really an attempt to kill Cheney, they didn’t come close, or they had no idea what was his car or of he would arrive by car. Ad we can;t necessarily believe it was the Taliban or that Osama bin Laden was involved.

    In the raid on the house Osama bin Laden was living in they seized many documents, mostly computer files. In one of the files, written in 2010, Osama bin Laden had written to attempt to kill Barack Obama and General David Petraeus but not to attempt to kill Joe Biden because he was totally unprepared for the presidency (an opinion he must have come to through a highly placed source in Pakistan)

    https://www.ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Letter-from-UBL-to-Atiyatullah-Al-Libi-4-Translation.pdf

    16- I asked Shaykh Sa’id, Allah have mercy on his soul, to task
    brother Ilyas to prepare two groups – one in Pakistan and the other in the Bagram area of Afghanistan – with the mission of

    Page 36

    anticipating and spotting the visits of Obama or Petraeus to Afghanistan or Pakistan to target the aircraft of either one of them. They are not to target visits by US Vice President Biden, Secretary of Defense Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff (Chairman) Mullen, or the Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Holbrook. The groups will remain on the lookout for Obama or Petraeus. The reason for concentrating on them is that Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make Biden take over the presidency for the remainder of the term, as it is the norm over there. Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the US into a crisis. As for Petraeus, he
    is the man of the hour in this last year of the war, and killing him would alter the war’s path.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  150. If most of the lawyer-politicians could hack it as lawyers, they would not have gone into politics. cf. Paul Newman, The Verdict

    And then you have the successful ones, businessmen, doctors, dentists, trust-fund babies, wives, sons-in-law, et ilk, who got their bundle (one way or another) and now they want the power and something to fill their time.

    I don’t know which is worse.

    nk (1d9030)

  151. I suggest vaccine life clocks get installed in the palms of the hands belonging to the “fully vaccinated.” As the vaccine’s efficacy fades, the red light in the life clock dims. Until they get a recharge booster, they must wander the earth with the great unvaxxed.

    It will make it much easier to spot a compliant barber.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  152. We have cameras everywhere, now, and facial recognition technology. We don’t need to badge or mark anyone. The AIs will immediately recognize everyone in the Vaccinated Database who is spotted in a public place. And, of course, who is not.

    nk (1d9030)

  153. And, of course, who is not *in the Vaccinated Database, I mean.

    nk (1d9030)

  154. OT, but only slightly:

    Supreme Court rejects Biden’s bid to delay ‘Remain in Mexico’ border policy

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday rebuffed President Biden’s request to halt a lower court order that revives the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” border policy, effectively forcing the new administration to make a “good faith” effort to push illegal immigrants back across the border.

    “good faith effort”

    my god

    et tu scotus?

    JF (e1156d)

  155. But you will still not leave your skateboards on the trailer steps like mommy told you not to, won’t you?

    nk (1d9030)

  156. 131. JF (e1156d) — 8/24/2021 @ 5:26 pm

    if you’re learning anything new about the guy now, you are the problem

    What we are learning is that he is an extremely poor politician. Because he did this withdrawal for political reasons, and it isn’t helping him.

    And I think I realize why I didn’t realize it.

    Because when someone is a Senator, he can take one position, and shortly after another position that contradicts it, without severe problems. Or he can advocate something that is unworkable, or that has virtually no chance of working out all right, without problems, because the chances are well over 95% that nobody will take his advice. But when someone is in an executive position, this is not the case.

    Being wrong has consequences. And trying to be a bit centrist doesn’t stop someone from being drastically wrong, particularly when the reason for staking out a position is not honest analysis, but trying to somewhat satisfy all, or most, people. He can get to some place that sounds somewhat good, but doesn’t work in practice.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  157. @155 some of us are also wearing masks

    you know, that cover faces

    JF (e1156d)

  158. @154 – my QR code covers that. It would bounce to a website with a picture, vax date, other details, etc. I wouldn’t recommend we hire the same guys that did the initial Obamacare website.

    frosty (f27e97)

  159. @159 I’m glad you’re noticing this Sammy. Senators are generally bad options for POTUS for exactly this reason. Long serving ones are worst of all. It’s also why governors are usually better choices.

    It also sounds like you’ve discovered the problem with the road that branches to the right and left around the canyon.

    frosty (f27e97)

  160. @155 Sure. Why do you think they lifted the mask mandates despite the almost certain resurgence of the virus?

    nk (1d9030)

  161. Every male senator wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and says, “Good morning, Mr. President.”

    Every female senator wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and says, “I need to lose ten pounds.”

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  162. The American citizenship of Afghan Americans in Afghanistan is not being recognized by the Taliban.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  163. I have not been back in quite awile. Decided to check in

    Its so nice to have the adults back in charge.

    Good call on your end.

    Mythx (95ef20)

  164. 130. frosty (f27e97) — 8/24/2021 @ 5:12 pm

    You got “consistent” with the truth and “tend” to mislead?

    That’s why it took so long to prepare Biden’;s remarks, although it was probably further delayed by waiting to see what happened in the House with the infrastructure bills.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/08/24/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-ongoing-evacuation-efforts-in-afghanistan-and-the-house-vote-on-the-build-back-better-agenda

    I just got off the telephone with the leaders in the House.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  165. @162, I think Senators could be good, but not cynical or flip floppy ones.

    I think also it can be noticeable if they call for impractical things or not.

    Senators get a real education on public matters.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  166. Consistent with the truth:

    As of this afternoon, we’ve helped evacuate 70,700 people, just since August the 14th; 75,900 people since the end of July.

    But “tend” to mislead:

    We are currently on a pace to finish by August the 31st.

    ….But the completion by August 31st depends upon the Taliban continuing to cooperate and allow access to the airport for those who were transport- — we’re transporting out and no disruptions to our operations.

    In addition, I’ve asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans to adjust the timetable should that become necessary.

    I’m determined to ensure that we complete our mission — this mission….

    …Additionally, thus far, the Taliban have been taking steps to work with us so we can get our people out, but it’s a tenuous situation….

    ….We’re already seeing our Allies’ commitment. They’re bringing their — they’re bringing to their countries the Afghans who served alongside their forces as translators or in their embassies, just as we’re bringing to the United States those Afghans who worked alongside our forces and diplomats. We’re continuing that effort.

    He implies that getting them all out is part of the U.S. mission, but he never says so!

    “Just as” is probably an outright lie because the United States is probably not trying as hard as the other countries. I think that maybe they are even admitting them inside the airport without prior certification, and a case number maybe.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  167. s. I think that maybe they are NOT even admitting them inside the airport without prior certification, and a case number maybe.

    (One person was told – now this is some days ago – go home and wait for a telephone call.)

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  168. Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the US into a crisis

    The sad part is that Bin Laden wrote this in 2010, when Biden still had all his faculties, to the point that he ended up being the mediator during the early 2011 budget fight that ultimately ended in the Budget Control Act and the use of sequestration.

    Joe is clearly a shadow of the man he was then, and if the DNC was a ordinary citizen, they’d be charged with elder abuse for doing this to him. The guy should be sitting on his porch in Delaware and enjoying his retirement, not being put in a position to be the face of a nation that he is in now way capable of executing.

    As much as I despise Kacklin’ Kammy, and in no way do I think she’s ready for this either, she can’t be any worse than this. Can she?

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  169. Col.
    Thoughts on “Stand by Your Man” by Tammie Wynette?

    Blues Bros. in a rowdy C&W bar doing a decent rendition of it and how much Duck Dunn is missed by bass guitar aficionados.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  170. DCSCA $78.

    When did he update us this morning?

    Biden said: we updated you this morning.

    Hearing this live, I also missed that Biden wasn’t saying that he personally did this. (and he was only speaking about the number of people flown out of Afghanistan)

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  171. As much as I despise Kacklin’ Kammy, and in no way do I think she’s ready for this either, she can’t be any worse than this. Can she?

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0) — 8/24/2021 @ 8:51 pm

    It can always get worse. And it probably will before it gets better.

    frosty (f27e97)

  172. As much as I despise Kacklin’ Kammy, and in no way do I think she’s ready for this either, she can’t be any worse than this. Can she?

    I think she can be, and that the possibilities are not endless, but they’re damn near it. So, say a prayer, and don’t forget Biden… may he be given wise counsel and able to think with a clear head.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  173. Kamala would side with overturning the filibuster and packing the Court. As is stands, she’d only have until the mid-terms but we haven’t had Trump start helping.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  174. The one good thing about Biden’s cowardice is that he’s enough of a coward to avoid wrecking things. Call him the anti-Trump. Trump rushed in where angels feared to tread. Biden is scared of his shadow.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  175. Biden was passed over every time he ran, except this time when his mediocrity was seen as a virtue.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  176. And because of the likes of you, we have worse than Trump.

    mg (8cbc69)

  177. @177, I used to think this was correct. But the withdrawal has made me question that. Trump backed down several times from withdrawal in Afghanistan. Biden pulled the trigger. Maybe he didn’t have a choice or this was the least bad, but I doubt it.

    Time123 (9c9ab7)

  178. Biden was the right choice when our only other choice was the Orange Baboon. The only thing that restrained Trump’s bestiality in his first term was the Begggin’ Strip of reelection to a second term. Once reelected and a lame duck, he would have wreaked havoc. Put in hardwood floors and flipped America on Realtor.com.

    nk (1d9030)

  179. @177, I used to think this was correct. But the withdrawal has made me question that. Trump backed down several times from withdrawal in Afghanistan. Biden pulled the trigger. Maybe he didn’t have a choice or this was the least bad, but I doubt it.

    Time123 (9c9ab7) — 8/25/2021 @ 3:33 am

    Trump wanted to get them out by Christmas last year, but Liz Cheney and Jason Crow blocked the funding for it based on a phony-baloney intel report on “Russian bounties” that the spooks later admitted was “low-confidence”. Didn’t matter, since it got the effect they wanted.

    It’s an open question as to whether he would have botched the withdrawal as badly as Biden and his team have done, considering the DoD lied to him about our troop presence in Syria. If it’s one thing the boobs in The Building love, it’s continuing ops in areas long after any rational objective has been achieved. Instead of just being incompetently executed, it’s just as likely that it would have been actively undermined and we’d have ended up with the same result anyway. But I doubt Trump would have agreed to a May 1st withdrawal deadline if he didn’t intend to make it happen for the bragging rights.

    We’re seeing the spooks making the claim that they warned Biden about how fast the Afghan Army was crumbling and that he just didn’t listen to them. Since those reports are classified, we won’t know for sure unless someone leaks them or the OCA declassifies them, in order to at least clear them of not warning how bad it was getting.

    Biden was probably fine with the withdrawal in principle–he’s been wanting to do it for years–he just didn’t want to stick to the May 1st deadline because it was Trump’s deadline. He changed it to the 9/11 date so he could get his symbolic Hollywood moment, but the Taliban had other plans.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  180. The one good thing about Biden’s cowardice is that he’s enough of a coward to avoid wrecking things.

    All evidence to the contrary. Now THAT is some funny stuff.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  181. Trump rushed in where angels feared to tread.

    And on bone spurs and elevator shoes, too.

    nk (1d9030)

  182. To do the (planned) withdrawal on 9/11 should have been an impeachable offense in and of itself.

    A still-getting-it-from-Willie Brown version of Kamala Harris wouldn’t have been that bad; as prime whisperer his political instincts are more Clyburn/Carville than Squad. You’d get the shrieking in voting rights but little else on Green Nude and Stabenowian poison pills on immigration.

    urbanleftbehind (0893e7)

  183. “Mr. Biden, you did this! You planned this! You made the deal with the Taliban… this is the consequences of it! This is the repercussions of it! Mr. Biden, it’s your ill calculation! You were against Trump, now we’re against you! Go to hell, Biden!”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/08/24/watch-angry-afghan-screams-go-to-hell-biden-as-taliban-take-over/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  184. Can’t blame that dude…now which swing state can we deposit them in to be the 21st century version of Cuban exiles (permanent margin of victory voters)?

    urbanleftbehind (0893e7)

  185. New Hampshire.

    nk (1d9030)

  186. A question for the Biden Administration: Have you considered being good at your jobs?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  187. I don’t particularly want “our Afghan allies” here. They betrayed their people, they’ll betray us. Many of them are the corrupt officials, bandits, and worse, which made the Taliban the better alternative for the majority of the Afghans. And Taliban or no Taliban, they still have their Afghan ethnic and tribal Dark Ages mentality (some would say barbarity).

    nk (1d9030)

  188. Cheers,nk.

    mg (8cbc69)

  189. Trump is now claiming “thousands” of terrorists are going to come to the United States. Osama bin Laden counseled against sending terrorists alone – they should always be in groups of two. t least for suicide operations. (advice wasn;t always followed)

    15- You should send (a message) to the brothers in all the regions saying that a minimum of two brothers should be sent for
    suicide operations; they should not send a single suicide brother.

    We have experienced this in many operations where the percentage of success was very low, due to the psychological effects that overcome the brother in such cases. The most recent of which was the operation in which our brothers targeted the British Ambassador in Yemen, and one of our brothers, Allah have mercy on his soul, conducted it. Regardless of the heroism of the brother and his steadfastness, the psychological factors that affect the person in such cases necessitate the presence of a companion that will support and bolster him.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  190. And because of the likes of you, we have worse than Trump.

    No, because of the likes of you, we had Trump. Everything follows from that.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  191. And on bone spurs and elevator shoes, too.

    Toupè Touchè

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  192. Factory Working Orphan (2775f0) — 8/25/2021 @ 4:44 am

    We’re seeing the spooks making the claim that they warned Biden about how fast the Afghan Army was crumbling and that he just didn’t listen to them.

    That;s not the “spooks” – that seems to people in the State Department. And even they weren’t willing to go further out on a limb than to say that Kabul might fall within weeks of the withdrawal.

    Joe Biden planned for all contingencies that were on the table. He didn’t have them make good plans for some of the worse ones, but he didn’t consider what actually happened even remotely possible.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/07/08/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-drawdown-of-u-s-forces-in-afghanistan

    Q Mr. President, thank you very much. Your own intelligence community has assessed that the Afghan government will likely collapse.

    THE PRESIDENT: That is not true. …

    …Q So what is the level of confidence that they have that it will not collapse?

    THE PRESIDENT: The Afghan government and leadership has to come together. They clearly have the capacity to sustain the government in place. The question is: Will they generate the kind of cohesion to do it? It’s not a question of whether they have the capacity. They have the capacity. They have the forces. They have the equipment. The question is: Will they do it?

    And I want to make clear what I made clear to Ghani: that we are not going just sus- — walk away and not sustain their ability to maintain that force. We are. We’re going to also work to make sure we help them in terms of everything from food necessities and other things in — in the region. But — but, there’s not a conclusion that, in fact, they cannot defeat the Taliban.

    I believe the only way there’s going to be — this is now Joe Biden, not the intelligence community — the only way there’s ultimately going to be peace and security in Afghanistan is that they work out a modus vivendi with the Taliban and they make a judgment as to how they can make peace.

    And the likelihood there’s going to be one unified government in Afghanistan controlling the whole country is highly unlikely.

    Q Mr. President, thank you. But we have talked to your own top general in Afghanistan, General Scott Miller. He told ABC News the conditions are so concerning at this point that it could result in a civil war. So, if Kabul falls to the Taliban, what will the United States do about it?

    THE PRESIDENT: Look, you’ve said two things — one, that if it could result in a civil war — that’s different than the Taliban succeeding, number one. Number two, the question of what will be done is going to be implicated — is going to implicate the entire region as well. There’s a number of countries who have a grave concern about what’s going to happen in Afghanistan relative to their security.

    The question is: How much of a threat to the United States of America and to our allies is whatever results in terms of a government or an agreement? That’s when that judgement will be made.

    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.

    Since those reports are classified, we won’t know for sure unless someone leaks them or the OCA declassifies them, in order to at least clear them of not warning how bad it was getting.

    Biden was probably fine with the withdrawal in principle–he’s been wanting to do it for years–he just didn’t want to stick to the May 1st deadline because it was Trump’s deadline. He changed it to the 9/11 date so he could get his symbolic Hollywood moment, but the Taliban had other plans.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  193. Trump is now claiming “thousands” of terrorists are going to come to the United States.

    See, I knew he’d show up to help.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  194. @197. Yes, he is: Covid-19 illegals breaking into the U.S. are bio-terrorists.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  195. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/25/2021 @ 8:01 am

    You know you can just not listen to what DT says right? It’s not that hard to just filter out the noise.

    frosty (f27e97)

  196. @194. Ronald Reagan… “because of the likes of you, we had Trump. Everything follows from that.”

    Trump is a Reagan Creation, Kevin.

    Get over it.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  197. 182.Biden was the right choice when our only other choice was the Orange Baboon.

    Dr. Zaius?!

    “That’s some damn choice, Bob.” – Robert Kennedy [Martin Sheen] ‘The Missiles of October’ 1974

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  198. 178.Biden was passed over every time he ran, except this time when his mediocrity was seen as a virtue.

    https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-fc01411200d26acc65cfad513ef0d657-c

    =mike-drop=

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  199. Deflect, deflect, deflect. You voted for worse than Trump.
    Just own it. Confession can be healing for your kind.

    mg (8cbc69)

  200. As much as I despise Kacklin’ Kammy, and in no way do I think she’s ready for this either, she can’t be any worse than this. Can she?

    She can walk [in heels, too!] and speak in complete sentences. Enduring her for a few years would be worth it to cross off the ‘woman prsident’ thingy on the to-do list just like Obama checked off the black box. So unless the deliciously caramel Nikki gets the gig, we can return to middle aged white males running America–you know, when America truly was great. 😉

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  201. 191.I don’t particularly want “our Afghan allies” here. They betrayed their people, they’ll betray us. Many of them are the corrupt officials, bandits, and worse, which made the Taliban the better alternative for the majority of the Afghans. And Taliban or no Taliban, they still have their Afghan ethnic and tribal Dark Ages mentality (some would say barbarity).

    Shorter: The National Football League.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  202. his was Trump:

    https://www.newsweek.com/trump-only-15-percent-afghan-evacuees-are-american-calls-effort-complete-failure-1622615

    Former President Donald Trump criticized President Joe Biden in a statement today for having “surrendered Afghanistan to terrorists and left thousands of Americans for dead” by pulling the U.S. military out of the region prior to evacuating U.S. citizens.

    Trump went on to bash the president for evacuating 4,000 Americans (15 percent) out of the 26,000 total people evacuated, citing a statement leaked from the Pentagon reported by Politico’s Alex Ward.

    He also questioned the Biden administration’s evacuation process, speculating that the Taliban would not allow their “best and brightest” to board flights out of the country.

    “We can only imagine how many thousands of terrorists have been airlifted out of Afghanistan and into neighborhoods around the world,” Trump wrote. “What a terrible failure. NO VETTING. How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? We don’t know!”

    Biden’s on the defensive on that. That’s why he keeps on saying that only U.S. citizens and oermanent residents will be taken directly to the United States – all others, even those destined for the United Staees almost immediately, who could have flown out before even, will get a security screening in places like Ramstein, Germany, before proceeding further

    The Pentagon has stated that “several thousand” Americans remain in the country and that those who want to leave will be evacuated. The effort to evacuate Afghans from the country remains centered around those deemed vulnerable who have applied for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV).

    These visas have been handed out to Afghans who served the U.S. military by providing on-the-ground services. Newsweek previously reported the testimony of a former Army captain who said, “we can’t do our jobs without these interpreters,” adding that they would be “hunted down and killed” if the U.S. chose not to evacuate them.

    This most recent statement appears to depart from Trump’s previous messaging where his critiques focused on the Biden administration’s perceived failure to evacuate Afghan allies.

    In earlier statements Trump wrote:

    “Can anyone even imagine taking out our Military before evacuating civilians and others who have been good to our Country and who should be allowed to seek refuge? The Americans come out first. But we’re also going to help people that helped us. And we have to be very careful with the vetting, because you have some rough people in there, but we’re going to help those people.”

    If you evacuate the civilians, and especially the diplomats, before the military, you’re announcing you expect the Taliban to take over the entire country when the U.S. military goes. Yet Trump now says Biden “surrendered Afghanistan to terrorists” How would he not have done that?
    .
    That’s the contradiction in Trump’s statements, not the back and forth on Afghan allies, where you don’t have a strict contradiction. Americans first? Like as if you could hold planes and fill them only with Americans. And some are being used to process visas

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  203. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/25/2021 @ 7:54 am

    How is a person letting their emotions override their critical thinking skills someone else’s fault?

    frosty (3ee3f8)

  204. Anyone saddened by watching the drag race to dementia?

    mg (8cbc69)

  205. 204, embrace the Bollywood dance-off 3 years from now.

    urbanleftbehind (0893e7)

  206. He’s on top of his game, has been for several months now… http://ace.mu.nu/archives/meme%2020210825%2000a.jpg

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  207. He’s gonna go soon, maybe on live TV, but expect a 2004 Zell Miller-sounding freakout before he drops to the floor.

    urbanleftbehind (0893e7)

  208. Stop playing “stump teh chump”, he’s already frostbitten.

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  209. “So proudly we fail…”

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  210. For Godsakes, keep the man away from “The Button”, and resist all his entreaties to convert it to teh Clapper technology!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  211. “The U.S. Embassy is currently operating at HKIA, located next to the Goatcake Factory restaurant.”

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  212. At the end of an unrelated article:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/world/europe/montenegro-cigarette-smuggling.html

    “Everybody talked about smuggling, but nobody did anything, including the international community,” Mr. Abazovic said, complaining about the United States’ support for Mr. Djukanovic. “When you don’t want to do something, you always say there is no alternative.”

    The cigarettes didn’t result in the addicts committing crimes to pay for it, or in too many deaths of addicts, but people gt killed because of the business.

    An investigative weekly in neighboring Croatia, Nacional, reported in 2001 that Mr. Djukanovic had amassed $65 million from cigarette smuggling and ordered contract killings of associates. The weekly’s editor, Ivo Pukanic, and its marketing director were both later killed by a bomb planted near the editor’s car in Zagreb, the Croatian capital.

    In his recent newspaper interview, Mr. Montgomery, the former ambassador, said he “firmly” believed that the murders, which were never credibly solved, were the work of “the tobacco mafia.”

    Dusko Jovanovic, the editor of Dan, a Montenegrin newspaper that published similar reports to the Croatian weekly, was also assassinated.

    Two Italian law-enforcement officers investigating contraband cigarettes for Guardia di Finanza were killed in 2000 by smugglers near the Adriatic port of Brindisi. A host of suspected gangsters, both Italian and Montenegrin, have also died over the years in vicious turf wars over smuggling routes across the Adriatic.

    Mr. Abazovic said the new government would try to identify those responsible for unsolved past crimes but added, “People connected with smuggling are extremely strong.” He now has seven bodyguards working in shifts.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  213. There’s one province in orthen Afghanistan that has stayed out of Taliban hands. The resistance is led by the 32-year old son of leader of the northern Alliance who was assassinated in a devious plot on September 9, 2001 (and that and the Sept 11 attacks in the United States may have been intended as as a 1-2 punch)

    He compares the situation to that of Europe on 1940 (except that nobody is fighting on) and wants outside help.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-afghanistan-withdrawal-taliban-resistance-ahmad-massoud-panjshir-amrullah-saleh-islamist-national-security-11629728994

    I visited Mr. Massoud in Panjshir last year and spoke with him by phone on Saturday. His voice was clear and resonant but choppy. I asked about rumors circulating in Europe and the U.S. that he was preparing to give up. “That’s propaganda,” he says. “Apparently, there are defeatists among you who mistake their wishes for realities. So, no. Make this known: There is no question of giving up the fight. Here in Panjshir, our resistance is just beginning.”

    What about Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani’s claims that Mr. Massoud was “withdrawing?” “I repeat that this is disinformation. We will never accept an imposed peace, and we will resist until we achieve justice and freedom. . . . No surrender, of course. I would prefer to die than to give up. I am the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud. Surrender is not in my dictionary.”

    Mr. Massoud may seem an unlikely warrior. “I love three things in this world,” he said last year: “books, gardens and the astronomy I learned . . . at King’s College London, which instilled in me the habit of looking each night at the sky and its constellations.” But he is determined to follow the example of his father, who taught him, in the young Mr. Massoud’s words, that “what makes a people strong, above and beyond any imbalance of forces, is the spirit of resistance. . . . You must believe with all your heart in your mission. And for me that mission is irrevocable, whatever the price. My father had that strength inside him. He never had any doubt. I will do my utmost to be worthy of his example, his resolve and his quiet courage.”

    Rumors have also circulated that he has been talking with the Taliban, and he hints that these are true. “Talking is one thing,” he says. “There’s no harm in talking. In every war, you talk. My father always spoke with his enemies. Always. Even when the conflict was at its height. But giving up is another thing altogether. And I repeat that there is no question in the hearts of my commanders or myself of giving up.”

    So why talk? “Because, as any human being, I prefer peace over war, and if the Taliban were willing to solve Afghanistan’s underlying problems and create a just system that guarantees the rights and freedoms of all citizens, then I would accept those terms and we would live in a peaceful Afghanistan. But, once again, . . . I will never accept an imposed peace for the sake of stability. Freedom and rights are much more important for us than being in a prison with stability.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/world/asia/panjshir-valley-ahmad-massoud.html

    In an opinion article in The Washington Post last week, Mr. Massoud appealed for the United States, Britain and France to support his uprising by sending arms, putting President Biden in a very difficult position.

    He needs to be kept alive in order to provide the United States and allies some way of getting back in, if it becomes important.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  214. Don’t be surprised if ol’18 wheeler Joe celebrates the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by flying a plane into a building.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  215. Don’t believe SoS Antony Blinken could make it down a hallway in any U.S. high school without getting slammed into every locker.

    What a wuss.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  216. “At least 24 students from the Cajon Valley Union School District in El Cajon, California and 16 parents are stranded in Afghanistan after taking a summer trip abroad.”

    Holiday in Jalalabad…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  217. Paging DCSCA on that one…

    urbanleftbehind (0893e7)

  218. Holiday in Cambodia Jalalabad

    So you thought you’d seen it all
    A change of scenery, maybe greenery
    But here your type will crawl
    And ya won’t do lunch at Barney’s Beanery
    As your thoughts turn toward your home
    Braggin’ that you know, how the Afghans feel betrayed
    As you stand barefoot in sewage
    It’s time to taste what you most fear
    Joe Biden will not help you here
    Brace yourself, my dear
    Brace yourself, my dear
    It’s a holiday in Jalalabad
    It’s tough, kid, but it’s life
    It’s a holiday in Jalalabad
    Don’t forget to pack a knife

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  219. The Gold Medal for # 1 Arms Dealer to Terrorists goes to-
    cellar Joe.
    Stay off the podium

    mg (8cbc69)

  220. 221. Ironic. But then, given the price of food, gas, the drought, gang gunfire and Covid restrictions, an Afghan vacation – [probably some Biblical excursion BTW]- looked relaxing. Rick and Ilsa were caught up in France w/t Nazis ‘knocking on the door,’ too. Local news showed a plane load of Afghan escapees arriving in SD last night. At least they were flown in — and didn’t break-in sneaking across the border.

    “We’ll always have Paris.” – Rick Blaine [Humphrey Bogart] ‘Casablanca’ 1942

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  221. @223. Somebody whispered to Joe that Afghans export podium.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  222. 208.Anyone saddened by watching the drag race to dementia?

    ROFLMAOPIP

    Fred Allen said something similar years ago in his book: “TREADMILL TO OBLIVION”.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  223. How is a person letting their emotions override their critical thinking skills someone else’s fault?

    I have no idea. Perhaps you could tell me.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  224. Strike that last. Sorry Frosty, I had misconnected things.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  225. How is a person letting their emotions override their critical thinking skills someone else’s fault?

    mg said that voting against Trump was the source of all our ill. My response was that putting Trump up for the nomination in the first place was the killing stroke, and everything after that was consequence. Not sure how you got to your response.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  226. Somebody whispered to Joe that Afghans export podium.

    Probably Hunter.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  227. Don’t believe SoS Antony Blinken could make it down a hallway in any U.S. high school without getting slammed into every locker.

    He probably avoided hallways in high school. Voted “most likely to oversee a surrender” in his HS yearbook.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  228. Mr Snowman wrote:

    No government mandates are required for that. Businesses are free to tell people not wearing the badge they aren’t welcome. Other businesses should also be free to tell people wearing the badge they aren’t welcome. I’m good with badged and unbadged seating on public transportation. I’m interested in seeing how that works out.

    I suspect the pro-mandate crowd has worked out some of the problems with the passport system though and that’s why they’re pushing mandates. There are a lot of problems if you “allow” unvaxxed to roam free with the same rights as the vaxxed.

    And now we have Jeff Bezos selling vaccination card holders that you can wear around your neck on a chain.

    No, they’re not in the shape of yellow Stars of David, but they’re not that dissimilar from a rabies vaccination tag to go on your dog’s collar.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  229. Are US citizens being asked to pay $2,000 for evacuation?

    The U.S. Embassy in Kabul warned people on Wednesday the U.S. government “cannot ensure safe passage” to the airport for evacuation. The bulletin also included a message about every U.S. citizen needing to fill out a “Repatriation Assistance Request” form.

    news.yahoo.com/us-citizens-being-asked-pay…

    Reaganomics, eh Joey?!

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  230. “I trust his [Biden’s] judgement.” – Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, 3rd in line to the presidency, 8-25-21

    Why don’t you fetch him a pint of $15 ice cream to reward the old boy, dear.

    “Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don’t they?!” – The Scarecrow [Ray Bolger] ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ 1939

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  231. Mr Duh wrote:

    I suggest vaccine life clocks get installed in the palms of the hands belonging to the “fully vaccinated.” As the vaccine’s efficacy fades, the red light in the life clock dims. Until they get a recharge booster, they must wander the earth with the great unvaxxed.

    Watched a rerun of Logan’s Run, did you?

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  232. The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9) — 8/25/2021 @ 3:29 pm

    Someone didn’t get the memo that Donald was no longer Pres. Or maybe that fire needed tending lest we forget…

    felipe (484255)

  233. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/25/2021 @ 2:30 pm

    The common mantra is people didn’t vote for JB they voted against DT. You’re specific mantra of we got JB because of DT is similar.

    Both are a version of emotion overriding critical thinking skills.

    frosty (f27e97)

  234. 236. Just Covid? Afghanistan is going to run out of medical supplies in a week, acccording to the World Health Organization. They were trying to get some of the plsnes going into Kabul airport to take suppliies with them, but suppose they do – the Taliban hae cut iff all travel on roads between the main part of the city and the airport – and who is going to drive back and forth?

    Now mayebe China and Russia might supply some medical supplies, for a price. But it woulld only go to people approved of by the Taliban.

    There might be a food shortage also.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)


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