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US, NATO Outta Afghanistan 2021

“Some of our NATO allies have already figured out better solutions. Some, like the French, are just going out with their Special Forces and getting their people by whatever means necessary. Mr. President, if the French can do it, so can we,” Zeller wrote.

For a country that 20 years ago talked about "Freedom Fries" and joked about white French flags, that's gotta sting.
 

they always come from the desert/hinterland eh?

 
F**K of Cluster. You get the government you voted for, this is almost on par with the 1842 British defeat on the retreat from Kabul

The french have not been shy in exercising their military force and the Britain known how to retreat from Afghanistan from experience.

Give America time, by their 3rd or 4th retreat from Afghanistan they will know what to do.
 
With battle lines now drawn, the question is, who makes the first move? Will the Northern Alliance move to retake Kabul?
 
With battle lines now drawn, the question is, who makes the first move? Will the Northern Alliance move to retake Kabul?
I hope they are not that dumb.

Hopefully they just do what the taliban was able to do, harass, bled out, melt away, for a few years.

Make the taliban bleed trying to hold their gains. Any move they make now is against a battle hardened force that outnumber them.
 
I hope they are not that dumb.

Hopefully they just do what the taliban was able to do, harass, bled out, melt away, for a few years.

Make the taliban bleed trying to hold their gains. Any move they make now is against a battle hardened force that outnumber them.
That depends on their assets, how experienced their fighters are, and how much ANA kit they have snagged, and are probably still pillaging or redirecting to them. They have an estimated 10k fighters, that is a very large force if they felt they could take the ground and hold it without major loss, they probably will.
 
That depends on their assets, how experienced their fighters are, and how much ANA kit they have snagged, and are probably still pillaging or redirecting to them. They have an estimated 10k fighters, that is a very large force if they felt they could take the ground and hold it without major loss, they probably will.
The taliban number 75k about?

With a large number of those forces making their way to Kabul?

I wouldn't imagine they have enough men at arms to win outright, nor enough structural organization to take advantage of the current situation. Their best chance would probably be retaking all the non pashtun cities in the north, consolidate, and go from there. Especially once the USA and the west are fully gone, and then the USA can back the opposition without fear or things going sideways at HKIA
 
For a country that 20 years ago talked about "Freedom Fries" and joked about white French flags, that's gotta sting.

That would imply that those who beat the drum the hardest about Freedom Fries possess any sort of ability for self-reflection or shame.
 
gee if only we had a well funded airforce...........
I don't think the number of aircraft is the issue. 5000 planes won't change whether the Taliban allow access to the airport, or if it's safe enough for them to land/take off.
 
I have no doubt that the US troops are ready and willing. It's their political leadership that's letting them down, sadly.
Just to play the devil's advocate, as some have done in other threads, this assumes that all we see in the bought-and-paid-for media that's being relied on for information is 1) all that the media sees/knows and/or 2) everything going on behind the scenes (esp. with units who prefer a lower profile) ;)
 
Nice haul of goodies. Maybe we can trade them for some parkas? ;)


Planes, guns, night-vision goggles: The Taliban's new U.S.-made war chest​



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About a month ago, Afghanistan’s ministry of defense posted on social media photographs of seven brand new helicopters arriving in Kabul delivered by the United States.

“They’ll continue to see a steady drumbeat of that kind of support, going forward,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters a few days later at the Pentagon.

In a matter of weeks, however, the Taliban had seized most of the country, as well as any weapons and equipment left behind by fleeing Afghan forces.

Video showed the advancing insurgents inspecting long lines of vehicles and opening crates of new firearms, communications gear and even military drones.

“Everything that hasn’t been destroyed is the Taliban’s now,” one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Current and former U.S. officials say there is concern those weapons could be used to kill civilians, be seized by other militant groups such as Islamic State to attack U.S.-interests in the region, or even potentially be handed over to adversaries including China and Russia.

President Joe Biden’s administration is so concerned about the weapons that it is considering a number of options to pursue.

The officials said launching airstrikes against the larger equipment, such as helicopters, has not been ruled out, but there is concern that would antagonize the Taliban at a time the United States' main goal is evacuating people here.

Another official said that while there are no definitive numbers yet, the current intelligence assessment was that the Taliban are believed to control more than 2,000 armored vehicles, including U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones.

“We have already seen Taliban fighters armed with U.S.-made weapons they seized from the Afghan forces. This poses a significant threat to the United States and our allies,” Representative Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters in an email.

 
Nice haul of goodies. Maybe we can trade them for some parkas? ;)


Planes, guns, night-vision goggles: The Taliban's new U.S.-made war chest​



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About a month ago, Afghanistan’s ministry of defense posted on social media photographs of seven brand new helicopters arriving in Kabul delivered by the United States.

“They’ll continue to see a steady drumbeat of that kind of support, going forward,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters a few days later at the Pentagon.

In a matter of weeks, however, the Taliban had seized most of the country, as well as any weapons and equipment left behind by fleeing Afghan forces.

Video showed the advancing insurgents inspecting long lines of vehicles and opening crates of new firearms, communications gear and even military drones.

“Everything that hasn’t been destroyed is the Taliban’s now,” one U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Current and former U.S. officials say there is concern those weapons could be used to kill civilians, be seized by other militant groups such as Islamic State to attack U.S.-interests in the region, or even potentially be handed over to adversaries including China and Russia.

President Joe Biden’s administration is so concerned about the weapons that it is considering a number of options to pursue.

The officials said launching airstrikes against the larger equipment, such as helicopters, has not been ruled out, but there is concern that would antagonize the Taliban at a time the United States' main goal is evacuating people here.

Another official said that while there are no definitive numbers yet, the current intelligence assessment was that the Taliban are believed to control more than 2,000 armored vehicles, including U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and ScanEagle military drones.

“We have already seen Taliban fighters armed with U.S.-made weapons they seized from the Afghan forces. This poses a significant threat to the United States and our allies,” Representative Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters in an email.

Yeah, for the planes and any other heavy weapons, it will be like what happened with ISIL. They may work for a little while, then lack of maintenance and replacement parts will render them useless.
 
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