daftandbarmy
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2 PARA with what is known in the trade as 'Host Nation Transport' 
US, NATO Outta Afghanistan 2021
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MilEME09
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Northern Alliance is on the move, clearing Banu of taliban
FJAG
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An interesting viewpoint from Germany in Spiegel International:
The Entirely Predictable Failure of the West's Mission in Afghanistan
In early July, I met with a leading Taliban military commander. I asked when his fighters would arrive in Kabul. His answer: "They are already there." How the Afghanistan mission failed and what happens next.www.spiegel.de
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daftandbarmy
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Busy as a bee... in Hell:
The Telegraph has been speaking over the past week to servicemen from 16 Air Assault Brigade’s 2 Para who are on the frontline in Kabul as part of Operation Pitting, the UK’s effort to rescue British nationals and eligible Afghans.
As city by city fell to the Taliban, the soldiers were dropped in under the cover of darkness to save as many as they could.
This is the story of their week.
Friday, August 13: Soldier A did not expect to be packing his bags to deploy for a rescue mission to Kabul. He was due to be enjoying summer leave, switching off from the military and having a break. Instead, after Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, ordered a Non-combatant Evacuation Operation to be executed on Thursday, he was back on a C-17 Globemaster to Afghanistan, a place he had fought in many times before and thought he could leave behind.
Saturday, August 14: “It’s crazy out here,” Soldier A texted from Afghanistan. Within 2 hours of touching down at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, he had taken to the streets to rescue people. “Everyone from 2 Para landed and went straight into it, we had no choice,” he said. “It was really chaotic as Kabul was falling.” The streets were busy, the night was hot, and at times personnel were forced to dismount their military vehicles to move displaced people out of their way so that they could find those they had been sent to rescue. The passengers, a combination of expats, dual nationals and people working with NGOs and contractors, had been instructed by the Foreign Office to report to a secure location, where they were picked up by the soldiers. “We scooped up most of the British nationals on the first day, but I believe there are a few still out there,” he said. Among them were blind, pregnant and disabled people.
Sunday, August 15: In the early hours of the morning, the evacuees were brought to the airfield. Ensuring the safe passage of the civilians to the airport was a “phenomenal” effort, which required coordination between the Royal Air Force and other agencies, including the US military, Afghan police and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Once inside, the evacuees were fed and given the chance to rest. However, the soldier said “conditions were basic, reflecting the emergency nature of the extraction”. Those who had been rescued were “relieved to be getting out”. “A friendly British face goes a long way,” Soldier A said. By nightfall, the capital had fallen to the Taliban.
Monday, August 16: At around 11.30am, 2 Para had completed their first evacuation of around 200 British nationals from Afghanistan. Packed into a military aircraft, the evacuees travelled to the UK via another location in the Middle East. “The guys and girls here have been exceptional,” Soldier A said. “Likewise, some of the Afghans have been unbelievably brave.”
With the first evacuees safely in the air, the soldiers went on to occupy the Baron Hotel complex around 600 metres from the perimeter of the airport, working around the clock. “I’m sleeping less than an hour at a time,” Soldier A said. “I’ve completely lost track of days.”
Tuesday, August 17:Crowds of people swelled around the airport entrance. “It’s chaos,” Soldier A explained. “People are fighting for their lives to get in and British soldiers are at the front of it.” The Taliban appeared to be making it extremely difficult for those seeking evacuation. “People are shaking with fear when they get to us because of the ordeal of getting past the Taliban to reach us,” he added.
The emotional strain of what they are seeing – men and women sobbing, pleading for their lives – takes its toll on the soldiers. “We do a job that volunteers us for some of the most extreme environments on earth,” Soldier A said. “We understand that when we sign on the dotted line, and we do what we have to do. But it doesn’t mean we always enjoy it.”
Wednesday, August 18: It is not lost on the soldiers just how unprecedented it is to be operating in a collegiate way with the Taliban. Many on the ground fought them over the 20-year war and lost colleagues along the way. However, today, they are not being obstructive. “I’m pretty much on a joint patrol with them,” Soldier A said. “It means we stand about five feet away from them. It’s surreal.” In order to get through it he said, “I’m separating the two now”, but conceded that the entire situation was “pretty unfathomable”.
“I am a little concerned, perhaps less about the Taliban’s behaviour changing, more about people becoming desperate,” he said.
Between Sunday, August 15 and Friday, August 20, Britain had evacuated more than 2,400 people, 599 of them UK nationals. Soldier A said: 'Without all the right documentation they just become good people we can’t take'
Thursday, August 19:Flights have started to leave regularly and Soldier A is confident that the UK has developed “a really good system to transition chaos” in order to enable orderly departures. They have also picked up people from a number of other nations. If things keep going at pace he believes British troops will be out by August 31. “We are still on for the end of the month because the real question is will the Taliban accept a delay, they want us out,” he said. Asked if he believed they will evacuate everyone they were sent to recover by that deadline, he added: “We are certainly trying.”
Friday, August 20: Since Sunday, Britain has evacuated more than 2,400 people, 599 of them UK nationals. However, frustration has been brewing on the ground as to why the mission was left so “last minute”.
“Why we didn’t do it a month ago when the rest of the UK mission withdrew is beyond me,” Solider A said. “The country was stable then. Yes, it was the plan to send us in, but it doesn’t make sense – take a load of people and their kit out of a place, to send different people and kit to the same place a month later.”
The soldiers are the ones who have the difficult job of turning desperate people away at the gates of the airport. “Without all the right documentation they just become good people we can’t take,” Soldier A said, although he insisted that despite the emotional hardship the male and female soldiers alike would carry on with their mission in the vein they had started. “They really are doing an awesome job,” he said.
http://www.paktravelnews.com/21-08-... who killed their friends, soldiers have said.
Diary of a British soldier in Afghanistan: ‘We’re on joint patrol with the Taliban, it’s surreal’
The Telegraph has been speaking over the past week to servicemen from 16 Air Assault Brigade’s 2 Para who are on the frontline in Kabul as part of Operation Pitting, the UK’s effort to rescue British nationals and eligible Afghans.
As city by city fell to the Taliban, the soldiers were dropped in under the cover of darkness to save as many as they could.
This is the story of their week.
Friday, August 13: Soldier A did not expect to be packing his bags to deploy for a rescue mission to Kabul. He was due to be enjoying summer leave, switching off from the military and having a break. Instead, after Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, ordered a Non-combatant Evacuation Operation to be executed on Thursday, he was back on a C-17 Globemaster to Afghanistan, a place he had fought in many times before and thought he could leave behind.
Saturday, August 14: “It’s crazy out here,” Soldier A texted from Afghanistan. Within 2 hours of touching down at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, he had taken to the streets to rescue people. “Everyone from 2 Para landed and went straight into it, we had no choice,” he said. “It was really chaotic as Kabul was falling.” The streets were busy, the night was hot, and at times personnel were forced to dismount their military vehicles to move displaced people out of their way so that they could find those they had been sent to rescue. The passengers, a combination of expats, dual nationals and people working with NGOs and contractors, had been instructed by the Foreign Office to report to a secure location, where they were picked up by the soldiers. “We scooped up most of the British nationals on the first day, but I believe there are a few still out there,” he said. Among them were blind, pregnant and disabled people.
Sunday, August 15: In the early hours of the morning, the evacuees were brought to the airfield. Ensuring the safe passage of the civilians to the airport was a “phenomenal” effort, which required coordination between the Royal Air Force and other agencies, including the US military, Afghan police and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Once inside, the evacuees were fed and given the chance to rest. However, the soldier said “conditions were basic, reflecting the emergency nature of the extraction”. Those who had been rescued were “relieved to be getting out”. “A friendly British face goes a long way,” Soldier A said. By nightfall, the capital had fallen to the Taliban.
Monday, August 16: At around 11.30am, 2 Para had completed their first evacuation of around 200 British nationals from Afghanistan. Packed into a military aircraft, the evacuees travelled to the UK via another location in the Middle East. “The guys and girls here have been exceptional,” Soldier A said. “Likewise, some of the Afghans have been unbelievably brave.”
With the first evacuees safely in the air, the soldiers went on to occupy the Baron Hotel complex around 600 metres from the perimeter of the airport, working around the clock. “I’m sleeping less than an hour at a time,” Soldier A said. “I’ve completely lost track of days.”
Tuesday, August 17:Crowds of people swelled around the airport entrance. “It’s chaos,” Soldier A explained. “People are fighting for their lives to get in and British soldiers are at the front of it.” The Taliban appeared to be making it extremely difficult for those seeking evacuation. “People are shaking with fear when they get to us because of the ordeal of getting past the Taliban to reach us,” he added.
The emotional strain of what they are seeing – men and women sobbing, pleading for their lives – takes its toll on the soldiers. “We do a job that volunteers us for some of the most extreme environments on earth,” Soldier A said. “We understand that when we sign on the dotted line, and we do what we have to do. But it doesn’t mean we always enjoy it.”
Wednesday, August 18: It is not lost on the soldiers just how unprecedented it is to be operating in a collegiate way with the Taliban. Many on the ground fought them over the 20-year war and lost colleagues along the way. However, today, they are not being obstructive. “I’m pretty much on a joint patrol with them,” Soldier A said. “It means we stand about five feet away from them. It’s surreal.” In order to get through it he said, “I’m separating the two now”, but conceded that the entire situation was “pretty unfathomable”.
“I am a little concerned, perhaps less about the Taliban’s behaviour changing, more about people becoming desperate,” he said.
Between Sunday, August 15 and Friday, August 20, Britain had evacuated more than 2,400 people, 599 of them UK nationals. Soldier A said: 'Without all the right documentation they just become good people we can’t take'
Thursday, August 19:Flights have started to leave regularly and Soldier A is confident that the UK has developed “a really good system to transition chaos” in order to enable orderly departures. They have also picked up people from a number of other nations. If things keep going at pace he believes British troops will be out by August 31. “We are still on for the end of the month because the real question is will the Taliban accept a delay, they want us out,” he said. Asked if he believed they will evacuate everyone they were sent to recover by that deadline, he added: “We are certainly trying.”
Friday, August 20: Since Sunday, Britain has evacuated more than 2,400 people, 599 of them UK nationals. However, frustration has been brewing on the ground as to why the mission was left so “last minute”.
“Why we didn’t do it a month ago when the rest of the UK mission withdrew is beyond me,” Solider A said. “The country was stable then. Yes, it was the plan to send us in, but it doesn’t make sense – take a load of people and their kit out of a place, to send different people and kit to the same place a month later.”
The soldiers are the ones who have the difficult job of turning desperate people away at the gates of the airport. “Without all the right documentation they just become good people we can’t take,” Soldier A said, although he insisted that despite the emotional hardship the male and female soldiers alike would carry on with their mission in the vein they had started. “They really are doing an awesome job,” he said.
http://www.paktravelnews.com/21-08-... who killed their friends, soldiers have said.
Biden's woke presidency is a self-indulgent luxury the West can no longer afford
The US President should have spent more time worrying about Afghanistan, and less competing to be the world's wokest leaderwww.telegraph.co.uk
I'm not one to take sides when it comes to politics. Like I've said before, good ideas are good ideas, and bad ideas are bad ideas. I don't care which side suggests it/implements it. So I'm not pointing fingers saying "This is all Biden's fault, or Trump's fault, etc."Biden's aides afraid to tell the autocratic president he was wrong.
“This White House is very disciplined, especially when it comes to leaks and such. But the downside of discipline is if you're running things like an autocracy, and you broker no dissent internally, that's not what the purpose of a White House staff is."
Joe Biden's aides 'too afraid' to tell him he was wrong on Afghanistan, say White House insiders
The US president is facing the greatest crisis of his tenure
Tony Blair slams Joe Biden's 'imbecilic' retreat from Afghanistan
America shuts Kabul airport as Dominic Raab is forced to turn to China and Russia for help in Afghanistan
Just a few random thoughts on these types of articles, regardless of which media outlet writes or publishes them:
- The British media can be quite brutal in what they say, how they portray certain events or issues, etc.
- Not all of this can be blamed on Joe Biden, not even close.
We have to remember some key things about what has transpired over the last few years that has led to this situation, and seperate that from how it is being handled now.
- It was President Trump that signed a deal with the Taliban, a deal that was negotiated for well over a year, that included the withdrawl of all US and allied military forces. This also corresponded with one of his primary promises he campaigned on, and contributed to him being elected as POTUS.
- The American public was overwhelmingly in favour of withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan as it had mostly become invisible to the average American, while the American MSM focused on all kinds of other things. (Mostly nonsense.) They didn't want to continue to spend the kinds of blood and treasure to continue fighting what had become America's longest war.
- The Americans had announced, via MSM, a fairly precise withdrawl date - which gave the Taliban some pretty clear planning guidelines. They also published how many troops had been withdrawn, and how many were still in country, at each stage of the withdrawl.
Did anybody think the Taliban would keep their word? No. But there also was no enforcement mechanism in the agreement to ensure the Taliban complied with their end of the deal. All of the above was done prior to President Biden coming into office.
Now in terms of the current fiasco:
- I don't think anybody anticipated the Taliban regaining as much territory as it did, as quickly as it did. It literally swept the country at lightning speed, taking a different province & provincial capital on a near daily basis.
^ I think all of us assumed that at the very least, the ANA along with Afghan Air Force would give them a decent fight before either losing or abandoning post. I don't think any of us anticipated the entire ANA, and ANSF just disappearing entirely within a week or two.
- The Taliban also entered, and started going door to door in Kabul, almost instantly after retaking Kandahar. This led to thousands of people flooding the airport hoping for a flight out, and the chaotic shitshow currently happening now.
Could it have been handled better? Absolutely. But I don't think anybody can realistically say "This is all Biden's fault!" It isn't.
I do question though, as this all unfolds...
Other than embassy staff, and perhaps small numbers of government employees stationed/deployed to Afghanistan, most other Westerners should have been gone. Evacuating embassy staff (including local Afghans who were employed at the embassy in which a special visa was part of their contract) should have been put on a few planes and flown out, with sensitive documents quickly destroyed prior.
- If our interpreters, and other hired locals, were promised a special visa upon completion of their contract...why the hell are they even there still? Should have been moved here years ago, as agreed upon. None of them worked for us, undertaking the risks they did, for our end of the agreement to be fulfilled 'eventually, maybe, one day.' They worked for us in good faith that we would honour our agreement, and we should have. And we've had a decade to do so.
- If not directly employed by an embassy, or other government organization - and if not someone previously promised a special visa like our interpreters - then who the hell are all these western citizens SOF has to go find and rescue? WTF are they even doing there, if not employed directly by their country's embassy?
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Putin: thanks, but no thanks ...
More on the U.S. looking for willing host-while-processing countries here.
RangerRay
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This article is behind a paywall on its website, but available on the Apple News app. The Brits aren’t happy.
www.thetimes.co.uk
Tony Blair attacks Joe Biden’s ‘imbecilic’ Afghanistan retreat as Kabul chaos deepens
Former PM joins ministers in condemning US president, while reports say Afghans are crushed to death at the airport in front of British soldiers
August 22 2021, The Sunday Times
Ministers have warned that Britain will have to tear up its foreign policy after the debacle in Afghanistan, amid flaring tempers about America’s decision to cut and run.
Tony Blair branded Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw “imbecilic”, while cabinet insiders suggested the president was “gaga” and “doolally” for withdrawing so fast.
The former prime minister, who sent British troops to Afghanistan in 2001, accused the president of pulling out “with little or no consultation” with his closest ally.
In a sign of fraying nerves, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, requested an urgent phone conversation with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, to lobby the Americans to keep the evacuation at Kabul airport going beyond Biden’s deadline of August 31.
A senior government source said: “We’ve never put a fixed date on withdrawal. The situation on the ground is in flux — it would be unwise to impose a rigid deadline at this stage. Our priority is getting our people out, as safely and as quickly as possible.”
The war of words came as:
● There were reports of women being crushed to death at the airport, despite efforts made by British soldiers to save them. The British defence ministry said on Sunday that seven Afghan civilians have died in the chaos near the airport.
● Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, said last night that Labour MPs had been hearing of people being “shot at, beaten and raped” while waiting at the airport.
● Baron hotel in Kabul, where many British citizens are to go to for processing, is said to have been blockaded by the Taliban.
● The US embassy advised Americans against travelling to the airport because of “potential security threats”.
● Taliban opponents claimed to have seized three districts near Kabul, in the first sign of resistance to the militants.
● Mullah Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban, arrived in the capital.
● In London and Glasgow, protesters took to the streets in a stand against the unfolding humanitarian disaster.
Raab intervened amid evidence of bad feeling between Britain and the US. A minister denounced American “isolationism” and said that the government would have to “revisit” the recent review on defence and foreign policy because the US was no longer a reliable ally.
“America has just signalled to the world that they are not that keen on playing a global role,” the minister said. “The implications of that are absolutely huge. We need to get the integrated review out and reread it. We are going to have to do a hard-nosed revisit on all our assumptions and policies.
“The US had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the First World War. They turned up late for the Second World War and now they are cutting and running in Afghanistan.”
There were further incendiary claims that Boris Johnson has privately referred to Biden as “Sleepy Joe”, the nickname coined by Donald Trump. A source also said the prime minister “half-jokingly” remarked: “We would be better off with Trump.” Downing Street called the claims “categorically untrue” but Johnson’s warm noises about the ex-president are corroborated by witnesses.
On Saturday, Trump attacked Biden’s handling of the retreat of US forces from Afghanistan at a rally near Cullman, Alabama.
He said: “Biden’s botched exit from Afghanistan is the most astonishing display of gross incompetence by a nation’s leader, perhaps at any time.
“This is not a withdrawal. This was a total surrender.”
Blair rounded on Biden, accusing him of making a political decision rather than a strategic one. “We didn’t need to do it,” he wrote yesterday. “We chose to do it. We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending ‘the forever wars’.”
Biden said: “It’s time to end this forever war” when he first announced the US withdrawal in a national televised address in April.
Blair said: “For Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation ... we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers.”
The Ministry of Defence said Britain had rescued 3,821 people from Kabul since August 13. They include 1,023 UK passport holders plus 1,429 Afghan interpreters and other staff who worked for Britain, and their families.
Military sources have also told MPs that as tensions rose last week, there were clashes with the US on the ground and “heated words” between British and US commanders at Kabul airport, including one “stand-up” row.
In Whitehall there was fury last week when the Americans closed their gate to the airport and sent prospective refugees to the area manned by 2 Para.
The prime minister is “extremely frustrated” by developments in Afghanistan, senior officials admitted.
A diplomat warned that officials in London were confident the evacuation effort at the airport could hold only “until Tuesday”.
Johnson will convene a meeting of G7 leaders this week and last night spoke to the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, about a UN security council resolution.
A government source said: “The PM has not criticised the US and regards co-operation on Afghanistan to be vital going forward.”
Discover more from The Times
Download our app
Visit our website
Times Expert Traveller
Tony Blair attacks Joe Biden’s ‘imbecilic’ Afghanistan retreat as Kabul chaos deepens
Ministers have warned that Britain will have to tear up its foreign policy after the debacle in Afghanistan, amid flaring tempers about America’s decision to cu
www.thetimes.co.uk
Tony Blair attacks Joe Biden’s ‘imbecilic’ Afghanistan retreat as Kabul chaos deepens
Former PM joins ministers in condemning US president, while reports say Afghans are crushed to death at the airport in front of British soldiers
August 22 2021, The Sunday Times
Ministers have warned that Britain will have to tear up its foreign policy after the debacle in Afghanistan, amid flaring tempers about America’s decision to cut and run.
Tony Blair branded Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw “imbecilic”, while cabinet insiders suggested the president was “gaga” and “doolally” for withdrawing so fast.
The former prime minister, who sent British troops to Afghanistan in 2001, accused the president of pulling out “with little or no consultation” with his closest ally.
In a sign of fraying nerves, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, requested an urgent phone conversation with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, to lobby the Americans to keep the evacuation at Kabul airport going beyond Biden’s deadline of August 31.
A senior government source said: “We’ve never put a fixed date on withdrawal. The situation on the ground is in flux — it would be unwise to impose a rigid deadline at this stage. Our priority is getting our people out, as safely and as quickly as possible.”
The war of words came as:
● There were reports of women being crushed to death at the airport, despite efforts made by British soldiers to save them. The British defence ministry said on Sunday that seven Afghan civilians have died in the chaos near the airport.
● Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary, said last night that Labour MPs had been hearing of people being “shot at, beaten and raped” while waiting at the airport.
● Baron hotel in Kabul, where many British citizens are to go to for processing, is said to have been blockaded by the Taliban.
● The US embassy advised Americans against travelling to the airport because of “potential security threats”.
● Taliban opponents claimed to have seized three districts near Kabul, in the first sign of resistance to the militants.
● Mullah Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban, arrived in the capital.
● In London and Glasgow, protesters took to the streets in a stand against the unfolding humanitarian disaster.
Raab intervened amid evidence of bad feeling between Britain and the US. A minister denounced American “isolationism” and said that the government would have to “revisit” the recent review on defence and foreign policy because the US was no longer a reliable ally.
“America has just signalled to the world that they are not that keen on playing a global role,” the minister said. “The implications of that are absolutely huge. We need to get the integrated review out and reread it. We are going to have to do a hard-nosed revisit on all our assumptions and policies.
“The US had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the First World War. They turned up late for the Second World War and now they are cutting and running in Afghanistan.”
There were further incendiary claims that Boris Johnson has privately referred to Biden as “Sleepy Joe”, the nickname coined by Donald Trump. A source also said the prime minister “half-jokingly” remarked: “We would be better off with Trump.” Downing Street called the claims “categorically untrue” but Johnson’s warm noises about the ex-president are corroborated by witnesses.
On Saturday, Trump attacked Biden’s handling of the retreat of US forces from Afghanistan at a rally near Cullman, Alabama.
He said: “Biden’s botched exit from Afghanistan is the most astonishing display of gross incompetence by a nation’s leader, perhaps at any time.
“This is not a withdrawal. This was a total surrender.”
Blair rounded on Biden, accusing him of making a political decision rather than a strategic one. “We didn’t need to do it,” he wrote yesterday. “We chose to do it. We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending ‘the forever wars’.”
Biden said: “It’s time to end this forever war” when he first announced the US withdrawal in a national televised address in April.
Blair said: “For Britain, out of Europe and suffering the end of the Afghanistan mission by our greatest ally with little or no consultation ... we are at risk of relegation to the second division of global powers.”
The Ministry of Defence said Britain had rescued 3,821 people from Kabul since August 13. They include 1,023 UK passport holders plus 1,429 Afghan interpreters and other staff who worked for Britain, and their families.
Military sources have also told MPs that as tensions rose last week, there were clashes with the US on the ground and “heated words” between British and US commanders at Kabul airport, including one “stand-up” row.
In Whitehall there was fury last week when the Americans closed their gate to the airport and sent prospective refugees to the area manned by 2 Para.
The prime minister is “extremely frustrated” by developments in Afghanistan, senior officials admitted.
A diplomat warned that officials in London were confident the evacuation effort at the airport could hold only “until Tuesday”.
Johnson will convene a meeting of G7 leaders this week and last night spoke to the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, about a UN security council resolution.
A government source said: “The PM has not criticised the US and regards co-operation on Afghanistan to be vital going forward.”
Discover more from The Times
Download our app
Visit our website
Times Expert Traveller
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…for a second there, I thought he was referring to Iraq, and pandering to G.W. and the contrived WMDs….
This goes to show that many politicians will spare no effort in hypocritical denigration of others. Blair certainly isn’t someone I’d put on the short list of great leaders…
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#OppositionForTheSakeOfOpposition…for a second there, I thought he was referring to Iraq, and pandering to G.W. and the contrived WMDs….
This goes to show that many politicians will spare no effort in hypocritical denigration of others. Blair certainly isn’t someone I’d put on the short list of great leaders…
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Last Updated: 22nd August, 2021 21:08 IST
Afghanistan: Fighting Erupts In Andarab; Massoud's Northern Alliance Surrounds Taliban
The Taliban and the resistance forces are fighting it out in Andarab, after three of the neighboring districts- Banu, Pol-e-Hesar, and De Salah were captured.
https://www.kooapp.com/create?title=Afghanistan: Fighting erupts in Andarab; Massoud's Northern alliance surrounds Taliban https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/afghanistan-fighting-erupts-in-andarab-massouds-northern-alliance-surrounds-taliban.html&link=https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/afghanistan-fighting-erupts-in-andarab-massouds-northern-alliance-surrounds-taliban.html&language=en&handle=republic&utm_source=republic&utm_campaign=republic_share
Credit-AP/Facebook/AhmadMassoud
A massive battle has broken out in Andarab - a southern district in the Baghlan province of Afghanistan. The Taliban and the resistance forces are fighting it out in Andarab, after three of the neighbouring districts - Banu, Pol-e-Hesar, and De Salah from the Baghlan province were captured by the army of Ahmad Massoud's. Ahmad Massoud started a resistance soon after the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan, after capturing the capital city Kabul.
'Either do or die'
Earlier in the day, a video was accessed by Republic Media Network in which Commander Lutfullah, who is leading the Andarab resistance in Afghanistan, was seen delivering a special speech to his supporters to fight back against the Taliban. In his speech, Commander Lutfullah asserted, "Either we do or die, but we will not let Taliban rule here." It is important to note here that the people of Andarab do not have heavy weapons, and the weapons that they have in general are limited in numbers.
As per sources, the residents of the district have surrounded the militant group. The group earlier in the day took several children, and women hostage in a bid to negotiate and this infuriated the residents who came out of their houses to fight them tooth and nail.
Andarab borders Panjshir, Afghanistan's last remaining holdout against the Taliban. The terrorist group had issued an ultimatum of four hours for the Ahmad Massoud-led anti-Taliban National Resistance Front of Afghanistan in Panjshir.
"If they surrender within the stipulated time, everything will be fine. Otherwise, we will punish," the group stated, while sharing a video in which it can be seen moving towards Panjshir.
However, the leader of the resistant force, Ahmad Massoud, has made it clear that he and his force do not have the word 'surrender' in their vocabulary.
"If anyone by any name would want to attack our homes, our land, and our freedom, just like the National Hero-Ahmad Shah Massoud and other Mujahedeen, we as well are ready to give away our lives and die but will not give away our land and our dignity," Massoud had said. He insisted that the resistance would continue 'no matter what'.
Backstory
On Aug 20 (Friday)
On Friday, former Afghan government official General Bismillah Mohammadi tweetedthat fighters had taken back control of three districts in the northeastern Baghlan province: Hesar Bridge, Deh Salah, and Beno.
Sarfaraz
@Sarfaraz1201
·
Aug 20
Today our forces and local uprising forces liberated the strategic Pul-e-Hesar, Banu and Andarab districts of #Baghlan province from Taliban. Dozens of Taliban were killed. RESISTANCE2.0 IS A MUST.
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Brad Sallows
Army.ca Legend
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Biden was VP for all 8 years of an administration that had the Afghanistan file among its worries. He didn't come to this dance with no inkling of what the floor was like.
Yes, it is trivially true that it can't all be Biden's fault. Yet we (or at least some) have learned that Trump's deal was irrelevant; Biden had already decided for himself to leave. We have learned that he allegedly spoke harshly of the fate of the people there years ago ("Fuck that, we don’t have to worry about that. We did it in Vietnam, Nixon and Kissinger got away with it.") He was a man who primed himself to cut and run, and that's the decision he made.
Second prize goes to the NeverTrump neo-cons: they worked hard to get their wars going, they worked hard to move the goalposts to include nation-building, they worked hard to oppose the preceding administration's attempts to depart conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan, they worked hard to elect the man responsible for what is happening now. Few have been privileged to conduct failures of such magnitude and completeness, all the while moaning about the terrible direction America is taking and how people no longer heed them.
Agreed, very much so.
When I wrote my post in response to the media posts, especially the British media as they had released some of the articles various members here have posted — I was coming off of a night shift and very much in zombie mode.
There were certain things that I had completely forgotten about when I wrote my post, now that I re-read it.
I should have clarified the ultimate points I was trying to make, which were:
- This fiasco was several years in the making, and not just under Trump. As much as I am very much not a Trump fan, he did inherit this conflict, he didn’t start it. And Obama inherited the conflict also. (I was so tired last night, i actually forgot Biden was VP for 8 years. Thanks for reminding me of something obvious I should have remembered!)
- And while all of this is happening under Biden’s watch, the beginnings of this final withdrawal fiasco started prior to him being POTUS. My main point is not ALL of this is his fault, as there were/are many factors at work here, most of which have been evolving over the years prior to him being POTUS.
It’s easy for media outlets, the public, and various politicians to point the finger at who is in charge now and say “this is all your fault!” Except it isn’t all his fault.
Just in my own opinion, it is unfair to lay this ALL on Biden, even if he was VP during the Obama years. He absolutely was involved in this conflict during those years in very influential ways - but we need to remember there were 4 years between then and when he became POTUS that a lot happened, which changed the landscape of the conflict and contributed to what is happening now.
We also need to remember that a lot of things happening behind the scenes in respect to China and Russia may have influenced how quickly the Taliban regained control - factors that may not have been in play when he was VP.
Not giving him a free pass. The withdrawal aspect of this conflict has been handled poorly, and what’s been happening for the last month of so has very much been on his watch.
That being said, I am was extremely shocked and to be honest - disappointed - at the literal “how” US forces departed Bagram, Kabul, etc. That only happened roughly a month ago, and was very much under Biden’s watch.
Departing in the middle of the night - without notice - as well as leaving various little “dickhead gestures” to boot - was disappointing. To have our Afghan partners say they woke up and the Americans were gone, and didn’t even hear them leave. They didn’t inform them they were leaving that night, no ceremony or anything. Turned the power off to half the base, and even locked up half the buildings prior to quietly leaving overnight.
While that departure date was obviously planned and scheduled, and many at the senior & political levels were aware — it seemed like nobody bothered to inform the ANA/ANSF leadership at the base of the departure. I would have assumed the senior American leadership on the ground would have had enough
contact with his Afghan counterpart that they would have at least shook hands & parted ways in a professional manner.
Waking up to have all the Americans gone, along with their kit, power shut off to half the base and various buildings locked even though they were now empty? Not the classiest way for allies to part ways while in a war zone.
I don’t expect politicians to keep troops informed of every single thing scheduled, but the command leadership at a joint base should have been working with their Afghan counterparts enough for it to not be a complete surprise.
Regardless, I think we all agree that the current is an absolute disaster which was easily avoidable had proper preparations been made.
0.02
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An interesting viewpoint from Germany in Spiegel International:
I was listening to NPR on the road the other day, and an ex-CIA official said "if we were building the ideal force to succeed in Afghanistan, it'd be the Taliban."
Well that’s the last thing the west wants to hear under the current circumstances, and yet probably brutally accurate.
Excellent trigger discipline indeed.
Having sons & brothers join the ANA during a lull in the fighting, or if pro-Taliban villages had young men to spare/come of age - to receive basic military training, and gain insight into how the ANA & western forces worked together, basic tactics, basic information on equipment, etc - quite helpful to someone either way.
If they are a Taliban agent, they just gained access to basic, yet valuable information on how the ANA operates, who is in the ranks & who are in senior unit-level positions, enough information on Humvees to help plan more successful ambushes, radio jargon, etc.
What better way to learn about one’s enemy than live with them, and have them think of you as one of them?
And if need be, initiate a green on blue incident - killing the opposition so the Taliban in the area can continue to operate and/or win, while sowing intense mistrust among the ranks of the ANA & their western colleagues. Brutal, harsh, and yet jawdroppingly effective.
Solid trigger discipline. Familiarity with how to operate the M-16 & M-4 family, including how to clean and maintain them, clear a jam, fix a malfunction, etc. Those skills came from somewhere… not everybody we trained was loyal to the ANA, and plenty disappeared after completing their training. (Where did those lads go off to, anyway?)
We knew this was the case at the time. We knew not everybody in an ANA uniform had joined ‘because they loved their country’. We knew green on blue was a very possible scenario, hence the way we structured where our guys were when we were training them.
(Remember that in addition to having the instructors instruct - as a group lecture, then individually work with each ANA trainee to help clarify and refine the lessons being taught - always have one or two guys at the rear, weapons ready, watching and observing. If/when one of them initiated a green on blue, they had the beat and could drop them fairly quickly if need be.)
(Also remember, depending on location and local AO - if situation allowed for it, always try to have lunch with the ANA. Somehow we don’t seem to take mortar, rocket, or machine gun fire on the days we sit with them…but on days where we eat separately, somehow we always end up with a rocket or two being fired at us.)
No matter what the west did when it came to the Afghan government and the ANA, we were destined to inadvertently train the enemy to one extent or another. We did what we could to minimize that, but it was inevitable to an extent.
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Want answers? Follow the money.
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You mean, like someone was paid off to open the door for Red China?
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