...returning to the piece.
The war in Afghanistan was never very popular, and the author apparently didn't doublecheck some of the dates.
In any case, it was the Trump administration that brokered this deal:
You can look up what was left behind via military sources (7.12 billion), however, “Nearly all equipment used by U.S. military forces in Afghanistan was either retrograded or destroyed prior to our withdrawal and is not part of the ‘$7.12 billion’ figure cited in the report.”
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/27/politics/...index.html
In short, our military leaders (who determined how and when things were left) are not stupid people.
You can check timeline and so forth (including the multiple troop withdrawals under Trump) in this document: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/up...nistan.pdf
Yes, I agree that the final stage was chaotic (and could have been handled much better) but without access to all the information I'm not going to hastily lay blame.
Well... let's see...
To the first one, I think announcing to Putin that if he goes in shooting we'll enable his opponents to shoot right back is simply standard diplomatic exchange, nu?
And to the second, the military isn't as good a way out of poverty and poor education as it was
fifty years ago. More to the point, here's what the military's recruiting chiefs say the problem is:
The author continues, apparently thinking that the Middle East situation is something that just "happened" and is not the result of thousands of years of infighting, bad blood, and various countries (including the US) supporting this ally or that one for their own agendas. The charges he lays against the US can equally be laid against Canada, the UK, Germany, and other allies.
And then we get to this:
At this point, every one reading this who served in the military is probably going "WTF???" The "uniform code of military justice" only applies to ACTIVE MILITARY -- not retired military. Note that none of the leaders violated this policy while serving with Trump. They behaved professionally. After retirement, when they are civilians, they are free to speak their minds and in the past other retired military leaders have done so with other presidents.
They are free to do this with Biden as well, once they retire.
...and so forth.
Valid points are mixed with bits gleaned from sources that seem to promote misinterpretations (like the "uniform code of military justice" bit) and assembled into a dramatic piece designed to alarm conservative readers who are not willing to stop and analyze it by looking up original sources.
I don't think it's very good or very valid. I think the author needs to recheck his sources and go back to original material... and to get a better understanding on what the Fed does and how our government operates.
And meanwhile, I also think that everyone needs to make sure their voter registration is good and current and go vote, particularly in state and local elections (AFTER you read up on the issues, please.)
...your mileage, of course, may vary.
Quote:Confusion reigns among the public over why the Biden administration fled from Afghanistan, leaving behind billions of dollars of munitions and equipment in the hands of Taliban terrorists.
The war in Afghanistan was never very popular, and the author apparently didn't doublecheck some of the dates.
In any case, it was the Trump administration that brokered this deal:
Quote:(from Wikipedia) In February 2020, the Trump administration and the Taliban, without the participation of the then Afghan government, signed the United States–Taliban deal in Doha, Qatar,[sup][7][/sup] which stipulated fighting restrictions for both the U.S. and the Taliban, and provided for the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan in return for the Taliban's counter-terrorism commitments.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%E2%80...fghanistan
You can look up what was left behind via military sources (7.12 billion), however, “Nearly all equipment used by U.S. military forces in Afghanistan was either retrograded or destroyed prior to our withdrawal and is not part of the ‘$7.12 billion’ figure cited in the report.”
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/27/politics/...index.html
In short, our military leaders (who determined how and when things were left) are not stupid people.
You can check timeline and so forth (including the multiple troop withdrawals under Trump) in this document: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/up...nistan.pdf
Yes, I agree that the final stage was chaotic (and could have been handled much better) but without access to all the information I'm not going to hastily lay blame.
Quote:And why did Biden signal to Russia when preparing an invasion of Ukraine that our reaction would depend on the magnitude of Putin’s offensive? Why has military recruitment cratered, shorting the Pentagon of thousands of soldiers?
Well... let's see...
To the first one, I think announcing to Putin that if he goes in shooting we'll enable his opponents to shoot right back is simply standard diplomatic exchange, nu?
And to the second, the military isn't as good a way out of poverty and poor education as it was
fifty years ago. More to the point, here's what the military's recruiting chiefs say the problem is:
Quote:All four men cited problems common to recruiting efforts across the services. They noted the percentage of American youths who qualify for military service has dropped, the COVID-19 pandemic limited the ability of recruiters to interact with potential recruits, the U.S. economy is booming with low unemployment, and the number of adult "influencers" with experience in the military continues to drop.
Source (literally from the horse's mouth here) https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Storie...inues%20to
The author continues, apparently thinking that the Middle East situation is something that just "happened" and is not the result of thousands of years of infighting, bad blood, and various countries (including the US) supporting this ally or that one for their own agendas. The charges he lays against the US can equally be laid against Canada, the UK, Germany, and other allies.
And then we get to this:
Quote:Why did our retired four stars with disdain violate the uniform code of military justice by serially and publicly trashing the commander in chief?
At this point, every one reading this who served in the military is probably going "WTF???" The "uniform code of military justice" only applies to ACTIVE MILITARY -- not retired military. Note that none of the leaders violated this policy while serving with Trump. They behaved professionally. After retirement, when they are civilians, they are free to speak their minds and in the past other retired military leaders have done so with other presidents.
They are free to do this with Biden as well, once they retire.
...and so forth.
Valid points are mixed with bits gleaned from sources that seem to promote misinterpretations (like the "uniform code of military justice" bit) and assembled into a dramatic piece designed to alarm conservative readers who are not willing to stop and analyze it by looking up original sources.
I don't think it's very good or very valid. I think the author needs to recheck his sources and go back to original material... and to get a better understanding on what the Fed does and how our government operates.
And meanwhile, I also think that everyone needs to make sure their voter registration is good and current and go vote, particularly in state and local elections (AFTER you read up on the issues, please.)
...your mileage, of course, may vary.
