When did the Taliban Make a Comeback???

a reply to: gortex

Yea and the same thing happened when Obama pulled out of Iraq expecting the Iraq forces to fight back without any support. Which created a power vacuum and the rise of isis. Arming Syrian rebel forces to fight our proxy wars didn't help either.

If our leadership didn't expect this to happen then our military and leadership is truly doomed. Or we just don't mind our allies of over twenty years getting slaughtered. We didn't deserve their help.

originally posted by: ElGoobero
I thought the Taliban was old news / dustbin of history.
now they seem to be capturing capitals and stuff every week.

when did this happen?
were they always there? hibernating? waiting for US troops to leave?

I'm surprised--and a bit troubled--watching them taking over Afghanistan.

are any Caliphate guys still around in Iraq?

Tellietubbies made a comeback when the Dems needed a new boogieman..

a reply to: ElGoobero

As soon as Democrats were in charge again. They got to get their war industry fired up again so they can profit from it.

a reply to: JDmOKI

Arming Syrian rebel forces to fight our proxy wars didn't help either.

that would also include isis,

As much as 90 percent of ISIS's arms and ammunition were found to have originated in Russia, China and Eastern European states. The jihadis were able to obtain much of this arsenal as a result of former President Barack Obama's support for rebels in Syria, U.K.-based Conflict Armament Research reported after analyzing 40,000 items recovered by its investigators along ISIS front lines between July 2014 and November 2017. By purchasing "large numbers" of European arms and ammunition and then diverting them to nonstate actors in Syria without notifying the sellers, the U.S. reportedly "violated the terms of sale and export agreed between weapon exporters...and recipients."

As ISIS began to take nearly half the country, the U.S. continued to train and equip Syrian rebels, using local allies like Jordan and Turkey as intermediaries. In its report, Conflict Armaments Group included dozens of photographs of EU-manufactured weapons believed to have been procured by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, shipped to Syrian rebels and later obtained by ISIS, which moved them between Iraq and Syria. These included a powerful anti-tank missile launcher bought from a Bulgarian manufacturer by the U.S. Army and wielded by ISIS only weeks later.

How ISIS Got Weapons From the U.S. and Used Them to Take Iraq and Syria

there is no way in hell that obama, mc cain, and people in the pentagon couldn't have known this would happen.

inside a week after purchase isis had it, hell it was probally dropped off at one of their camps and the rebels never even saw it.

Its the far lefts proxy groups.. isis vanish when they out-of office..funny that

Now Trump has gone.. there they are again

reply to: ElGoobero

we are witnessing another "Junior Varsity" moment in History 💡😃

originally posted by: lSkrewloosel
Its the far lefts proxy groups.. isis vanish when they out-of office..funny that

Now Trump has gone.. there they are again

reply to: ElGoobero

I wish you partisans would snap out of your brain washing. They are not the democrats proxy armies, they are the CIA's proxy armies. Since Bush Sr, who was also the head of the CIA for a while, all the presidents left or right have been globalist presidents, fulfilling globalist objectives.

LIke the global trade agreements that outsourced the American production base and a vast majority of non college career jobs out of the US. Started under bush and the republicans and expanded equally by, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama and yes even under the Globalists Trump card.

a reply to: ElGoobero

How do you kill a decentralized army?

This is why Afghanistan has beaten every major world power every time they have been invaded for their poppy fields.

An imaginary line separates Afghanis from their family in Pakistan.

When they cross that imaginary line, they're pretty much safe, because they're Pakistani now.

If they don't want to cross that line, they go hide in one of the millions of caves throughout the mountains.

a reply to: hounddoghowlie

Yup it was a CIA operation called Timber Sycamore.

The US was also smuggling weapons from Libya, via a Russian sounding ship, into Turkey. They then ilegally smuggled weapons to Syrian opposition fighters in Kobané using Red Crescent 'ambulances' and vehicles and brought back wounded forces including ISIS members back into Turkey for medical treatment.

US journalist Serena Shim was killed by US and Tukish intel for uncovering this - She was working for Iranian State Press TV at the time which would normally rubbish such claims but I clearly remember seing a lot of pictures of young men in brand new clothes and factory fresh trainers that didn't even have dust on the bottom jumping out the back of red crescent ambulances.

I don't subscribe to the idea that the CIA or politicians deliberately created or armed such groups by design myself - IMHO all the evidence (i.e last 70 years in Afghanistan) points in the direction they're so incompetent they couldn't create such a group even if they tried - the approach has always been to arm and train any group who were fighting against a perceived enemy of the US regardless of what the aims, beliefs or intentions of said group are.

a reply to: rounda

Yup - It was always going to be a failure from day one. Always has been for every empire and the US destroyed Afghanistan in the 50s/60s so Afghani's were never going to fall in line with a US puppet government and laws. They hate us Brits even more for good reason.

Afghanistan is largely a tribal and nomadic country proud of the fact it has never been conquered. It has arguably the most brutal terrain and living conditions in the world; to make it to adulthood people have to be incredibly tough and resilient.

Trying to force western ideals of borders, nationality and even the Western measure of time of day simply doesn't work and they have plenty of historical reasons to reject any western/invasion interference.

Plan is to make U.S. and Allies buy all Afghan natural resources from China brokers 😮

Watch and see 😎

originally posted by: SuicideKing33
a reply to: ElGoobero

I remember when ISIS was a thing. Trump disintegrated them very quickly. Odd that you never even hear much about that eh? After Obama p####footed around the issue as they grew in strength and were on the TV more and more...almost like it was planned...

Amazes me how many trump fans ate up this narrative. He did not end Isis. They have never ceased to be.

originally posted by: ElGoobero
I thought the Taliban was old news / dustbin of history.
now they seem to be capturing capitals and stuff every week.

when did this happen?
were they always there? hibernating? waiting for US troops to leave?

I'm surprised--and a bit troubled--watching them taking over Afghanistan.

are any Caliphate guys still around in Iraq?

Thanks Joe !

Another name for the Taliban is warlords. The whole country has been warlords for 2000 years, but the Taliban is a very radical group of warlords that believe in an extreme level of Islam.

Here is Afghanistan in the 50s

originally posted by: SuicideKing33
a reply to: ElGoobero

I remember when ISIS was a thing. Trump disintegrated them very quickly. Odd that you never even hear much about that eh? After Obama p####footed around the issue as they grew in strength and were on the TV more and more...almost like it was planned...

It was the Russians who defeated ISIS, not Trump. They practically carpet bombed them into non-existence.

a reply to: ElGoobero

None of the problems that lead to the Taliban rising to power in the first place have been addressed in a significant way. In fact some are much worse. Particularly corruption and the domination of power by warlords and the urban elite.

People in rural areas and the provinces feel that the Taliban better serve their interests than a bunch of corrupt officials in ivory towers. They want a less centralized government that addresses their local needs. Which is what the Taliban is offering.

To top things off, the Afghan army is deeply unpopular and is responsible for countless civilian deaths, and a lot of Afghan simply want foreign influences to end. Both of which the Taliban are offering to solve.

originally posted by: Zanti Misfit

originally posted by: ElGoobero
I thought the Taliban was old news / dustbin of history.
now they seem to be capturing capitals and stuff every week.

when did this happen?
were they always there? hibernating? waiting for US troops to leave?

I'm surprised--and a bit troubled--watching them taking over Afghanistan.

are any Caliphate guys still around in Iraq?

Thanks Joe !

8 months of Joe Vs 4 years of Trump?

I wonder who is most responsible?

a reply to: ElGoobero

The Taliban "comeback" was noticed in 2006 (timeline ). The first signs of trouble fall with the creation of Provincial Reconstruction Teams, whose role isn't to provide security but to undertake an ad-hoc "nation-building" exercise. There was no equivalent of the Marshal Program or focus on health and education systems undertaken.

The U.S. imposing a central government on Afghanistan is the second greatest gift the Taliban received, behind support from Pakistan. The corruption and cronyism that plagued South Vietnam and Afghanistan doomed both countries. Many people in South Vietnam didn't like the Communists, but they saw no reason to fight on behalf of their disgusting government. Tribal differences aside, something similar seems to have occurred in Afghanistan after the departure of coalition forces.

a reply to: xuenchen


There is an element of truth in that statement. I do not doubt that China aims to develop the infrastructure required to exploit Afghanistan's natural resources. But, no doubt, the Taliban are content to take their slice of the financial windfall from Chinese mining enterprises.

I suspect that the Taliban convey through back-channels to the U.S. that ISIS and other "unfriendly" non-state actors are not welcome in their backyard. To what extent they are capable of dealing with these threats is an interesting question.

a reply to: xpert11

I suspect that the Taliban convey through back-channels to the U.S. that ISIS and other "unfriendly" non-state actors are not welcome in their backyard.

Yet its alleged that many UK/US/European etc ex-ISIS fighters are now rushing to join The Taliban?

Anyone who has even the smallest amount of knowledge of Afghanistan surely must have known this was going to happen when it was decided to abandon Afghanistan.

a reply to: Freeborn

The Biden admin is comfortable with the risk of Afghanistan returning to terrorist haven status. Also, Trump and his cronies ignored the same threat. So the question in my mind is, was another outcome possible? After the fallout from Obama withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, I wonder why that didn't sound a note of caution with people's thinking concerning Afghanistan?

No good options existed. Policymakers ignored the effects of corruption central or lacked the means to tackle the elephant in the room. Moreover, employing U.S. troops as a counterweight to China in Afghanistan might make geopolitical sense. But none of the underlying issues is addressed. Pakistan never had any intention of turning off aid to the Taliban. The problems I mentioned previously remain.