If you are a subscriber, on the podcast you can get my conversation with Rob Henderson about the new show The Chair, which we both thought was awful but nonetheless fun to analyze. It is also available in video form on YouTube below. On a different note, I
"People say it’s been handled poorly (see my thread here), but they do not know what the counterfactual is, and these arguments should be mostly seen as propaganda to either get the US back into the war or send a message to any future president who wants to defy the media and the generals that they’re going to make his life miserable."
I've seen commenters, including private individuals, who are relieved to see the United States leave and are also aghast at how it's been handled, especially the fact that so many people may be left behind.
Aren't "counterfactuals" pretty much a constant in all situations? Should that preclude judgment? I hope that there is a deep investigation into Afghanistan and the American exit.
Biden confirmed the 8/31 withdrawal date back in April. He should fire Austin and Milley, strip them of their pensions and healthcare, and permanently ban them from serving on the board of any defense contractor or private equity firm. That would only be the start. I saw Richard retweet an article saying that we need some kind of purge of the Pentagon and associated talking heads, NGO's, etc. Couldn't agree more.
The withdrawal could have been handled better. Nonetheless, the withdrawal was going to happen and should have happened many years ago. The prospect of preventing anything like this happening again, let alone penalizing the people who promoted it and profited from it, seems remote, sadly.
I agree that it's very unlikely that ISIS and Taliban are cooperating in a material way. I'm sure they're rooting for each other but that's about it as the connection between the two has never been all that strong. Clearly this attack undermines Taliban's crediblity to deliver on safeharbor agreements.
The advantage of keeping Bagram would be emphasizing the "close" in close air support. I'm not sure where air runs out of now but it will take longer to get there and have less on station time.
My guess is that after civilians and coalition forces are out the US will launch some targeted raids as a symbolic "Go Fuck Yourself".
You can use satellite view to see the roads between Bakram and Kabul - the shorter one on the east looks like 2 lanes each way near Kabul and narrows to one lane each way closer to Bakram.
'People say it’s been handled poorly (see my thread here), but they do not know what the counterfactual is, and these arguments should be mostly seen as propaganda to either get the US back into the war or send a message to any future president who wants to defy the media and the generals that they’re going to make his life miserable.'
I think it is the latter as getting back into the war would not be feasible politically.
They of the blob are licking their wounds and flexing their muscles simultaneously.
"People say it’s been handled poorly (see my thread here), but they do not know what the counterfactual is, and these arguments should be mostly seen as propaganda to either get the US back into the war or send a message to any future president who wants to defy the media and the generals that they’re going to make his life miserable."
I've seen commenters, including private individuals, who are relieved to see the United States leave and are also aghast at how it's been handled, especially the fact that so many people may be left behind.
Aren't "counterfactuals" pretty much a constant in all situations? Should that preclude judgment? I hope that there is a deep investigation into Afghanistan and the American exit.
Biden confirmed the 8/31 withdrawal date back in April. He should fire Austin and Milley, strip them of their pensions and healthcare, and permanently ban them from serving on the board of any defense contractor or private equity firm. That would only be the start. I saw Richard retweet an article saying that we need some kind of purge of the Pentagon and associated talking heads, NGO's, etc. Couldn't agree more.
The dick in a hornets nest is a wonderful analogy. I'm adding it to my colloquial repertoire.
The withdrawal could have been handled better. Nonetheless, the withdrawal was going to happen and should have happened many years ago. The prospect of preventing anything like this happening again, let alone penalizing the people who promoted it and profited from it, seems remote, sadly.
I agree that it's very unlikely that ISIS and Taliban are cooperating in a material way. I'm sure they're rooting for each other but that's about it as the connection between the two has never been all that strong. Clearly this attack undermines Taliban's crediblity to deliver on safeharbor agreements.
The advantage of keeping Bagram would be emphasizing the "close" in close air support. I'm not sure where air runs out of now but it will take longer to get there and have less on station time.
My guess is that after civilians and coalition forces are out the US will launch some targeted raids as a symbolic "Go Fuck Yourself".
You can use satellite view to see the roads between Bakram and Kabul - the shorter one on the east looks like 2 lanes each way near Kabul and narrows to one lane each way closer to Bakram.
'People say it’s been handled poorly (see my thread here), but they do not know what the counterfactual is, and these arguments should be mostly seen as propaganda to either get the US back into the war or send a message to any future president who wants to defy the media and the generals that they’re going to make his life miserable.'
I think it is the latter as getting back into the war would not be feasible politically.
They of the blob are licking their wounds and flexing their muscles simultaneously.
I think the hornet's nest reference was created by Indian Bronson