Afghanistan News & Discussion - April 2016

[Prem]

https://twitter.com/SecDef/status/14248 ... 02564?s=20
Earlier today, I spoke with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa. We discussed our mutual interest in regional stability, and I reiterated my desire to continue improving the important U.S. – Pakistan relationship.

[g.sarkar]

Should make it easier for the US to carpet bomb the Taliban areas using B52s as well, that is if they don't chicken out further.

How would that help US interests? Implementation of force did not work for all these years, specially with Pakistan as an ally. Now emerging Taliban may help to weaken Pakistan, India and also China on the long haul, if managed right. That may be of interest to the US. The power equations are still not clear. In any case the US is leaving the neighborhood in a mess.
Gautam

[chetak]

Should make it easier for the US to carpet bomb the Taliban areas using B52s as well, that is if they don't chicken out further.

How would that help US interests? Implementation of force did not work for all these years, specially with Pakistan as an ally. Now emerging Taliban may help to weaken Pakistan, India and also China on the long haul, if managed right. That may be of interest to the US. The power equations are still not clear. In any case the US is leaving the neighborhood in a mess.
Gautam

sirji,

It's just like a dog running away and when safe, barking from a long distance.

we MUST learn the finer points of "democracy" from these ameriki experts whose specialty is always leaving a place in a far larger mess than it was when they first moved in.

They just couldn't care less as long as they have their cokes, burgers, and fries waiting for them when they return home.

Their MIC is already busy planning the next "intervention" and bidenwa will be the last to know before they get him to sign off on the dotted line

[g.sarkar]

Sirji,
We must always emulate mature democracies of UK, Europe and the US. There is a lot to learn from them.
Gautam

[chetak]

Sirji,
We must always emulate mature democracies of UK, Europe and the US. There is a lot to learn from them.
Gautam

w


we should count ourselves as blessed.

pre-independence, we were taught by the empires of britan, france, portugal and the dutch along with sundry beardos.

post-independence, we were privileged to learn from the mighty ameriki and the russki empires.

Seriously, can we really afford any more "learning" or are we, not all "learned" out by now

It's only a matter of months before the talabanis are upon our borders with their friendly tour guides, the pakis, and just maybe the turkis in tow

[Tuan]

Should make it easier for the US to carpet bomb the Taliban areas using B52s as well, that is if they don't chicken out further.

How would that help US interests? Implementation of force did not work for all these years, specially with Pakistan as an ally. Now emerging Taliban may help to weaken Pakistan, India and also China on the long haul, if managed right. That may be of interest to the US. The power equations are still not clear. In any case the US is leaving the neighborhood in a mess.
Gautam

The war in Afghanistan can only be won by intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance-ISR-led special forces operations. A foremost American scholar in counterterrorism, Dr. Bruce Hoffman, once wrote that “Intelligence is capital…It had to be zealously collected, meticulously analyzed, rapidly disseminated, and efficaciously acted on. Without it, no anti-terrorist operation could succeed… But the experiences of other countries, fighting similar conflicts against similar enemies, suggest that Americans still do not appreciate the enormously difficult—and morally complex—problem that the imperative to gather ‘good intelligence’ entails…”

source: https://projectofive.ca/2020/05/06/time ... eace-deal/

[nam]

Pak must have pushed Talibs to go on the offensive to pull US back in to Afghanistan. That is the only way Pak can make money out of US.

Bajwa is not an idiot to not know that once US fully leaves, Pak may win Afghanistan, but will loose leverage on US. The sanctions might come any moment.

Coupled with India moving into US orbit, they know what's coming. Chinis don't give out free cash like US does. Not to mention modern weapons for free.

[g.sarkar]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/10/politics ... index.html
Drawdown of US embassy in Kabul is under discussion, sources say, as Taliban makes rapid gains in Afghanistan
Kylie Atwood, August 10, 2021
(CNN)There are active discussions about a further drawdown of the US embassy in Kabul among State Department officials, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, as the Taliban continues to gain ground in Afghanistan.
Those gains -- which have occurred much more rapidly than many US officials expected -- have made the situation more urgent and sped up the conversations that have been happening for some time now, one source said. US officials are no longer talking about six months as the likely timeline for the government of Afghanistan to collapse; they now believe it could happen much more quickly, the two sources said. The US military began withdrawing from the country earlier this year and has completed more than 95% of the US troop withdrawal, which will be completed by late August.
Right now, the State Department is working to identify essential personnel in the embassy and it is likely that some kind of partial drawdown of personnel occurs in the coming days or weeks, the sources said. The embassy already reduced the number of diplomats in Kabul earlier this year where hundreds serve and has slowly continued to cut back on the overall footprint in recent months. A partial drawdown would be a continuation of efforts to shrink the overall US footprint due to the security situation.
No final decision has been made about the details of an additional drawdown, but the decision is expected to become more clear in the coming days, sources said. When asked about these discussions, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US "posture has not changed" since the embassy went on ordered departure in April. Price added that the department is evaluating the threats on a daily basis "to determine what the staffing posture that is in the best interest for those serving at the embassy, and how we might be able to continue to keep them safe."
The shifting security situation
Some Biden administration officials who were resistant to pulling US diplomats out are beginning to change their tune and agree with the more prudent approach of officials who want to begin the process now -- even if that only means pulling out a small number of US contractors and diplomats -- before any major number of personnel have to be pulled out under duress, one source said. The US does not feel that the Afghan capital is under immediate threat, one source and one defense official said, but the sense of it is the Biden administration must be prepared.
......
Gautam

[Manish_P]

Side effect of American withdrawal on baki economy...

The US must compensate the poor baki smugglers for this loss in business

Yawn -
Smugglers business in local markets dry up as US leaves afghanistan

“This market was famous for American and Nato goods and was crowded with customers,” said Mehboob Khan, a shopkeeper at Sitara market in Peshawar.

“Now the border is strictly closed and those goods can’t reach here, which has badly affected business.”

Instead of night-vision goggles and high-quality ammo vests, the markets are now stuffed with cheap goods from China and Southeast Asia.

[g.sarkar]

https://theprint.in/world/afghan-govt-w ... as/712868/
Afghan govt, regional strongmen plan alliance to fight Taliban & protect Mazar-e-Sharif, northern areas
A day earlier, India had shut its consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, the last of the four consulates in Afghanistan that was open, in wake of the worsening security situation.
Nayanima Basu, 11 August, 2021
Mazar-e-Sharif: Afghan government forces backed by a regional strongman have managed to push back the Taliban targeting the holy city of Mazar-e-Sharif Monday as India shut its consulate there and evacuated diplomats and other Indian nationals amid fears that the city could fall to the insurgents.
With Kabul focusing on keeping the Taliban at bay from this key northern city, President Ashraf Ghani arrived here Wednesday to take stock of the situation and chalk out a comprehensive plan on how to defend the north. He will hold talks with Ata Mohammad Noor, who is the leader of the Jamiat-e-Islami and a former governor of Balkh province of which Mazar is the capital, Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former vice president who was once a key leader of the Northern Alliance that fought the Taliban back in the 1990s, and Hazara strongman Mohammed Mohaqiq. The Afghan army, meanwhile, has claimed that it has killed 170 Taliban fighters in Dehdadi district of the province. Ghani’s trip to Mazar, sources say, may once again revive the erstwhile Northern Alliance, an anti-Taliban militia group that was active in the 1990s.
It appears that the plan is to create one comprehensive militia force and chalk out a strategy to take on the Taliban in a whole new avatar, sources said. On Tuesday when the Taliban was pushed back, Noor had presided over a meeting where he discussed “the formation of small-scale units, the strengthening of front lines, clearing plans, and the use of guerilla warfare,” he said in a tweet.
“There were also detailed discussions on weaknesses and vulnerabilities, shortcomings and deficiencies, providing telecommunications and Muharram’s necessary preparations for the next steps of the war,” he further said.
.....
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
https://www.livemint.com/news/world/iaf ... 48839.html
IAF to evacuate Indian citizens from Afghanistan's Mazar-e-Sharif amid Taliban attacks
Livemint, Edited By Sneha, 10 Aug 2021
Amid massive fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban, the Indian government has decided to evacuate its citizens who are in and around Mazar-e-Sharif. A special flight has been arranged from Mazar-e-Sharif to Delhi that will leave on Tuesday evening.
"A special flight is leaving from Mazar-e-Sharif to New Delhi. Any Indian nationals in and around Mazar-e-Sharif are requested to leave for India in the special flight scheduled to depart late today evening," the Indian consulate wrote on Twitter.
Those who wish to leave are required to immediately convey their full name, passport number and date of expiry via Whatsapp. However, news agency PTI reported that the consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif will continue to operate through the local staff members.
.....
Gautam

[Ambar]

Afghanistan’s acting finance minister quits, leaves country: Khalid Payenda’s resignation comes after the Taliban captured key customs posts bleeding the administration of revenue.

Atleast the old Afghan army held the land from Kabul to Kandhahar on their own for 3 years after the Soviet retreat , the new Afghan army despite 20 years and trillions of dollars in weapons, training, funding can barely last 3 months.

[nam]

The "invasion & capture" is fundamentally 100-200 guys marching in to the capitals and bases. 200 guys with Ak47, RPG across 15 capitals is around 3K cavemen. The lot claims capture of the capital and take photos to create a physiological effect. For all we know, these might the local chaps dressed up as Talib, hoping for some loot.

It doesn't require a lot of manpower. It doesn't help with ANA not really interested to defend Pashtun dominated areas.

[Tuan]

Side effect of American withdrawal on baki economy...

The US must compensate the poor baki smugglers for this loss in business

Yawn -
Smugglers business in local markets dry up as US leaves afghanistan

“This market was famous for American and Nato goods and was crowded with customers,” said Mehboob Khan, a shopkeeper at Sitara market in Peshawar.

“Now the border is strictly closed and those goods can’t reach here, which has badly affected business.”

Instead of night-vision goggles and high-quality ammo vests, the markets are now stuffed with cheap goods from China and Southeast Asia.

“To kill an enemy,” the Japanese Samurai dictum says to “shoot his horse first.” That is, we must first eliminate the support bases of all the terrorist organizations to obliterate them. The problem is how do we define terrorism, which is fundamentally flawed as it has been vague and ambiguous. In the context of the war on terror, any non-state actor who is a terrorist according to one nation-state can be a legitimate entity for another nation-state and vice-versa. For instance, when you look at the present quagmire in Afghanistan, the Taliban seems to gain legitimacy in the eyes of Russia, Iran, and Pakistan. At the same time, NATO and its allies view the Taliban as a terrorist entity. Therefore, in my opinion, the framing of terrorism depends on whose side of the fence you are on. Thus, the war on terror is simply a power projection among great powers using non-state actors as proxies for the former`s sphere of influence. Proxies are particularly concerning because interference is often motivated by a nation’s self-interest, absent of future implications.

[Rakesh]

[nachiket]

Afghanistan’s acting finance minister quits, leaves country: Khalid Payenda’s resignation comes after the Taliban captured key customs posts bleeding the administration of revenue.

Atleast the old Afghan army held the land from Kabul to Kandhahar on their own for 3 years after the Soviet retreat , the new Afghan army despite 20 years and trillions of dollars in weapons, training, funding can barely last 3 months.

One thing is certain. The Americans are absolutely terrible at training and building up a foreign Army. They trained the new Iraqi army too after the old one was dismantled following Saddam's fall. And that army ran away from the battlefield when faced with ISIS. Then the Pentagon's $500 million program to train "moderate" Syrian rebels also ended in utter failure. Now the ANA which in many pictures seems to be better equipped (at an individual infantry soldier level) than the IA is doing much worse than their Northern Alliance predecessors in front of the Taliban.

[Ambar]

Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan-1 and Afghanistan-2 all have something in common other than the American intervention, i.e. you cannot win an unconventional war unless you have the local population on your side. Also, from a long term strategic point of view it is meaningless , wasteful and pointless to try and raise local militaries for two good reasons (a) the soldiers will still think you are an outsider and (b) they'll get used to fighting a war the "expensive way". The old Afghan army held off the mujahideen for 3 years using rudimentary light weapons and no air support, but the new Afghan army, atleast those who want to fight the taliban and not join them are fighting using weapons they can neither afford to maintain for long nor replace nor replenish . It is too late for any type of an intervention, India needs to double her vigilance on the border. As for Afghans, their 1500 year curse looks like is set to continue and they'll live on aimlessly in sub-human conditions.

[g.sarkar]

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/11/worl ... ainer.html
Could the Taliban Take Over Afghanistan? Here’s What We Know.
The Taliban seized nine cities over six days in a major escalation of their military offensive. Here’s what you need to know.
Christina Goldbaum, Aug. 11, 2021
KABUL, Afghanistan — Since international troops began withdrawing from Afghanistan in May, the Taliban have carried out a sweeping military campaign and gained control of much of the country’s rural areas. But for months, the insurgents failed to capture major cities — until now.
Over the past six days, the insurgents have overrun nine provincial capitals across the country, most of them clustered in the north, in a major escalation of their military offensive and a devastating setback for the Afghan government.
The Taliban’s rapid victories have put enormous pressure on Afghan political leaders and the country’s beleaguered security forces, who have been overwhelmed by the insurgents’ unrelenting advance. The collapse of cities particularly in northern Afghanistan — once the heart of resistance to the Taliban’s rise to power in 1996 — has stoked fears that the insurgents could encircle the country’s capital, Kabul, in a complete military takeover.
Now, the Afghan government must decide whether to reconstitute its forces around the territory it holds — including Kabul — or try to retake its fallen cities. Here’s what we know so far and what questions will need to be answered in the coming days.
What areas do the Taliban now control?
Since the Taliban began their military offensive in May, the insurgents have captured more than half of Afghanistan’s 400-odd districts, according to some assessments. In recent weeks, after sweeping through much of the Afghanistan’s countryside, the insurgents started besieging multiple provincial capitals simultaneously for the first time in the 20-year war.
Then on Friday, those front lines broke: The Taliban captured Zaranj, a provincial capital near the border with Iran, after facing little resistance from Afghan security forces upon entering the city. A day later, they captured another capital, Sheberghan, the northern stronghold of the warlord Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, whose militia forces were overrun.
On Sunday, Taliban forces seized three more northern capitals. They captured Taliqan, the capital of Takhar Province, and Sar-i-Pul, the capital of the province with the same name. They also seized Kunduz, the largest city captured to date and a vital commercial hub that the group has long coveted as both a strategic and symbolic prize.
The Taliban continued their relentless drive on Monday, overrunning Aybak, the capital of Samangan Province that sits on the main highway that connects Kabul to Afghanistan’s northern provinces. Then on Tuesday, insurgents seized three more capitals: Farah city in the western province of the same name; Pul-i-Khumri, the capital of the northern Baghlan Province; and Faizabad, the capital of remote and rugged Badakhshan Province in the country’s far northeast.
The simultaneous sieges on provincial hubs overwhelmed Afghan security forces and stretched military resources dangerously thin. Resupply lines to government forces are severed. The cities and districts still under the government’s control are even more cut off and isolated. And Afghan security forces are exhausted from the brutal offensive.
......
Gautam

[rsingh]

America has habit of creating long term problems while it try to solve short-term problems. Secondly, they invade with much gung-ho but they never have exit policy. I think historically only India has exit policy which was flawlessly implemented. Russia and America failed miserably.

[g.sarkar]

In the old days, US officers were wined and dined in Royal style in Pakistan. Pakistani senior army officers waited hand and foot on these Gora Sahibs. These officers, when they returned, nurtured a fond memory of Pakistan, where a good time was had by all. As a result, we see Chuck Yeager type of people who have a soft corner for Pakistan for the rest of their lives. The presence of Sheik Osama in Pak soil, overt and covert support of the jihadi of Afghanistan, leading to the death of US servicemen, and now the rout of US supported Afghan forces will have (I hope) some effect on the future US policies. As the currently serving officers rise in ranks, the old bonhomie that existed in the past will not return (again so I hope), as people will remember. The failure of US in Afghanistan will be analyzed and will show the perfidy of Pakistan in this war.
Gautam

[g.sarkar]

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/1 ... lem-503928
Biden on Afghanistan: Not my problem
The president is unwilling to rethink his decision to withdraw U.S. troops, even as Afghanistan unravels faster than expected.
NAHAL TOOSI, PAUL MCLEARY and ALEXANDER WARD, 08/11/2021
As the Taliban blitz across Afghanistan and U.S. officials scramble to assess just how quickly the government in Kabul could fall, President Joe Biden is recalibrating his message to Americans.
Where he once insisted that two decades of U.S. backing had left Afghan forces capable of defending themselves, Biden and his aides have shifted to a more cold-blooded mantra: If they can’t, that’s not our problem.
Inside the administration, top aides are just trying to keep up with the rapidly changing battlefield. U.S. officials now believe Kabul could be surrounded or fall under Taliban control within weeks, and even the future of the fortress-like U.S. Embassy is increasingly in doubt.
The president, meanwhile, is holding firm to last spring’s decision to withdraw U.S. combat troops, calculating that war-weary voters would rather tune out the alarming developments in a conflict they’ve largely ignored.
“I do not regret my decision,” Biden told reporters Tuesday, after pointing out that the U.S. has spent more than a trillion dollars and lost thousands of its own troops to train and equip Afghanistan’s military.
“Afghan leaders have to come together,” he said. “They've got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation.”
It’s a message the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and others are publicly stressing now after years of private pressure on Afghan leaders, many of whom had hoped the U.S. would never follow through on pledges to leave.
Biden administration officials say the U.S. has better intelligence and other enhanced capabilities to thwart any future terrorist plots against America that might emerge from Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden once planned the 9/11 attacks. They also stress that the U.S. will continue to offer humanitarian aid for Afghans and financial support for the Afghan military, including, for now at least, air support.
But those promises are not entirely reassuring to many on Capitol Hill and beyond. Some critics fear a reprisal of what happened in Iraq after the U.S. withdrew troops in 2011: the rise of the Islamic State, which forced Washington to send troops back in to fend off the terrorist group.
“No one should pretend they’re surprised the Taliban is winning now that we abandoned our Afghan partners,” Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska said in a statement. “No one should pretend to be surprised when girls and women are brutalized. And no one should pretend to be surprised when the Taliban yet again provides safe harbor to terrorists plotting international attacks.”
.....
Gautam

[Maria]

The level of incompetence that the ANA is showing is colossal, one of our gifted Mi-24s has been captured by the Bunnies. It's as if the base commander/pilots just fled at the sight of the Taliban approaching. Maybe we should acquiesce to the requests for the airstrikes and at least take this bird out:



edit: It seemed that the Mi-24 was grounded due to snags

[jamwal]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... WELVE.html

The rape of Afghanistan: Advancing Taliban go door-to-door and forcibly take girls as young as TWELVE to be sex slave 'wives' for their fighters as they sweep across country following NATO withdrawal
Taliban has swept across Afghanistan, seizing vast swathes of territory along with nine provincial capitals
Terrified locals say jihadist fighters have been beheading people and forcing women to marry their fighters
Girls as young as 12 have been put on 'marriage lists' that village elders have been forced to compile
Taliban are now threatening the city of Maza-i-Sharif, the largest in Afghanistan's north, as President Ghani flew there on Wednesday to rally the troops and sacked his top general in hopes of reversing Islamist advance

aliban fighters are going door-to-door and forcibly marrying girls as young as 12 and forcing them into sex slavery as they seize vast swathes of the Afghanistan from government forces.

Jihadist commanders have ordered imams in areas they have captured to bring them lists of unmarried women aged from 12 to 45 for their soldiers to marry because they view them as 'qhanimat' or 'spoils of war' - to be divided up among the victors.

Fighters have then been going door-to-door to claim their 'prizes', even looking through the wardrobes of families to establish the ages of girls before forcing them into a life of sexual servitude.

The women and girls' brutal treatment is just the latest sign of Afghanistan's military collapse, which has prompted the Afghan president to sack his top commander.

One female journalist described fleeing a city in northern Afghanistan - which she did not name - and going into hiding with her uncle for fear the Islamists would hunt her down and execute her.

The 22-year-old said she fled under the noses of Taliban gunmen while disguised beneath a burqa and went with her unclear to a nearby village - but was forced to flee again after informants told the militants of her presence.

Now holed up in a remote location somewhere in the country's north, she said she fears for her life and the safety of her family - 'Will I ever go home? Will I see my parents again? Where will I go? How will I survive,' she said.

[Sachin]

Looks like India is pro-actively taking its citizens and officials back to India. On this regards; we must also remember two cases filed in courts in India asking GoI to bring back two Kerala women who converted to Islam and waged war with ISIS. Their hubbies were bombed and send up to meet the alloted quota of 72 virgins where as the women were holed up in Afghanistan. Hope GoI does not become 'secular' & 'magnanimous' and bring back these women as well.

[Haresh]

The UK has only just announced sanctions against Belarus
www.gov.uk/government/news/belarus-uk-i ... t-election

When you consider the harm that pak has done to the UK and NATO/USA why can they not impose similar sanctions on pak ?

How many western troops have been killed/wounded by Belarus or even Russia??

I really do wonder about the world view of western politicians.
As soon as it became clear after 9/11 what the role of sowdia arabia & pak was was, they should have been brought to their knees.

[isubodh]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... WELVE.html

Why would they keep their kids alive to live such a life ? It would be better to shoot themselves and save from such slavery

[Cyrano]

Because sooner or later many of them will buy into "making babies to spread islam will get you to jannat" ideology

[SRajesh]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/wor ... 270598.cms
Cyranoji
Your words make come true!!
Take a look at the Toilet report!!
If its true then how did we get fooled by Karzai/Ghani/Abdulla
Looks like at the end of the day we are just Kaffirs

[Ambar]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/wor ... 270598.cms
Cyranoji
Your words make come true!!
Take a look at the Toilet report!!
If its true then how did we get fooled by Karzai/Ghani/Abdulla
Looks like at the end of the day we are just Kaffirs

The taliban are within days of taking over Kabul, why would they want to share anything with anyone when they can have the whole damn thing ? I am keenly waiting for Kabul to fall. It is only after Kabul falls will the warlords begin fighting amongst themselves, also the taliban leadership which has been used to the goodies from ummah nations will realize that post power-seize they'll once again have to go back to being what they are - barbaric cavemen.

[Manish_P]

Barbaric they may be, but business guys also.

They like there fellow islamists, the ISIS, know that the mullahs need the moolah to hold sway.

So look forward to a strong uptick in the narcotics production soon. Of course, the uniformed bakis will once again be heading the chair of the drugs economy and the jernails will look to helping themselves to the loot (commissions on sales and distribution) and using it towards buying more pizza franchisees in khan land....

[nam]

On the question, why there are no sanctions on Pak, it is quite simple really. Everyone likes a pro***. Why bother with sanctions when you can get anything done from Pak with the right incentive.

The trend #sanctionpakistan has scared the political gang in slumbad. They will give some carrots to US to prevent any such sanctions. They are also worried about we ending up in US camp.

Pak is available for rent for anyone who can afford it.

[ArjunPandit]

On the question, why there are no sanctions on Pak, it is quite simple really. Everyone likes a pro***. Why bother with sanctions when you can get anything done from Pak with the right incentive.

The trend #sanctionpakistan has scared the political gang in slumbad. They will give some carrots to US to prevent any such sanctions. They are also worried about we ending up in US camp.

Pak is available for rent for anyone who can afford it.

+1, the tension is clearly visible in their threads, the pakjabis are calling for sanction on India and claiming that they are the victims of terror blah blah...seem to be rattled yet at the same time gloating that india has lost in afghanistan...

[Ambar]

The Biden natl security team is holding calls & mtgs today w/ what sources describe as a growing sense of urgency about the accelerating Taliban gains in Afghanistan. One thing under consideration: relocating the embassy to the Kabul airport,

US turned the first Afghan war into "Soviet's Vietnam" and it looks like the Pakis/Ruskies/Chinese have turned second Afghan war into "US' Vietnam" again !

[nam]

US must have made a deal with Pak to allow the rapid progress. Pak allowing USAF/USN flights would have got something in return.

There must be something for the US to take on such a shame of total collapse of US trained & armed force.

[khatvaanga]

US turned the first Afghan war into "Soviet's Vietnam" and it looks like the Pakis/Ruskies/Chinese have turned second Afghan war into "US' Vietnam" again !

This time Vietnam will be played live across MSM and SM.

[nam]

From our perspective, this will embolden lot of trouble makes from our side, as well as the ones across LC.

The moral of the story: keep the fight going and bid your time. We need to make LC a line of fire. Otherwise there are enough yahoos in Pak who want to comes across to our side to fulfill the dreams.

[viveks]

This is the best time to launch an attach on Pok. Capture Gilgit ...capture everything that is part of kashmir. Mulla ...salla ...apni identity establish kar kar raha hai....India is sitting duck!! and not acting again. You should remember that have to respond muslim aggression. Main PM hota toh I would enforce occupation of PoK. If taliban is forcing the hand, india must respond than having victumized mindsed.

[viveks]

If we are a peace loving nation, we must respond.

[viveks]

hindu ' on ko kitna kaid rakho ge

[g.sarkar]

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/12/10271082 ... tal-cities
The Taliban Now Controls Two-Thirds Of Afghanistan
August 12, 2021
As of Thursday morning, the Taliban now has control of 10 provincial capital cities — effectively putting them in control of two-thirds of Afghanistan.
Morning Edition spoke to Lynne O'Donnell, a journalist based in the capital city Kabul for Foreign Policy.
O'Donnell says things on the ground in Kabul "feel like a city under siege in a besieged country":
People are flooding into Kabul from neighboring regions.
Public parks in Kabul have become camps for displaced people.
Food and fuel prices are rising as the Taliban blocks off import routes.
Conditions in the Taliban-controlled parts of the country are "brutal":
The Taliban is rounding up people who have worked for the U.S. Military or Afghan government.
O'Donnell said the atrocities on the battlefield are "horrific" and include bodies being mutilated and other things O'Donnell wouldn't go into on air.
Women are being told to stay in their homes, unless accompanied by a male relative.
Women are also being told they'll be rounded up and married off to Taliban fighters.
Girls in those regions are being taken out of school, and girls schools are closed.
......
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/12/afghani ... kabul.html
U.S. deploying 3,000 troops to help evacuate Afghan embassy staff as Taliban advances
Spencer Kimball, Amanda Macias, Aug 12 2021
The U.S. is deploying 3,000 troops to Afghanistan in order to facilitate the drawdown of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to a “core diplomatic presence,” as Taliban militants rapidly advance toward the Afghan capital. The troops, which will consist of three infantry battalions total from the Marines and Army, will deploy to Hamid Karzai International Airport within 24 to 48 hours, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
“This is a very narrowly focused mission of safeguarding the orderly reduction of civilian personnel out of Afghanistan,” Kirby told reporters during a press briefing Thursday. The decision to deploy additional U.S. troops comes as the Taliban offensive makes rapid advances.
The militants captured the strategic city of Ghazni on Thursday, bringing their front line within 95 miles of Kabul, a staggering development that comes nearly two weeks before U.S. and NATO coalition forces exit.
The Taliban also claims to have captured Afghanistan’s third-largest city, Herat, in the northwest close to Iran. Fierce fighting has also been reported in Kandahar, the nation’s second-largest city. When asked if the troops going to Kabul had a combat mission, Kirby said U.S. forces maintain the right to self defense, but the mission is temporary with a focus on protecting the movement of civilian personnel. Kirby told reporters that the U.S. is still on track to complete its withdrawal by August 31. However, a U.S. infantry brigade will be positioned in Kuwait in the event they are needed in Afghanistan to help secure Hamid Karzai International Airport, according to Kirby.
......
Gautam
US evacuating Kabul embassy means khel khatam, (US) paisa hajam.

[viveks]

Hinduo ne abhi PoK ko kabza kiya toh muza aaa jayega