3 Cheers for Biden

#76
#76
Orangeslice13 said:
Meh.
I remember Trump being lied to about the level of troops when he ordered a draw down and I also remember thinking some general should be executed for treason. The one thing I think Trump actually did well was not bombing the hell out of everyone all over the world. while I’m happy about this move by Biden and I’m glad it’s happening, I’m curious…..based on who Biden has already bombed…..who he’s planning on attacking with the troops he’s “bringing home”.
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Then the POTUS takes it to the people of they want it done. It should have also been a goal to not make everyone an enemy on the off chance you may need their support one day

Trump may not have dropped as many bombs but he did buy plenty of them. The defense industry wasn't too mad at him
 
#79
#79
utvolpj said:
Then the POTUS takes it to the people of they want it done. It should have also been a goal to not make everyone an enemy on the off chance you may need their support one day

Trump may not have dropped as many bombs but he did buy plenty of them. The defense industry wasn't too mad at him
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Build up doesn’t bother me. We need to be prepared to defend ourselves against someone who doesn’t give us a choice if that were ever to happen again. That’s not been a problem for a long time. Again….good for Biden for ending one of the things we should not be doing. Now let’s not find a new victim to replace the old one.
 
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#87
#87
hog88 said:
Then we should bomb them. Let China/Russia deal with them, our troops need to be out and not go back.
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Why not just let terrorist sweat it out in their camps and simply dedicate our troops to protecting the US and our borders - it's not like they have an AF, navy, or ICBMs. It's a long way from there to here, and many countries are closer and have more vested stakes in what nearby terrorists might do. In the meantime why not just use Afghanistan as a proving ground for new weapons - hopefully of mass destruction. I think it actually might be a fine plan if China were to decide to get involved - so far no country has walked away from Afghanistan unscathed. We either learn what we don't want to know about China or they get their butts handed to them like everybody else over the centuries.
 
#88
#88
Orangeslice13 said:
Meh.
I remember Trump being lied to about the level of troops when he ordered a draw down and I also remember thinking some general should be executed for treason. The one thing I think Trump actually did well was not bombing the hell out of everyone all over the world. while I’m happy about this move by Biden and I’m glad it’s happening, I’m curious…..based on who Biden has already bombed…..who he’s planning on attacking with the troops he’s “bringing home”.
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Two interesting articles on that theme:

Most Americans agree with the decision to withdraw US troops. What many do not realize is that full-scale US combat involvement in Afghanistan ended seven years ago. And that the last decade has seen a vast reduction in U.S. military presence: from a high of near 100,000 in 2010-2011, to some 12,000 a year ago, to just 2,500 at the beginning of this year. And with a concomitant reduction in risk to force: it has now been 17 months since the last US soldier was killed in Afghanistan. The residual force, small though it appeared to be, was nevertheless important.
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A shabby ending: The US flight from Afghanistan was a mistake

and

In Europe, President Biden is being lauded as the anti-Trump. But in his first major foreign policy decision as president — the pullout from Afghanistan — he acted in a very Trumpy fashion. Which is to say, he made an impetuous, ideological decision without adequate planning or preparation. The more we know, the worse it looks.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/06/15/biden-afghanistan-exit-recalls-trump/
 
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#89
#89
landscapingvol said:
Afghanistan will go right back to the Taliban with thousands of lives wasted for nothing
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We will never change the culture of the sandbox. We can scream human rights abuse until we are blue in the face but it won’t change. We should have never been there in the first place. Those poppy fields and oil interests weren’t going to protect themselves.
 
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#92
#92
headhunter15 said:
I hate Facebook. I commented on Pres. Biden’s post about withdrawing troops, thanking him for fulfilling what Pres. Trump wanted but was crucified for. I was then ambushed by the Biden mob. Notifications have been nonstop. There is no reasoning with some people.
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Biden supported withdrawal when he was Vice President. That was his stated position in the NSC meetings on Afghanistan, before Trump ran for President. I do not speak for other folks on FB. I do think some liberals get just as far out of line as right wingers, the other end of the same stick.
 
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#93
#93
BreatheUT said:
The training camps may be up and running by year end or before but the taliban is already claiming they are taking back territory at a breakneck pace. And apparently we are leaving caches of weapons behind. If the way you leave os disasterous then leaving is only temporary or next the Afghan people will hate us.
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Yep, just like they hated us after we washed our hands when the Soviet Union finally gave up the fight. Vicious cycle. Charlie Wilson’s War is a fantastic read and should have been a stark warning against another occupation. What is it they say about History? No one can seem to learn the lesson.
 
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#95
#95
NurseGoodVol said:
We will never change the culture of the sandbox. We can scream human rights abuse until we are blue in the face but it won’t change. We should have never been there in the first place. Those poppy fields and oil interests weren’t going to protect themselves.
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And the mining rights... don't forget about the minerals and rare earth metals.
 
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#97
#97
Vol423 said:
So, let me make sure that I've got this right. You think there was no was no reason for us to search for Osama Bin Laden?
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We had to take over a country where every invader has lost to punish one guy because we failed National Security 101?
 
#98
#98
AM64 said:
We had to take over a country where every invader has lost to punish one guy because we failed National Security 101?
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Look, from what I can tell, we agree on the overwhelming majority of political discussions. However, in this instance, you're dodging a straight-forward question. I don't agree with leaving a military presence in a country forever either. My position is that you don't go to war unless you really have to do so. If you have to go to war, turn it completely over to the generals and keep the politicians out of decision making. Realize that innocent civilians will be injured and killed during the war. There is no way to prevent that. You need to accept that. Let the soldiers do what needs to be done to win a crushing victory, and then get out.

However, you stated we should have never been there in the first place. Does that mean that you think there was no reason for us to search for Osama Bin Laden?
 
#99
#99
Vol423 said:
Look, from what I can tell, we agree on the overwhelming majority of political discussions. However, in this instance, you're dodging a straight-forward question. I don't agree with leaving a military presence in a country forever either. My position is that you don't go to war unless you really have to do so. If you have to go to war, turn it completely over to the generals and keep the politicians out of decision making. Realize that innocent civilians will be injured and killed during the war. There is no way to prevent that. You need to accept that. Let the soldiers do what needs to be done to win a crushing victory, and then get out.

However, you stated we should have never been there in the first place. Does that mean that you think there was no reason for us to search for Osama Bin Laden?
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I agree completely with the first part. If you go to war, do it like you mean it and with every intention of winning - period, no ifs, ands, or buts. Viet Nam should have been the first big clue on what happens when you fail to do that. That's no time for political novices to run a war; once the decision is made, how you do it should be up to professionals.

We failed to protect the country on 9/11 because we have a piss poor policy and track record of keeping up with people who come into the country. You could still have brigades of terrorists filing across the southern border while we play in the sandboxes and neglect our own doors. Our immigration people likely have no clue who is still here on an expired visa or who got in without an invitation. I'm not a fan of draconian intelligence thinking that leads to things like a Patriot Act either. No. I don't think starting a war in Afghanistan to search for Bin Laden was appropriate.
 
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