Biden orders a drone-strike on what his piss-poor intelligence tells him is a bus-load of suicide bombers heading for Kabul airport, so someone in an air-conditioned control room in the USA kills a family of 10, including 7 children. What makes it unforgivable is that the male head of this family was working for the U.S. and U.K. governments, and awaiting a safe passage to either country. This is not a solution, it is blind revenge for 16 U.S. Marines caught in the blast that killed many more Afghanis. Like Jaws, you do not report a Great White sighting because you know that the Mayor is going to commission someone to go out and kill the first thing that looks like a large, pale shark.
The mother of one of those Marines killed in the airport blast was woken up at 4.00am by other Marines, to be told of the fate of her son. She called Biden a useless piece of crap, which indeed he is.
A surviving member of the drone-strike revenge family was in tears describing it tonight, and I was close to tears myself. Nothing is left for him anymore.
The British government has washed its hands of the whole thing, saying that there is no longer anything they can do about it now that the US and most other agencies have retreated. It took an Afghan citizen trying to protect his family - and who has received no instructions from our government at all - to come up with at least one feasible idea: The British Foreign Office should contact the consulate in Pakistan, instructing them to issue visas for the following people: X, X, X and all the other Xs - then have officials greet them at whatever border control is the easiest and safest to reach as the situation unfolds.
This would give them some hope, but Boris Johnson and his super-stupid administration probably has not even thought about it.
I cannot wait to see the end of this particularly incompetent UK government. They are worse than useless and have caused hundreds of thousands of needless deaths in a very short time indeed, whilst ex-prime ministers have been making shed-loads of money from all our tribulations.
The UK Government had opened up routes into Pakistan before the drone attack. I think you are being mislead here by someone, or unduly harsh.
ReplyDeleteWho is misleading me? The people who are coming over the media saying that they have waited in vain for replies to the dozens of emails to the UK government asking what they should do next? Who is being lied to, you or me?
DeleteDo you think that B.J. has opened up any communication channels between Pakistan and the Foreign Office? Do you know something that 1000s of the rest of us don't know? Do you think that the killing of an entire family for the sake of targeting one Taliban leader is justified? They probably didn't even get him.
DeleteYes, I do believe that Boris Johnson opened communication channels with Pakistan last week and the next step was to propose the UN resolution for safe passage, which as I remarked up last week, the UN were in no hurry about as they did not intend to meet until Monday (yesterday). The safe passage resolution was proposed by France, Britain and the US.
DeleteI referred to the legitimate applications for evacuation from Afghanistan being overwhelmed by the chaos at Kabul airport in my response to you yesterday morning.
DeleteYes, the end of our presence has been at a of level supreme incompetence but many individuals on the ground have tried their best and unlike many we did not leave the city, close down the embassy and disappear. I am not sure if you are blaming the British Army for the drone attack, I have not re-read your post this morning, but the drone attack was the revenge that Biden said he would take following the ISIL K bombing of the airport killing US servicemen. It was as if a target had to be found very quickly and destined, in my opinion, to go wrong.
That is exactly how I described the drone attack.
DeleteWords fail me Tom - I am so appalled by the whole affair.
ReplyDeleteHow have they caused "100s of thousands of needless deaths" and where are these deaths?
ReplyDeleteLack of action since the first outbreak of the pandemic have caused thousands of needless deaths in this country, and lack of foresight in Afghanistan will cost thousands more in the next year. You were right in blaming Blair and Bush (although you only mentioned Blair, which I thought a little unpatriotic) for starting the carnage all those years ago. Tot it up.
DeleteThe death stats for the last two years compared to the last four years and the last 20 years make interesting reading. The point with Blair is separate to Bush and Blair together in many ways and can be separately argued. (You are the pot calling the kettle black with your reference here to patriotism).
DeleteThe reference to patriotism was supposed to be ironic.
DeleteThe UN have just adopted the Resolution of Safe Passage to protect Afghan civilians. By land or airport.
ReplyDeleteSince when have you respected UN resolutions?
DeleteI hold them in contempt but as things stand we have them and that was the channel that the safe passage resolution had to go through.
DeleteWords.
DeleteAt the moment we may have a change of PM...but look at the alternatives.
ReplyDeleteThere are no valid alternatives, which makes it even worse.
DeleteThis is a disaster of epic proportions.
ReplyDeleteIt is a wicked mess of bungling by our governments. There is nothing to be said in the end. People will be slaughtered in a fit of vengeance and all that will happen is that it will be reported on the news here.
ReplyDeleteAl Qaida have moved back already.
DeleteEven a child could have planned a better American withdrawal. If Biden had asked me I could have sketched out some ideas for him. I am outraged at the bungling by him and his generals. Outraged in California.
ReplyDelete