America's relation to the rest of the world in general and Britain in particular will never be the same again. Biden's unilateral decision to abruptly withdraw U.S. troops has changed everything and left his former allies struggling to cope with the crisis on their own - an impossible task. The rest of the world will be very hesitant to join America in any future adventures, because of his unwillingness to consult with other NATO members before making such drastic decisions which have such drastic global consequences. He has lost the 'War on Terror' overnight.
He was supposed to be trying to undo some of the damage caused by Trump, but I heard today that he has reintroduced sanctions on Cuba - another massive retrograde step which has lost his country the global respect which his fellow Democrat Obama did so much to restore.
I can only think that he is appealing to the U.S. right-wing in order to secure another Democrat win at the next elections, but at what cost?
Our current government is only any good at easy targets like Jeremy Corbyn, and was totally unprepared for Brexit, let alone Covid. Now it is totally unprepared for Afghanistan and will get no help from Europe. We have an extremely weak cabinet, with the possible exception of the Chancellor, but now I hear that B.J. and Rishi Sunak have fallen out badly.
They have always been an average of two weeks late in making vitally important decisions. Our Home Secretary was sunning himself in Crete when he was instructed to make an urgent call to his Afghan counterpart regarding the evacuation of the country before the Taliban took over the airport in Kabul.
Firstly he lied, saying that the call was made by a junior minister. Knowing that a junior minister would never been given such an important phone call to make, people in the ministry let it be known that the call was never made - by anyone.
His excuse is now that the government was falling apart at the time and that a single phone call would have had no effect on the situation in any case, so why bother?
How low can we sink?
Countries bounce back from these things and both the US and Britain will bounce back. It has all been said before from Nixon's disasters, to Carter to Vietnam to Cuba to Eden, Wilson, devaluations, oil crises, and so it goes on. Recovery comes, things that once seemed wrong do not always turn out to be wrong.
ReplyDeleteYes we will bounce back at some point, but what a time for such a set-back. We have not bounced back from the effects of both Brexit and COVID yet, either economically, politically or socially. We went into Afghanistan alongside America after 9/11 to seek out the terrorist cells that were training there.
DeleteWe helped them as friends and allies. We were helped by the moderate Afghanis who were willing to put their lives at risk for an ordinary wage. Biden has let down us and them with the instant retreat from advancing Taliban. We have lost a lot of respect from the rest of the world, and nobody will trust Biden ever again. They will be wary of other administrations for years to come.
What do you think reaction would have been if we had said a week ago that we were sending 5000 combat troops to Afghanistan immediately? I can imagine the outrage from all sides and a post from you condemning it. I have made so many comments on the current situation that I must be boring everyone. We were not the lead in the troop withdrawal, Nato actually started it in 2014 and the US have made it final. We have been withdrawing interpreters and helpers from the country since at least 2014 and they have not been neglected. Many did not make application maybe at the time and now they jump and down and want out overnight. As I said to Weave the other day, the population of Afghanistan is 30 million and the vast majority actually want their lives to return to normal and they want the US out. Germany returned over 3000 refugees to Afghanistan in the last three years because they did not want them.
DeleteYes, recovery from decisions like I mentioned in my first comment take years, they don't happen over night and economies evolve.
Yes, you don't like Brexit and mostly you don't like your country and that is your prerogative, I can't change that but trade goes on and the wheat harvest goes on and the markets are still there. It is not all so grim as you like to make out.
Don't dare to tell me that I don't like my country. You sound like the worst sort of patriot who accuses anyone who complains about the wretched politicians who they voted in and the way they are devaluing their country. You may have (but probably have not) noticed that in situations such as the Afghanistan one unfolding now, that I do not attack individuals because of their party, but for their actions - or in this case lack of action.
DeleteAs far as how I would have reacted if 5000 combat troops were sent in a week ago, don't be so fatuous. Yes, the settlement of interpreters has been going on for quite some time, but was abruptly stopped by Biden in a matter of hours due to the incompetence of his intelligence advisors and funding to the Afghan army being siphoned-off before it reached the troops. This is purely down to crap management of administrators.
Of course the vast majority of Afghanis want a normal life without rule from a foreign power. The US policy has created the Taliban, and I am not talking about political parties.
I don't know whether you have been into a supermarket recently but have you seen how understocked the shelves are due to us not being able to use foreign lorry drivers when we are 60,000 short of British ones? What do you think is causing that problem? I like my country enough to get angry about things like this.
I am in a supermarket now. It is well stocked.
DeleteYou frequently speak as if you hate this country, you knock everything about what we do so it is no wonder I form the impressions I do.
You complain all the time since 2016.
DeleteI should have learned to steer clear of you when the moon is waxing by now.
DeleteThe choice was to escalate or leave. Biden was there when Obama faced the same choice and escalated. He wasn't about to repeat that mistake. He's acknowledged his responsibility for the consequences of making the least bad choice of all bad alternatives; the buck stops with him. Complete opposite of Trump.
ReplyDeleteI will say once again that I was never in favour of either escalation or remaining. What was needed was an orderly and timely evacuation program over a period of weeks when the Taliban begun to advance as the withdrawal of troops began ages ago, not a lethal overnight stampede to the airport with children being thrown over razor-wire fences.
DeleteHas it crossed your mind that babies may have been thrown over fences because they know that unaccompanied children will not be allowed out of the country? As for orderly evacuation the Taliban did not give time for that. The stampede to the airport was by whom? Who are they?
DeleteOh! That never occurred to me! THAT'S why they threw their babies over the fence. Silly me. I wonder who all these people are who are hanging off the wheels of moving aircraft to escape death. They must be the illegal immigrants I have been hearing about.
DeleteWhat are you talking about. I am just asking. With insane behaviour like they they aren't going to get here anyway. I never knew interpreters acted in that way.
DeleteWho do you think they are? Possibly desperate Afghanis? What's the matter with you?
DeleteNothing is the matter with me. I was trying to broaden the thinking. Life in Kabul is returning to normal today, souks and shops open, government workers return to their offices. So I just wondered who are these people at the airport? Everywhere else is returning to business as usual. I will leave you alone now. Good night.
DeleteHow can you possibly say that life in Afghanistan is returning to normal? Are you living in some dream world? Do you follow any news at all? Tomorrow it will be one week since the Taliban took over in Kabul. They have only just begun the job of hunting down and killing anyone who collaborated with the British and Americans - including their families. Do you not understand the reality of the situation?
DeleteYes I do understand the reality of the situation. Maybe there is some reality that you do not understand. I saw the reality of life of some of the 30 million people.
DeleteI don't think so.
DeleteRachel, you paint a rosy picture. It is simply not true.
DeleteWith all due respect to myself I was saying that shops and markets and offices were open as usual on Saturday and many millions of people were at least trying to lead their lives.
DeleteWhat else can they do? Close the markets? This is not 'retuning to normal '.
DeleteIt is just normal. Life has to go on. And many Afghans want it like it is now.
DeleteJust to say, you are right, it's not unreasonable to question how the withdrawal has been executed, and that process is starting with Congressional investigations already. My objection is to your referring to Biden as Trump-Lite. That's just flat out wrong.
DeleteAgree with Lynn Marie.
DeleteBiden is in the unfortunate position of losing his reason at the same time as losing the respect of his own party, losing his marbles and implementing some of the worst policies which Trump did not have the time or support to push through in his one term of office. It comes to something when the two British politicians the I have had the least respect for in the last twenty years speak out against Biden's maverick approach to foreign policy since he was sworn in. I despise Blair and I despise B.J., but every now and then the perfect storm is noticed by them.
DeleteRachel is living in a dream when she says that many - by which I believe she means the majority, otherwise what's the point? - Afghanis want it like it is now.
DeleteI try to focus on some positives and be optimistic. Many news sources coming out of Kabul support what I say.
DeleteI know iy is cowardly Tom but I can no longer bear to watch the News - to see small children crying and afraid and with no understanding at all about what is going on I find too much to bear.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been watching it either Weave, but - like Covid - it is saturating any news outlets right now.
DeleteJust as a point of clarification, that baby was handed over the razor wire to the marine because it was quite ill and needed more care than the parents could provide under the circumstances at the airport. The baby received treatment by the military and was returned to its parents.
ReplyDeleteOh was it? That's interesting and also heartwarming in a strange way.
DeleteSheila: The baby was reunited with the father and both of them are safe within the airport.
DeleteI think the smiling of those poor young men on the undercarriage of that plane will haunt me for a long time to come
ReplyDeleteI have not seen any images.
Deletea colleague of my daughter and son-in-law tried to get to the airport today. They were tear gassed with their toddler in their arms.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.factcheck.org/2021/08/timeline-of-u-s-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/
What a hopeless mess it all is. Parts of it were inevitable, but not this part.
DeleteYou sound a little like Fox news, I believe. I can only get past a paragraph.
ReplyDeleteI have never subscribed to Fox News, so I can't comment.
DeleteThere are many unknowns. In a year, much will be revealed on Afghanistan's fall and Taliban rule. The current crisis situation is disheartening on many levels.
ReplyDeleteThere has never been a time for so many unknowns - everywhere.
DeleteIf I were American I'd never vote Republican but one should never have any illusions about Democrat presidents. They're usually a warlike lot.
ReplyDeleteI saw in the Guardian Tory-lite Keir Starmer say he supported the decision to go into Afghanistan in the first place all those years ago. He's gone down another notch in my estimation as a result (which required me to invent another notch).
Kier Starmer is a non-entity in my eyes. Labour destroyed their own party with Corbyn, now the Conservatives are destroying their party too. It is a shame we are forced to go down with them.
DeleteCarruthers, I'd be very interested in why you believe that the Democratic party is the 'war' party.
ReplyDeleteSo would I be.
Delete