US commander of international forces in Afghanistan
Air strike on a hospital in the northern city of Kunduz
was a mistake
Gen John Campbell said that the US would never intentionally target a protected medical facility
Hmmmmm
.
Gen John Campbell said that the US would never intentionally target a protected medical facility
kmich wrote:.
3167V8u-W-Y
.
“When the United States makes a mistake, we own up to it, we apologize,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, told reporters.
..
In addition to the apology, White House officials said Mr. Obama had promised a “transparent, thorough and objective accounting” of the incident, and told Dr. Liu that he would make any changes necessary to ensure that such incidents were less likely in the future.
Pentagon spent $150 million on luxury villas for employees in Afghanistan
The Pentagon is under fire again for excessive spending in Afghanistan. Following reports of the $43 million gas station, a government watchdog says nearly $150 million was spent on villas, meals, and security guards for a “handful” of employees.
On Thursday, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released a letter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in which SIGAR chief John F. Sopko asked for more information about $150 million that was authorized by the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO), a small division of the defense department charged with stabilizing the economies of Iraq and Afghanistan.
[...]
After 18 years of war, thousands of lives lost, and hundreds of billions of dollars squandered, the United States accomplished precisely nothing.
Bush brought back the poppy/opioid industry which the Taliban had eradicated, so really a net negative.kmich wrote: ↑Sat Sep 14, 2019 2:47 pm We Lost the War in Afghanistan. Get Over It.
After 18 years of war, thousands of lives lost, and hundreds of billions of dollars squandered, the United States accomplished precisely nothing.
Bad link
Thank you. Kinda what I thought, but did not expect so much high level confirmation.kmich wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:01 pm Sorry, worked earlier. Hopefully fixed:
The Afghanistan Papers A secret history of the war
This Japanese doctor had a handle on how to fix Afghanistan.kmich wrote: ↑Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:40 pm As Clausewitz explains, war “is controlled by its political object,” which “will set its course, prescribe the scale of means and effort which is required, and makes its influence felt throughout down to the smallest operational detail.” So, a meandering, changing, unclear, and incoherent formulation of the "political object" of war will lead to confused operations down to the most basic levels. This has unfortunately been frequently the case in our military operations since WW2.
In addition, the lack of continuity of military experience in country due to rapid in and out rotations during the Afghanistan war has made the problem worse. Each new officer deployed arrives with a set of optimistic mission expectations, frequently becomes disillusioned, but then moves on to turn over the "mission" to their fresh, confident relief. The "punch your ticket," report progress if you value your career, and keep your darkness to yourself phenomena that was typical during Vietnam. Nothing is learned and the beat goes on.
The other, really difficult part of this the need to redeem sacrifices. If you go to war, have buddies killed, have yourself and/or your friends wounded, accepting that the mission was a pointless failure places you in such a dark place that it is almost impossible to live with. This has been the struggle the Vietnam vets I know have dealt with and I expect the same would be true with our 21st century military actions.
The context of these "Afghanistan Papers" and the "Pentagon Papers" of Vietnam are radically different. The "Pentagon Papers" were met with significant controversy and antiwar sentiment, while these documents on Afghanistan, for those who will even know about them, with a collective shrug. People adapt, and we have adapted to our semi-permanent, ongoing wars. Unlike Vietnam, with our contemporary professional military and smaller scale combat deployments, few people are directly effected by our wars. So shrug your shoulders, "support the troops," and move on, I suppose. Unfortunately, functional, representative governments typically don't fail due some dramatic military putsch or coup, but by a deteriorating cycle fostered by lack of accountability comfortably snuggled in the bed of the indifference and cynicism of a divided population.
‘He Showed Us Life’: Japanese Doctor Who Brought Water to Afghans Is Killed
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/5 ... icials-sayThe United States left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said.
[...]
Before the Afghan army could take control of the airfield, about an hour’s drive from the Afghan capital Kabul, a small group of looters ransacked barrack after barrack and rummaged through giant storage tents before being evicted, Afghan military officials said.
I can't believe that YouTube suddenly restricted this video years after it was first put on Youtube after Afghanistan has fallen. There is no good reason to age restrict this outside of naked censorship.Doc wrote: ↑Fri Dec 13, 2019 6:25 amThis Japanese doctor had a handle on how to fix Afghanistan.kmich wrote: ↑Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:40 pm As Clausewitz explains, war “is controlled by its political object,” which “will set its course, prescribe the scale of means and effort which is required, and makes its influence felt throughout down to the smallest operational detail.” So, a meandering, changing, unclear, and incoherent formulation of the "political object" of war will lead to confused operations down to the most basic levels. This has unfortunately been frequently the case in our military operations since WW2.
In addition, the lack of continuity of military experience in country due to rapid in and out rotations during the Afghanistan war has made the problem worse. Each new officer deployed arrives with a set of optimistic mission expectations, frequently becomes disillusioned, but then moves on to turn over the "mission" to their fresh, confident relief. The "punch your ticket," report progress if you value your career, and keep your darkness to yourself phenomena that was typical during Vietnam. Nothing is learned and the beat goes on.
The other, really difficult part of this the need to redeem sacrifices. If you go to war, have buddies killed, have yourself and/or your friends wounded, accepting that the mission was a pointless failure places you in such a dark place that it is almost impossible to live with. This has been the struggle the Vietnam vets I know have dealt with and I expect the same would be true with our 21st century military actions.
The context of these "Afghanistan Papers" and the "Pentagon Papers" of Vietnam are radically different. The "Pentagon Papers" were met with significant controversy and antiwar sentiment, while these documents on Afghanistan, for those who will even know about them, with a collective shrug. People adapt, and we have adapted to our semi-permanent, ongoing wars. Unlike Vietnam, with our contemporary professional military and smaller scale combat deployments, few people are directly effected by our wars. So shrug your shoulders, "support the troops," and move on, I suppose. Unfortunately, functional, representative governments typically don't fail due some dramatic military putsch or coup, but by a deteriorating cycle fostered by lack of accountability comfortably snuggled in the bed of the indifference and cynicism of a divided population.
U_gxTsT6khg
Sadly he was murdered the other day
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/worl ... -dead.html
‘He Showed Us Life’: Japanese Doctor Who Brought Water to Afghans Is Killed