Afghanistan back under Taliban rule
 

Looks like that's that.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...2ti?li=BBnb7Kz

“The jury is still out, but the likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely,” Biden said on July 8.

isn't having them all in one easily bombable place a good thing?

Except that it's not a really bombable place. The Taliban are used to burrowing into caves and entrenching in the mountains. Also hiding behind/around innocent civilians.

Also... a month ago Biden said there was "no chance you see people being lifted off the roof in a helicopter" and now this happens:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...ats/ar-AANlYSo

I wasn't alive for the fall of Cuba into Castro's Marxism, but there seems to be a number of similarities between Ashraf Ghani and Fulgencio Batista folding like a house of cards under pressure from the insurgents.

Also, good job, Uncle Joe, it only took you 7 months to make the last 20 years of American involvement in that region pointless.

even CNN is apparently turning against him. that's bad in their world.

I picture them in a situation room more worried about 'we can't call them terrorists, what other word can we use?' than actually doing something.

This **** is bad for everyone: it will popularize being islam terrorist, which will lead to a new wave of acts of terror, not to mention Russia has a terrorist, IS-like state right on its border. And considering Russia has problems with islam terrorism, it means nothing good for our future.

This is scary. Remember, it wasn't many years ago the number of democracies increased.

We got a world guided by Western democracy, and went on vacation from history.

So, what were those last 20 years for? They couldn't finish off the Taliban?

I was a kid back in the 90s, but I remember the occasional news we'd get about Afghanistan back when the Talibans ruled there. Basically women being stoned and whipped for not being entirely covered with their burkas. And it was against the law for girls to go to school there. Also, music and art were banned there. It's like there were no leisure activities allowed there. Must have been hell on earth.

Anyway, Afghanistan seems like a very tribal society still. And a place full of corruption and with a medieval level of mentality. Turning it into a normal and functional democratic nation was always going to be a pretty daunting task. It's not exactly a very progressive place. For all we know, a lot of the civilians in the country probably support the Taliban.

Calling them what they actually are is far worse than what they actually do. It's why Obama wouldn't mention the words "islamic terrorists" in his 4 years in office....

Even leftist-caricature-media CNN is smearing their Obama-born court jester of a President....

Biden's botched Afghan exit is a disaster at home and abroad long in the making

In order to finish Taliban for good, USA needed to go at war with a Pakistan, which used Taliban as its proxy army. Pakistan also, US ally and has nuclear weapon, so going at war with it is not a smartest option. Especially since China and Russia are nearby.

So they attempted to make locals fight against Taliban on their own, but locals are corrupted and generally don't give a ****, which means as soon as US troops are out of picture they side with Taliban.

which is why it's hard to believe there ARE any innocents to worry about. the whole place is a write off at this point.

I would be glad, if major countries let this shithole boil in its own diarrhea, because, unless people of Afgan won't want to help themselves - no-one will. But its existence as a terrorist state, which it will become without a doubt, creates major risk for countries in the region.

While we're at solving Afagni problems, can like... we send some people over to Mexico to also take care of their cartel problems while they're at it?

I'd be way OK with that. If the cartels are the reason all of the illegal immigrants claim they have to flee to the U.S., it would seem to be in our own best interests to help Mexico pull them out by the roots.

Exactly. I mean, they're the main I'd never set foot back there, not even to visit family. I'd like to return with my head attached.

I don't even know what to feel about it anymore. I'm sure many are angry that our people are leaving, but what is the use even? They've had our people (and some other nations) helping them out on our dime for 20 years and in that time their government and military could never get their act together so that at some point they can defend their own nation themselves?

Pointless fight at this point, there is no winning this. You can't win what they themselves won't even fight for. And now their damn president ran off. Cute. I get that the Taliban is dangerous, but imagine giving up on your own nation that easily.

My heart goes out to the innocent people who are stuck in that situation. Mostly at this point I wish all the regular folks who don't deserve to be in that mess could be gotten out of there for the time being and be sheltered in nearby countries for a while. Let the damn terrorist take over and start to feel at ease, letting their guard down, and give any others in the world that want to join them a chance to get over there...then target known locations and bomb the hell out of them.

That or send Covid positive people undercover among them.


I have long wondered why we haven't bothered to try to help. People don't like immigrates flooding the border, but it seems pretty clear that maybe if Mexico could get some help in solving those issues and become someplace people don't want to leave it would help us in the long run, too.

You'd think issues with the neighbors on our side of the globe would be higher priority.

It's not about freeing the Afghans. It's about securing our country after it's been proven that they will attack it using any means necessary to kill civilians.

God you really are arrogant.... and talking about giving up "your own nation" while you support the politics that give rise to these situations is pure evidence of your ability to understand reality.

Then why don't YOU go, oh virtuous one? There are all sorts of programs given rise through capitalism and humanitarianism that would allow you an outlet for this. Go join the Peace Corps, go to Mexico, help "the people". Why don't you do it instead of being completely full of $#!( and posting routinely uninformed opinions from some stunted perspective here on a Ninja Turtles forum? Christ I'd rather banter with f'n Duckie than read your nonsense. She has some crazy opinions but at least I've never seen her double down on the nonsense and pretend to be deeply informed like you do.

Ultimately, it's because people really love cocaine and our own government is in bed with the cartels. The U.S. government makes billions of dollars a year funneling imported drugs back into the streets of our own country. That's why we don't crack down on immigrants harder - the fact that they're bringing in drugs is a huge "Yeah, No Sh*t Sherlock" situation - and it's why we don't do more to "help" Mexico fix its situation. Because more people get rich that way.

It's a gross situation, but it's ultimately one of Supply & Demand. For better or worse, people absolutely f*cking LOVE drugs. And as long as there's money to be made ain't nobody "fixing" sh*t.

The Twitter video clips of Afghans trying to latch onto escaping US Air Force boggle my mind. Never thought I'd see something like that.
https://www.businessinsider.com/kabu...edium=referral

Ah, there's the pot. Kettle says hi.

If that was directed at me, someone feel free to convince IMJ that no one is forcing him to read my posts. Even put me on ignore if he's that bothered. Then offer him a bucket of ice water to cool his ass in.

https://y.yarn.co/69abaf8e-4043-40e6...8091f_text.gif

The US could always just take over Mexico and make Mexico America.... then all those illegals would be citizens, free to pay taxes & all that fun sh!t... [half serious here as it would be better in a way than just letting democrats bus the d@mn terrorists here anyways...] And as far as the Middle East, we should have turned that area into a giant glass parking lot 2 decades ago. Problem solved. Probably even less deaths too. [Not really serious here.] Ready or not, here comes the Boom! :tlol:

But Republicans & independents are the terrorists according to Joe Pedo & co...

Breaking Bad taught me that all Mexicans sell and produce Crystal Meth.

I mean, the thing nobody really likes to talk about is that one day, whether it's tomorrow or 100 years from now, something like that IS going to have to happen, in either case. It's inevitable. It's just that nobody wants to be the one to instigate it, because those solutions would be "mean" and heavy-handed. Even though they are in fact necessary solutions.

People don't like to admit it, but you can't look the other way and keep saying "Well, that's just their culture" FOREVER as countries commit massive human rights violations against their own people (and occasionally against other people). Eventually, those countries WILL have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era and huge chunks of their respective "culture" are going to have to be put to bed for the good of the majority.

The only questions are When, and how much bloodshed will there be when it finally gets to that point. But when people just shrug with regard to places like Afghanistan and Mexico and say, "Well, we've got no business trying to 'fix' it anyways, that's their business"... that's defeatist and enabling. The fact is those places can't be allowed to continue on as they have. SOMEBODY has to fix it, and one day, they will. Probably not in any of our lifetimes, but eventually it has to happen.

It IS going to be a huge and bloody mess when that time comes, though. That's unavoidable. What we've been doing for the last couple of decades Over There... half-measures, at best. It's not that there ISN'T a proper solution, it's that someone would need to have the balls big enough to completely upturn the status quo AND be willing to shrug off a gigantic mountain of criticism they'd be inviting in the process. Like they'd have to be okay with being labelled a super-villain for the rest of their lives, in exchange for being vindicated a hundred years in the future after it all worked out for the best. I don't think anyone like that exists yet. Most politicians don't have the "vision" to see beyond the next election; that's generally why nothing important ever gets done.

I don't see it. We don't want Mexico.

Not as it presently exists, no.

But at SOME point someone is gonna have to roust the cartels and give those people such "luxuries" as flushing toilets and clean drinking water. Things can't stay the way they are forever.

I think what it will come down to is less having to do with them having anything of value to us specifically, and more with Us being sick and tired of such embarrassment as what goes on down there taking place in essentially our own backyard. Like taking it upon yourself to mow your neighbor's lawn when they're out of town, throwing out all the beer cans and empty bottles and such; they didn't ask you to do it, and there's no real benefit to you, but it's overgrown and unkempt and it just makes everyone on the street look bad by association, so you just do what needs to be done since they can't be bothered to care.

I mean think about it; you've got L.A., which despite being a cesspool of another kind is still more or less the shining beacon for 21st-century living. And then just a few hours south, you've got a country full of people where tons of them don't even have stable electricity or running water. That's a goddamn joke, an embarrassment, and it shouldn't be that way.

And it's very easily fixable. Somebody just has to say "Enough is Enough" and actually commit to fixing it. BUT... we're in bed with the drug barons, so we continue to look the other way because Status Quo makes the most people rich. If we actually wanted it fixed, it'd be fixed.

One day. Not tomorrow, but eventually.

Of course the US govt is in bed with some of the drug cartels in Mexico, why do you think some politicians want to decriminalize all the major drugs in this country?

-ouch-

What politicians want to do that? :lol:

DemocRATs, of course.
They have already legalized Marijuana.

Funny, but Netherlands and most of the Nordic countries beat us to it LONG ago. And seem to be doing quite well as a result. Fewer addicts, fewer people in jail, etc....

Not anymore:
Heady days of Amsterdam's drug culture turn bad as hard stuff brings violence and corruption

Why The Netherlands Is Becoming A Narco State

Netherlands: The possible consequences of liberal drugs policies
The drug mafia can pervade everything if you give it enough scope: The Netherlands has turned into one of the largest exporters of synthetic drugs, partly because of its drug policies, says Anabel Hernández.

See, when you legalize something that previously was a criminal offense, it doesn't remove the problem: its just enhances demand, which at some point outgrows supply and, voila, criminals enter the scene and the whole thing once again become used buy crime cartels and corrupted bureaucrats.

This is the same reason why legalizing prostitutions is a bad idea. It won't save anyone, it will just make demand for prostitutes bigger. You can figure out consequences yourself. If you care, that is.

Yeah, because heroin addicts will stop being heroin addicts if the drug is made legal....

https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/15/2...icy-reform-act

https://www.thegazette.com/staff-col...is-aging-well/

Theyve been at this sh*t for years.

They approached it as an illness, TREATING the addiction rather than punishing it. It was working, too, by all accounts. Might have changed more recently, but I don't keep constant tabs, so, ??? I know the number of addicts WAS going down because they could get treatment instead of being treated like criminals for just using it.

I'm not really informed about the whole "Talibans are bacc" thing, I just heard something from the news of my country.

According to what I know, I think it's good that they got the government. The biggest problem with countries like these, is that they never had the possibility to grow as countries because they ALWAYS had an external enemy creating problems with them.
Yeah, Talibans are bad, but alot of bad people reached the government in other countries during history, so those countries just need to let them do what they want, and if they do something stupid, the ones who live there will fight them.

Having to rely on other countries constantly, won't make them "grow up".
They have to fight their own wars, as sad as it sounds.
I think it's good that America finally made their military retreat, because it was just a continuous struggle with no end, making lots of soldiers die for basically nothing.

Again, I'm not REALLY informed on this, so take my idea as a poorly made opinion.

Addiction is not an illness, it's the culmination of a series of poor life choices combined with a strong, nearly iron-clad selfish streak. One constant among all "addicts" is the fact that they put their own comfort and happiness far above that of everyone around them, including their families.

Put simply, all addicts are to some degree simply narcissists. In that they only care about themselves, not who they hurt. And they use things like "Bad Things Happened To Me" or "I Am In Pain" as excuses to justify their own bad behavior and poor choices.

I know this because I grew up in a family of addicts and surrounded by many more of them outside my immediate family. If the "Genetic Predisposition" thing were true, then I'd be lying in some hovel somewhere with a needle in my arm and a bottle of cheap booze in my hand, because I promise you, few people you know had more cokeheads, junkies, and alcoholics in their immediate and extended families than I have. And drugs were CONSTANTLY available to me so the temptation was always there. And as far as using "trauma" as an excuse to "self-medicate", without throwing a Pity Party I can assert that I've got most people beat there, as well. I was physically and emotionally abused quite often as a child, primarily by those same "addicts", which continued well into adulthood.

I also spent two weeks in a rehab facility several years ago (not for addiction, but for reasons of mental health, but they put everyone in together), and got to know several people who were at various stages of their own "addiction". To a man, several of them would admit during quiet moments, "It's all a lie. We know exactly what we're doing, we're just selfish. That's all it is. We lie and say we're powerless to control ourselves, but the truth is, it's just easier this way. We don't want to deal with Real Life, and we're too ashamed to look in the mirror, so we drink or we do drugs and we SAY we can't change, but it's bullsh*t. We can when we WANT to... but for now it's just easier this way."

The ONLY people who ever reach and maintain "sobriety", are the ones who will come clean and admit to that fact. Enabling them does nothing, nor does writing it off as some "disease" they have no control over. ALL of that is nonsense. You simply have to CARE that your actions and behavior are killing you and hurting the people closest to you. You have to CARE that your kid can't go to college because you spent their entire savings on drugs. You have to CARE that the kid you beat bloody simply for being in the room during your Bad Mood is going to have scars both physical and mental for the rest of their life. You have to CARE that your family is going to be homeless because you simply stopped paying bills because you were more concerned about a fix.

If you care, you can find the strength to get clean and stay that way. You don't need to be a super-hero. I'm not. I just have common sense. I simply looked around at all the terrible people I was surrounded by and said, "I want nothing to do with these people or their 'lifestyle'." This is why I'm one of the very few people in my immediate family who isn't "an addict". I can drink without getting blackout drunk... because I have common sense, and because I don't use drinking as a way to run away from my life or my Very Real problems, all of which are only made worse by adding being constantly drunk on top of them. To say nothing of what sticking chemicals in your arm or up your nose will do.

Others in my family? They choose to perpetuate the cycle, mostly. "My parents were mean to me, so now I get drunk/high and be mean to my own kids. It's only fair!" To me, this is the very definition of blindness, or selfish, uncaring narcissism. "This behavior makes ME feel better, everyone else can get f*cked." Stupid.

Like seriously, how stupid does a person have to be, knowing what we know Now, to dabble in things like heroin or cocaine, knowing full well what happens to 99% of the people who do? We're not talking about smoking a joint and eating a whole box of Pop Tarts, we're talking about Real Drugs and what they do to people. Knowing what's on the other side, why would anyone go that route, and further, once they become "addicted" why should we feel sorry for them? It was their own stupid choices that put them in the position they're in. It's not like they didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

The ONLY "addicts" I feel even a little bit sorry for, are the people who get addicted to opiate pain medication while under their doctor's care and then struggle to get clean or end up falling into harder stuff when their script runs out. Because those people were misled by people they trusted to keep them well who ultimately cared more about profits than they did about human life. I think we've all seen the news enough over the last two decades to know that irresponsible over-prescription of opiates IS a very real problem which many people in turn have ended up suffering from.

But even then, at the same time, a little self-awareness and common sense could still have helped SOME of those people not to fall into the trap, if they hadn't blindly followed bad advice given to them by a "trusted" medical professional. To again speak from experience: Once upon a time, I crushed (not "broke", literally crushed) part of my finger at work and had to undergo some reconstructive surgery on it. I was prescribed an antibiotic ("So it won't get infected and kill you"), and Oxycontin, aka "Heroin's Next-Door Neighbor", the very same drug that pushed so many unsuspecting people into becoming full-blown drug addicts. I was resistant to this, but the doctors were insistent; "You're going to need it, you're going to be in SO much pain during your recovery that without the pain medicine you won't even be able to function. Just take it as directed and you won't have any problems." Which I'm sure is what EVERYONE is told, and yet...

I never even finished the first prescription. Having never taken opiates before, I immediately felt the side effects, and I couldn't stand them. I never took a single extra pill - and would in fact sometimes skip a dose - because I couldn't handle the nausea, the "numb" feeling, the mental fogginess, or the spur-of-the-moment mood swings. One day, I just stopped taking them altogether and decided that living with the pain (which never got as bad as they swore it would) was preferable.

But see, if I'd done what I was told by my doctors - or ended up taking "Just one extra pill here and there" like so many other people do - I might've ended up "an addict". I made a choice. I didn't like what my "professionally-prescribed medicine" was doing to me, so I decided to advocate for myself and stop taking it before I ended up doing real damage to myself. I'm convinced that anyone in my situation could have done the same thing, IF they were self-aware enough.

Moral of the Story: Every single "addict" has an origin story where at some point, "I knew what I was doing was wrong... I just didn't care."

That's not a "disease". That is A Choice.

Amazing post!

Also, it is the same conclusion I came to after having my own experiences with addicts: if they don't help themselves to get back on their feet, no amount of pleading, logic, rationale, will help. Basically they should stop being being selfish trash and face reality that they are killing themselves and hurting people close to them. But that is something ONLY THEM can do. No interference from the outside can stop it. I can attest to it.

Of course, in a modern West it is not rewarded, because, modern West is all about personal gratification, consequences be damned. You want to dress like a dumb parrot with dildo up your ass? Yes, please! You want to chop your balls, because, you think there is a cute girl inside of your head? Yes, please! You want to pretend that you are loser, because, of rare mental syndrome or impossible gender and not, because, you are worthless parasite with no skills? You got it!

World of selfish imbeciles. But such worlds don't live for long.

The same people who refuse to believe drug addicts should be criminalized are the same people who refuse to believe if there was universal health care, bunches of dregs wouldn't just sit at home and do nothing. Very enlightened people. You know what these people also have in common, the ones who refuse to believe? They've never met people in either category (OR belong to the second category themselves).

Also a little alarming that Biden keeps pretending the Afghanistan army didn't ever fight back and are cowards, and that Afghanistan was like this pit of neverending war and US soldier deaths. In the past 7 years alone, only about 100 US soldiers were killed... but 50,000 Afghani soldiers were killed. And for 20 years they've been trained to act militarily in concert with the US military, never solo. So it's a bit like teaching someone to swim, then taking away their life jacket. Also they never figured out how to actually pay these Afghani soldiers without the US involvement... so with the pullout they were literally just volunteers.

China Joe!
 

I call on Joe Biden to resign in disgrace!

Worst US President ever, EEEEEEEVVVVER!!!!!!

A sitting US President cannot do this much damage to America in his first 7 months unless it’s being done on purpose.

Biden intentionally armed the Taliban and is now sending our Military back in to defend Kabul against those weapons. And this is after he mandated all Military must be vaxxed and transgenders are allowed in. *Biden and his Homeland Security are calling us terrorists if we read the Bible, question the 2020 election results or refuse the vaccine. *Biden shut down American oil pipelines and allowed Russia to build one across Europe leading to skyrocketing fuel prices in the US. *Biden was handed the most secure Southern Border in history and opened the floodgates for dangerous illegals. *Obama released terrorists from GTMO, one of them is now running Afghanistan thanks to Biden and his handlers. Joe Biden sold his soul and the United States to China.

Biden voters, you asked for this. Own it, eat it.