Afghanistan…a war lost!

Well, the time has come…time for Afghanistan. This is one of those subjects that I have a lot of passion for and some real strong opinions about. So buckle-up buttercup!

First off, let’s talk about why were where in Afghanistan to begin with. The US government’s publicly stated mission in Afghanistan was to dismantle al-Qaeda and deny it a safe base of operations. Further, to do so the US would remove the Taliban government from power, according to the US State Department.

Objectively speaking, in other words…attack a sovereign country, violently topple their government, kill members of a religious/political party within that country, and destroy a sufficient amount of that country’s infrastructure and society to deny that same religious/political party from any activities we (the USA) deems inappropriate.

Now that we have the US “mission” from the US government itself, let’s grade that mission:

  1. According to a long list of credible sources al-Qaeda still operates in Afghanistan and does so openly.
  2. According to the US government the Taliban operates with impunity within Afghanistan as of December 2021. While the Taliban doesn’t officially hold the Presidency of Afghanistan, according to many credible sources the Taliban controls at least 85% of the country’s landmass and every major city…including its capital.

Note: As a bonus against US success it must be recognized that ISIS now also operates in Afghanistan.

That makes is pretty clear that we utterly and completely failed in our Afghanistan “mission”…without any doubt about it. And since the US government referred to it as a “war” then it is also just as correctly to state the US lost the Afghanistan War. Period! There is no debating that when viewed in objective terms…we lost.

What did it cost us?

  1. Approximately $3,000,000,000,000 (yup, $3trillion).
  2. Reportedly 2,100 US military personnel deaths, and at least another 21,000 wounded.

So we spent precious lives and significant treasure for what? A loss!

What did is cost Afghanistan?

  1. At least 66,000 Afghan government troops and police killed.
  2. Nearly 50,000 Afghan civilians died during the war, unknown number wounded. Some estimates are in the hundreds of thousands wounded.
  3. Approximately 52,000 Taliban & al-Qaeda fighters died.

But most of all…Afghanistan prior to the US invasion lived with one foot in the Stone Age. After the US left Afghanistan in August 2021…Afghanistan still lives with at least one foot in the Stone Age.

Note: As of December 2021 credible estimates state that in Afghanistan there are 30,000 – 55,000 Taliban fighters, 5,000 ISIS fighters, and 1,000 al-Qaeda fighters.

Was it worth it? If you answered “yes” in any form…you are a complete and utter idiot…or you buy the government propaganda hook, line, and sinker…or you work for the CIA…or you work for the US military-industrial complex.

The US went in there like a bully, brutalized a country, and then lost that war. And in terms of terrorists…we probably created more than we killed. Which is easy to understand…you start killing innocent family members at family events in their homes, well, that tends to upset surviving family members…and make them very prone to hate America.

And then there is the long list of war crimes that the US military and CIA committed while there. And yes, those war crimes are well documented and most have been widely published on the Internet, listed in international court documents, some admitted to by US personnel, video is widely available, and crimes witnessed by third-party observers.

Chew on this, at the hands of just US drone strikes in Afghanistan there were:

  1. 5,000 – 12,000 total innocent civilian casualties.
  2. As many as 1,000 innocent civilians killed.
  3. Approximately 100 children killed.

And those numbers are very low estimates that have been documented and verified. Additional third-party estimates go far higher than that. And thousands of drone deaths (men, women, & children) that are classified as “military” are actually civilians that the US military and the CIA labeled as such to cover up much larger civilian causality numbers. And as of this date…not a single person in the US military or the CIA has been so much as reprimanded, let alone tried and convicted, of a single one of those war crimes regarding innocent civilians.

Oddly enough, in response to the ISIS attack at the Abby Gate during the US August retreat from Afghanistan in which 13 US troops were killed along with at least 160 Afghanistan civilians, the US conducted a drone strike. Post-strike the US proudly claimed they had killed 2 high-level ISIS leaders responsible for the Abby Gate bombing.

Then the truth happened! Turns out that the US drone strike killed 10 Afghan civilians, including 7 children…no fighters, no ISIS, no Taliban, no one was killed other than innocents. That is a war crime by any definition. And yet, the US government is only proposing to pay the families a minimal amount of $’s for the murder of their family members. So why isn’t it classified as a war crime? Oh yeah, it’s because the US government did it.

Yeah, real pretty picture isn’t it.

But, to really understand this ugly picture we have to go back to 1978 – 1979…when the US government first began meddling in Afghanistan. The US government provided; arms, money, and CIA operatives to the mujahedeen (early Taliban). And in response to US activities, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in late 1979.

How important is that? Well as an example, let’s say Russia began fostering and supporting a communist revolution in Canada…and the Russians were winning. Would we invade Canada to stop the Russians and protect ourselves from the Russians spreading that revolution to the USA? Of course we would, especially if the Russians started winning.

See, Afghanistan borders Russia (former Soviet Union/USSR) and saw our fomenting a revolution in one of their neighbors as a problem. As would any rational human or country would.

Okay, recapping…1) the US begins interfering with Afghanistan and starting a revolution against Soviet interests, 2) the USSR responds by coming to the aid of Afghanistan to protect Soviet interests. Got it so far?

Once the Soviet Union got involved the CIA sent hundreds of their personnel and organized thousands of paid mercenaries in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets. In addition to that, through the US State Department and various other government agencies, the US poured several billion dollars into the fight against the Soviets. Additionally, the US military provide large numbers of “advisors” in the US war against Afghanistan and the Soviets.

Of very important note…in 1986 the US began sending large numbers of US made Stinger missiles. These deadly missiles were used against Soviet aircraft, mostly their helicopters.

In 1989 the Soviets retreated, gave up their war, and Afghanistan was declared an Islamic state. An Islamic state run by the mujahedeen thanks to support from the United States of America.

From 1989 – 1992 mujahedeen fought amongst itself finally forming a coalition and establishing a government. However, it was a very weak national government and mostly local radical Islamic military commanders enforcing despotism in their regional areas.

Out of the mujahedeen came a group called the Taliban. By 1996 the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and controlled the government.

Why is that important? The Taliban came from the mujahedeen. The mujahedeen was trained, funded, armed, and supported by the US government (specifically the CIA). Thus, the Taliban is a US government creation. But there is more, much more.

All the while, the war in Afghanistan against the Soviets that the CIA and Defense Department started and supported, was the ugly fact that the CIA was supporting and abetting their allies, the mujahedeen, in trafficking both opium and heroin. And yes, much of that came straight to the USA and into the veins of US citizens. Yes, that means the CIA was helping the group from whence the Taliban came from in the drug trade that was killing US citizens.

Historical fact proves that there is a clear and direct link between the US government and the Taliban. Without the US involvement all those years ago, the Taliban may not even exist today. And the primary liaison between the US government and the Taliban was, from the very beginning, the CIA. Remember that single most important fact.

While most of the funding, training, and arming of the early Taliban against the Soviets came directly from the CIA, both the US State Department and the US Department of Defense funneled huge amounts of money as well. And additionally the US Department of Defense provided massive amounts of arms (including advance missile systems) and advisors. Remember these facts…they are VERY important.

So now let’s move to early 2021…the Taliban began taking over Afghanistan once again…while the US military was still there. Now, let’s move to August 2021…the Taliban is in control of Afghanistan as the US military retreats from Afghanistan.  The US military is boxed in at the Kabul Airport

* Note: American M-16’s, web gear, tactical light, and an ACOG on the M-16 in the background. All American military gear.

surrounded by the Taliban army. And somehow the Taliban is now in-charge of the gate security in cooperation with the US military.

Sounds weird…almost like some Tom Clancy novel. Almost like some conspiracy nut made it all up. But, could it get any weirder? Oh yeah!

During the chaos there was a private charity with a plane load of folks boarding a jet to fly out. They were all Christians, some Americans, also green card holders, and folks who had helped America while we occupied Afghanistan. They were ordered off the plane and out of the airport by the US military. They were forced out of the airport through the Abby Gate. Less than two hours later…an ISIS suicide bomber, let in by the Taliban, set off his bomb at the Abby Gate. Out of all of the people forced off the plane by the US military, through that specific gate, there are no known survivors. So why those people, why the US military, why that gate, and why just before the suicide bomber blew everyone up?

Gets weirder? Yup ‘er!

Do you remember at the end of August when Pentagon officials announced the last U.S. military plane had left Afghanistan marking the end of America’s longest war? Remember the 21 times Biden said “no one will be left behind”…remember!?! The most notable, and first, Biden statement was on 8/19.

Then on 8/30 Biden admits that the US left hundreds of US citizens behind in Afghanistan.

Well, multiple credible reports/sightings were made that there were 3 – 5 plane loads of Americans, green card holders, vetted Afghans, and others who had assisted America were stranded at the airport…stranded by the US military and abandoned by the US State Department…as the US military General stepped aboard the last US military plane out of Kabul. The US military had intentionally left Americans behind to their own fate.

Almost immediately after the last US military plane left those left behind were taken away by the Taliban.

Later one of the planes, run by a private charity (The Nazarene Fund), was allowed to leave after the Pakistan Prime Minister intervened and called a senior Taliban commander. The Pakistan Prime Minister was asked for help because the US State Department had refused over and over again to get involved in the matter. The US State Department simply didn’t care.

On 8/26 there was a report that a local US military officer ordered vetted civilians off the tarmac and away from a private charter flight that was preparing to load the passengers and leave. The plane had been contracted by a civilian charity and all the passengers had been fully vetted. The US military commander said they were “in his way” and had to leave. They were ushered out of the airport by US military forces. Their whereabouts and whatever happened to them are still unknown, but none of them have been seen since as of 12/12.

On 9/3 it was revealed and documented that a charity with 280 Afghan “at risk” girls were at an airport gate with their charity escort, all guarded by the Taliban. This was on 8/28, but they needed clearance to get through the gate into the airport to board their waiting plane. They repeatedly contacted the Biden Administration pleading for urgent help to clear them through the gate. The Biden Administration repeatedly refused to help. None of the girls have been seen since.

Based on facts that are widely known, the retreat from the Kabul Airport was a complete and utter disaster by any objective rational measure. Both the US State Department and the US military committed egregious errors, if not outright crimes. And both entities were under direct control of Biden.

Then there are these questions about the last days in Afghanistan:

  • Why didn’t the retreat take place from the US Bagram Airbase which was far more secure, logistically more suited, and located in a less congested area with far easier access?
  • Why did the US leave over a million small arms behind that were perfectly serviceable?
  • Why did the US leave hundreds of millions of rounds of small arms ammunition behind?
  • Why did the US leave body armor, uniforms, helmets, and a wide range of other personal gear behind…to the tune of over a hundred million dollars?
  • Why did the US leave behind artillery, mortars, and the ammo for both?
  • Why did the US leave behind advanced electronic communication and positioning equipment?
  • Why did the US leave a notable number of fully operational Blackhawk helicopters behind?
  • Why did the US leave large numbers of up-armored Humvees and other armored vehicles behind?
  • Why did the US leave behind many extensive fully operational hospital units?
  • Why did the US leave significant numbers of Stinger, anti-tank, and other missiles behind?
  • Why did the US leave behind fully operational A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft, transport aircraft, intelligence/surveillance aircraft, and armed drones behind?
  • Why did the US leave behind tens of BILLIONS of dollars’ worth of equipment for the Taliban to use?

Note: Not all equipment left behind in August was serviceable. There was some equipment that was partially damaged by US troops prior to the retreat. But the vast majority of the military equipment that was left was fully operational.

Based on what happened during the overall retreat and a long list of unanswered questions seems to leave a person only two conclusions; 1) the US military, the US State Department, the CIA and all the other involved agencies are collectively completely 100% incompetent and derelict in their duty, or, 2) it was intentional.

Seriously, what other answer could there logically be?

But then you have the debacle at the Kabul Airport during the final month of the retreat. How is that explained? The same two choices? 1) Biden, the US government, the US military, the US State Department, the CIA and all the other involved agencies are collectively completely 100% incompetent and derelict in their duty, or, 2) it was intentional.

But then there is the whole Taliban guarding the Kabul Airport gates in cooperation with the US military. How do you explain that one?

Then there is the 280 girls that are intentionally stranded at the gate and refused help by the Biden Administration. And not a single one of those girls has been seen or heard from since. How do you explain that one?

Then there is the planeload of refugees that are kicked out of the airport through the Abby Gate just before the suicide bomber hits…and there are no more of those refuges to be found. How do you explain that one?

Then there is the retaliatory drone strike against ISIS for the Abby Gate suicide bombing that allegedly killed the two top ISIS leaders. But, in reality the drone strike killed 10 innocent civilians, 7 of which were children. How do you explain that one?

Well, let’s apply a reliable way to problem solve…Occam’s Razor. To do so let’s review:

  1. The Taliban originated from a joint CIA & US State Department operation (supported by the US Defense Department) dating back to the 1970’s.
  2. The mujahedeen (early Taliban) was funded and armed by the CIA, and trained by the CIA and US military.
  3. The mujahedeen (early Taliban) was provided with US military “advisors” during the Afghan/Soviet War.
  4. Throughout the 20-year Afghanistan War the CIA cooperated with Afghan warlords, many of whom were known Taliban, providing assistance with their drug trafficking.
  5. Throughout the 20-year Afghanistan War the CIA cooperated with Afghan warlords, many of whom were known Taliban, providing huge sums of cash for mercenaries to carry out covert military operations and other “cooperation”.

So fast-forward, we have the Taliban guarding the airport gates. The Taliban dictated who could enter the airport for evacuation. The Taliban kept it 100% secure with one exception…the Abby Gate suicide bombing. It was the US military that forced a single planeload of vetted Afghan civilians out of the airport through the Abby Gate right before the bomber hit.

Now add into that the billions, upon billions of dollars of US military equipment left behind in August 2021 that the Taliban now has use of.

Going back to Occam’s Razor…this philosophy advocates that when presented with competing hypotheses, one should select the solution with the fewest assumptions. In other words, commonly stated as the simplest explanation is usually the right one.

So we go back to the two most obvious explanations of what happened that I stated earlier; 1) the US government, the US military, the US State Department, the CIA and all the other involved agencies are collectively completely 100% incompetent and derelict in their duty, or, 2) it was intentional.

But, when you add in…August 23rd, 2021.

Why is that day important? Well, on that day CIA Director William J. Burns met face-to-face with the top Taliban leader in Kabul. Yup, the very top CIA leader meets with the very top Taliban leader…in Afghanistan.

Now why do you think that would happen…and in that location? And what about all the meetings between the Taliban and lower level CIA personnel that took place in the couple of months prior to August 2021?

Important Note: The Abby Gate bombing occurred 3 days after the Taliban and CIA leadership met.

So now…there is only one logical conclusion. But, let’s test it further…

If it was actually “incompetency” and/or “dereliction” by all agencies involved, that means it would have to be virtually all personnel in every agency being incompetent and/or derelict as well…every single one of them. But Biden himself stated that the Kabul Airport operation was an “extraordinary success”! So that eliminates the incompetency/dereliction argument to a great degree. And to my knowledge no government employee has made any hint otherwise. So that pretty much tells you that everything that happened was planned and executed successfully…exactly how they wanted it to go…as planned.

Then there is Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, Jr.  After the Abby Gate bombing and the death of 13 US service members he released a video questioning the operation, and demanding answers and accountability. So here is a military leader, combat veteran, and who served in Afghanistan not understanding why the operation was being conducted the way it was.

So the military did what the military does best…relieved him of command, arrested him, placed him in the brig (military jail), loaded him up with numerous charges far beyond what was reasonable/required, and forced him to take a plea deal where he pled guilty to a specific set of charges.The US military loves to cover up problems vs solving them…or being accountable for their actions.

He is now awaiting discharge. Fortunately for him the public outcry of support for him and his outstanding military record forced the military to go light on him during sentencing. However, the “type” of discharge he receives is yet to be determined…and that means everything.

How does Scheller play into this? He is further proof that something was very, very wrong with the way things were handled during the retreat from Afghanistan, wrong beyond simple incompetency and/or dereliction.

The overwhelming evidence, facts, historical accounts…simply everything points to only one conclusion…this was a planned event…intentional. So much so that Biden called it extraordinarily successful.

That is sad to say the least…and disturbing to the very core of the Constitution in my opinion.

All that being said one has to ask the most important question of all. But, to put that question into context you have to back up nearly 40 years (four decades) to the last time we became an ally of, funded, and armed the early Taliban. What did we ask them then? We asked them to be our ally and fight against the Soviet Union, then they were take over control of the Afghan government. Then they became Islamic terrorists.

So now the most important question is, now that we have the context…

Once again we see that the CIA has armed the Taliban with some of the best weaponry the world can offer and did so in huge quantities. What comes next?

That is a question that will keep many up at night…rightfully so.

 

 

 

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5 thoughts on “Afghanistan…a war lost!

  1. My eyes opened to the evil and corruption in Afghanistan after reading and studying about Pat Tillman, the NFL player who resigned from the NFL after 9-11 and joined the Army, eventually becoming a Ranger in Afghanistan. He was a high profile marketing win for the military…until he began questioning the mission of military in Afghanistan. Then he suddenly died by “accidental” friendly fire. All his journals and possessions were burned. The videos of the congressional inquiry into his death are repulsively corrupt. I lost any remaining respect for our government leaders after all that and am now firmly on the “this isn’t a conspiracy theory any longer. This is real!” train. 100% agree – pure evil occurred with the CIA and American $$$ in Afghanistan.

    Liked by 2 people

    • JR, The CIA is untouchable, beyond any justice, and certainly out of control. It is a perfect institution for an authoritarian state. Or in this case…an aspiring one. And the irony of it…the CIA wraps itself in the flag. Unfortunately, the CIA is the exact opposite of everything the Founding Fathers believed in and created over 230 years ago. AH

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Pingback: Feedback & Comments : Afghanistan…a war lost! | A.H. Trimble - Emergency preparedness information for disasters and grid-down

  3. Humm, I wonder why I have/had the same thoughts you have expressed. I have never served in the military, so I don’t understand the culture. That said I felt the whole debacle was wrong on so many levels that I can’t even express my thoughts. I don’t have to have a military background to know what we saw was pure unadulterated evil.

    Liked by 1 person

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