Afghanistan

[Screwdriver]

Neither.

[Ant]

Agree, this isn't something to joke about. People have lost lives trying to sort the place out and for what? It's an utter mess.

[Mussels]

What it's done is kept our army battle experienced, now we're out of there then where is our next training ground going to be?

[slowsider]

What it's done is kept our army battle experienced, now we're out of there then where is our next training ground going to be?

Yarmouth, going by comments on another thread

[gremlin]

Did anyone seriously think the whole Afghanistan adventure was ever going to end well?

[Ant]

Did anyone seriously think the whole Afghanistan adventure was ever going to end well?

It's the withdrawing which has messed it up. It'll only have stayed stable if the forces stayed put, with any war like that, you can't leave and expect things to remain the same.

[gremlin]

My point exactly. Once Western forces went in, the die was cast. How much longer should the Western govts. have given it? Another 20 years? 50? Kicking the can down the road would yield the same result, just take longer and cost more.

As David Starkey once said, as soon as a liberating army achieves its objectives, it becomes an army of occupation. The Afghans never wanted Western intervention and if the Taliban were really that despised the tribal system would have crushed it. Let Afghans decide their fate.

Like ripping off a plaster, do it quick and take the pain in one hit.

[Screwdriver]

Did anyone seriously think the whole Afghanistan adventure was ever going to end well?

It was retaliatory fro 9/11. The USA wasn't just going to let Al Qaeda ram a couple of aircraft into the World Trade Centre buildings and let them off scot-free. Afghanistan was (and will become again) a hotbed of activity for terrorist training. The worst part is, they might well end up being funded by China. Once China get involved especially if they end up on the ground or with military bases, it will be difficult if not impossible for the USA to take any further military action.

Plus of course, China get even closer to mainland Europe...

[Horse]

The worst part is, they might well end up being funded by China. Once China get involved

Someone is involved already - they can't be manufacturing all of the munitions themselves.

[slowsider]

Did anyone seriously think the whole Afghanistan adventure was ever going to end well?

It was retaliatory fro 9/11. The USA wasn't just going to let Al Qaeda ram a couple of aircraft into the World Trade Centre buildings and let them off scot-free. Afghanistan was (and will become again) a hotbed of activity for terrorist training.

They could have retaliated and withdrawn.
When the Russians were there it was the US funding the terrorist training via Pakistani intelligence.

[Screwdriver]

They could have retaliated and withdrawn.
When the Russians were there it was the US funding the terrorist training via Pakistani intelligence.

They should have.

But they didn't and the Bush/Bin Ladin nonsense is frankly baffling. I **think** the idea is Capitalist Imperialist Aggressor destabilises lesser countries and becomes the de-facto ruler of the world. We all join in with jolly capitalism.

How they do that is somewhat nefarious and world affairs are perhaps more devious than we can imagine.

OR perhaps America has lost it's way and is now being run by lefty liberal idiots...

[Yambo]

The worst part is, they might well end up being funded by China. Once China get involved especially if they end up on the ground or with military bases, it will be difficult if not impossible for the USA to take any further military action.

Plus of course, China get even closer to mainland Europe...

Russia had their go to support a Communist government that was unpopular in the sticks. It was a 10 year proxy war and the Russians found out that Afghanistan is a fairly expensive piece of cake. The Afghans were quite happy to take any offerings from quite a few other nations but basically, didn't want invaders on their territory.

The US went in to clean out Al Qaeda and the training camps. There was a bit of mission creep and 20 years later they too found out that it was a very expensive piece of cake. Again, the Afghans were quite happy that other countries were funding all sorts of stuff and some of them got to like the different lifestyle that became available but out in the sticks the coalition forces were outsiders and just as with the Russians, infidels.

I think it's well known that Chinese money comes with certain demands and is pretty expensive. Don't pay the interest and the Chinese will take control of the infrastructure or whatever else they've paid for. I doubt Afghanistan can pay the Chinese interest rates in the first place and those Afghans out in the sticks don't care too much for fancy, expensive infrastructure. The Chinese will simply be another sort of invader and the Afghans don't really like invaders. I wonder how long it'll take the Chinese to realise that an Afghanistan proxy war is an expensive piece of cake that they're not going to finish. I'm quite sure they can and would put larger numbers of boots on the ground but all they'll create is a target rich environment.

But none of it is that simple of course. The Taliban might actually like the CCP and take comfort in the way it has treated others, like Tibet and those Muslim Uyghurs. Stranger things have happened.

[Wscad]

Today, I heard some info that came from China. Rumour has it Afghanistan has huge deposits of Lithium. If that’s true no wonder the CCP want to become mates with the Taliban

[Mr. Dazzle]

Its no secret Afghanistan has mineral wealth, they talked about that even during the original invasion etc.

[Screwdriver]

Its no secret Afghanistan has mineral wealth, they talked about that even during the original invasion etc.

So Afghanistan could become the next Saudi Arabia when we're all running around on batteries...

[slowsider]

Its no secret Afghanistan has mineral wealth, they talked about that even during the original invasion etc.

So Afghanistan could become the next Saudi Arabia when we're all running around on batteries...

"In 2010, an internal US Department of Defense memo called Afghanistan “the Saudi Arabia of lithium,” after American geologists discovered the vast extent of the country’s mineral wealth,"

https://qz.com/2047785/under-the-taliba ... -minerals/

[Bwana]

Did anyone seriously think the whole Afghanistan adventure was ever going to end well?

Weapons manufacturers made out pretty well.

[gremlin]

Did anyone seriously think the whole Afghanistan adventure was ever going to end well?

Weapons manufacturers made out pretty well.

I had an uncle who ran a funeral business on the basis that whatever happened, people would always die.

I suppose the same reassurance is felt by arms manufacturers.

[Bwana]

Did anyone seriously think the whole Afghanistan adventure was ever going to end well?

Weapons manufacturers made out pretty well.

I had an uncle who ran a funeral business on the basis that whatever happened, people would always die.

I suppose the same reassurance is felt by arms manufacturers.

That's a bit of a symbiotic relationship.

[slowsider]

Weapons manufacturers made out pretty well.

I had an uncle who ran a funeral business on the basis that whatever happened, people would always die.

I suppose the same reassurance is felt by arms manufacturers.

That's a bit of a symbiotic relationship.

Wasn't that Patty Hearst's crowd?