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Afghan chaos undercuts Biden's promise of competence


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2021 Aug 18, 2:48pm   123,536 views  1,163 comments

by RWSGFY   ➕follow (4)   💰tip   ignore  






....
The shambolic unravelling of America's withdrawal from Afghanistan comes from a yet to be written textbook of "how to lose at everything". Warnings hadn't been heeded, intelligence was clearly totally inadequate, planning was lamentable, execution woeful.

Let's just focus in on one thing - although there are any number that are worthy of examination.
The withdrawal came during the "fighting season" - a phrase I have to say I have always found rather odd. But in Afghanistan there is a fighting season which starts in spring - and then in winter, when the country freezes over, there is a time when the Taliban go home to their tribal homelands. Did no-one think that it might have been better to have ordered the withdrawal for the dead of winter when Taliban forces weren't there, poised to fill the vacuum?

The end result might have been the same - a Taliban takeover - but it would have almost certainly led to a more orderly drawdown. Yet the Biden administration wanted an eye-catching date. They wanted the withdrawal completed by 11 September. Twenty years on from 9/11 - an artificial, self-imposed deadline.

...

Biden's election campaign could be boiled down to three messages to distinguish himself from Donald Trump. First, he would be more empathetic. He would be more competent. And instead of "America First", it would be replaced by the mantra "America is back".
But in his address yesterday, there wasn't a whole lot of empathy towards the thousands of Afghans who've helped Americans these past 20 years. On competence, even his biggest cheerleaders would struggle to say the withdrawal of American troops has been anything other than shambolic.
And after the bewildering events of the past few days, how exactly is America back?

...

But on the policy itself, Joe Biden is utterly defiant. He summoned up his inner Harry Truman and made clear in his speech that the buck stops with him. He was, however, happy to distribute blame in much the same way that a muck spreader disperses manure in all directions. The Afghan leadership weren't up to it, the Afghan armed forces had no fight in them; Donald Trump had negotiated a bad deal.

...

A fascinating nugget from a briefing that's just been given by Joe Biden's National Security Adviser. Since the fall of Kabul, Jake Sullivan revealed, Biden hadn't spoken to another world leader. Wasn't that just a bit surprising, given that there were a lot of other nations - including Britain - who'd committed vast resources to Afghanistan?

...

When the G7 gathered in Cornwall and the Nato nations met in Brussels the sense of relief was palpable among the prime ministers and presidents that a more outward looking American president was in charge. But given what has unfolded - how America has been humiliated, how Joe Biden embarked on a policy he was cautioned against by these leaders - there is now a good deal more wariness.
And who will feel they have gained most from America's departure - apart from the Taliban, of course? Why, three countries near Afghanistan - Russia, Iran and China. I'm not sure that is what Joe Biden had in mind when he said after his inauguration that "America is back".



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58252174?source=patrick.net

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762   Patrick   2023 Apr 28, 9:49am  

https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/on-war-and-wars/


You understand, “Joe Biden” is only pretending to run for president again, in the same way that he only pretended to be president the past two years. Are we to believe, for instance, that the old zombie has become a fervent Maoist? Or that he follows any known structured political philosophy at all, other than cashing checks that favor-seekers from all nations send his way? “Joe Biden” is pretending to run — no matter how preposterous it seems — because his handlers know that only a titanic pretense of political strength can stave off the reveal of his family’s awesome criminality and the fall of everyone hitched to that wagon.
772   Patrick   2023 May 9, 7:16pm  

https://slaynews.com/news/biden-admin-may-freeze-bank-withdrawals-currency-fears-soar-expert-warns/


A top economic expert has warned that Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration may be planning to freeze all U.S. bank withdrawals.

The warning comes as fears over the banking crisis and the stability of the economy continue to soar.

According to macroeconomics guru Hugh Hendry, the Biden admin could literally ban withdrawals from the banking system.

The move would see Americans’ checking accounts locked down in an effort to prevent widespread bank runs.

And while such a move sounds more like the actions of a far-left communist dictatorship, it would follow suit with other Biden admin policies.

Under Biden, the federal government has already moved to force Americans to buy expensive electric cars, limited the kinds of appliances you can buy, and censored the questions you can raise about fair elections and much more.

More importantly, Biden has also moved to eliminate America’s traditional dollar and replace it with “digital cash.”

Now the next step could be to seize control of your bank account, according to Hendry.
773   HeadSet   2023 May 9, 7:55pm  

Patrick says





Hey, even a cat converter thief works from home!
792   Eric Holder   2023 May 26, 12:44pm  

Aaaand the hero of the Afghan covfefe - Milley - is out.
796   Ceffer   2023 Jun 2, 10:17pm  

Female cadet? They know he's a fake. I wonder if they can see the mask if they are really close.
797   richwicks   2023 Jun 2, 11:45pm  

Ceffer says

Female cadet? They know he's a fake. I wonder if they can see the mask if they are really close.


Haha, with 1080p, you can see zits. It was a real problem when we moved from NTSC to HD. Makeup departments had to update. I knew about this problem in 1995, I was at RCA, and test video showed everything. 1080p is near your visual fidelity, 4K is mostly beyond it except the center of your eye. 8K is beyond your visual fidelity - it has higher pixel density than any spot in your eye.

720p was chosen because it was "good enough" - a good compromise between NTSC and what you'd be able to reasonably see on a projector. You can differentiate between bluray and DVD, but generally not while the picture is in motion, you need a still image to see the difference. From 1080p to 4K you can see a difference ONLY with a still image, from 4K to 8K, you can't see a difference.

That's why nobody here has an 8K monitor, although they are available.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-32-8K-Monitor/dp/B0727ZQ21F

We're at the point of "who cares if it's better?" for 99.99% of the population for CONSUMER electronics. The 0.01% of the population are mentally ill snobbish assholes that think that "if it's better, it shows I'm a superior person". They will claim they can see a difference, they can't. From audiophiles to videophiles.

I think that we'll settle on 4K as the standard resolution, because going beyond that is pointless.
798   Patrick   2023 Jun 3, 11:11pm  

https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/falling-down-friday-june-2-2023-c?publication_id=463409&post_id=125507039&isFreemail=true


But really, this appalling spectacle isn’t about Joe Biden at all. It isn’t about whether he’s broken his hip, or is about to, or even whether he is an abused elder in need of rescue. The point is, Biden — sadly — is the apparent leader of our Nation.

When Biden falls, America falls. When Biden is a weak, spiteful, disgruntled old man, so is America.

It is even worse that Biden fell at a military event, delivering a speech about the alleged strength of NATO. What symbolism. I can’t imagine the heyday the media team at Russia Today is having. Say what you like about that t-shirted moron Zelensky, but at least he can walk in a straight line without falling down.

Now you can’t say I never said anything nice about Vladimir Zelenskyy. ...

Our geriatric maniac-in-charge may not know exactly what he’s doing all the time. He might also be so many levels deep in blackmail he can’t even remember who he’s supposed to be working for. But remember: This is the man who leveraged his presidential office to call unvaccinated people a dangerous threat to their co-workers, and called Trump supporters a dangerous threat to our democracy. Joe represents the country, and his stumbling around makes the country look weak and inept at a critical time when we need to look competent and strong.

Dementia Joe still knows ENOUGH, such that my sympathy for his embarrassing missteps is muted. For lots of reasons, Joe needs to be eased out of the Presidential home and into a care home. Hopefully, a care home organized according to all the rules he imposed on our elderly loved ones. For safety.

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