Poppycock
Old-Salt

19-years later is not rushed & is certainly not early
Could NATO really stay without US support?
Could NATO really stay without US support?
Old Nick is a great man, look at the way he transformed the British Army in a mere two years. You could learn a lot from a fella like that.CDS General Sir Nick sticking his nose in where it's not needed:
19-years later is not rushed & is certainly not early
Could NATO really stay without US support?
. . . is the fact of it, irrespective of time, mission or theatre.NATO is totally reliant on [the] US.
Anything south of Kabul is US and US only. Ignore the fact Romanians, Italians, Germans including Brits and other "we are doing our bit" countries, they are doing a token effort.No chance. The NATO mission is totally reliant on US support.
Thanks for confirming what I thought and for giving short summary to what others have kindly detailed on hereNo chance. The NATO mission is totally reliant on US support.
Well fancy that! As I was typing my US election coup prediction the ever so trust worthy FBI was laying out its "election security" plans in a no questions allowed press conference!I can only conclude there's a coordinated revolt against Trump's declared intention to get all US troops home by Christmas, essentially a NATO / Mil Ind Complex coup against the US President as we approach a very dirty US election.
Trump's declared intention to get all US troops home by Christmas
I work for an INGO out here and funding from US state/gov is drying up - everyone is in limbo and most are packing up. We have two guys flying out at the end of the month (US funded program) and they don't know if they will be coming back as any extension is up in the air (their tickets have been booked one way).Having contacts to people close "to the frontline" it would be hard to vacate bases by Xmas. Certainly downsizing which to be fair has been talked about when i was out there to the point they built the new perimeter with T-Walls ($$$$$$$$$$) and then cancelled it! And the Dollars is not an exaggeration!
TCN Contractors are making their way back home after very long stints due to lockdown more than their usual deployed lengths and only having one-way tickets. No recruiting is happening at the moment as shown on some FB US Contractor groups. To be fair i dont think Trump cares too much about NATO shouldering the Mission, as much as he bangs on about 2% GDP...which in some cases he has a point. Everything hinges though on the US election whether the withdrawal continues or kind of slows down a bit!
Hmmm. Will(ingness) - if they had the will, they'd have committed to building capacity a long time ago (US and others have been in AFG nearly 20 years, FFS).Time for the Afghans to get on with it - problem is, they don't have either the capacity or willingness to do so. . . . . . . increasingly desperate rhetoric from the Afghan gov indicates they think the same.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.This is getting more surreal by the tweet...
There was a one off report of US air support to the Taliban c.March this year but now it turns out they have their own dedicated US drone support team
This is getting more surreal by the tweet...
There was a one off report of US air support to the Taliban c.March this year but now it turns out they have their own dedicated US drone support team
Yep. I did actually suggest it 2 or 3yrs ago (Taliban & ANDSF combine efforts to combat Daesh)It's a good idea when you think about it. The Taleban are taking the fight to ISIS-K so it makes sense for the US to provide fires to help them get the job done.
My 'surreal' comment is about the shit we're being fed by the New York Times and the like - trying to convince us that Russia's paying the Taliban
Unfortunately they may not be entirely wrong. I'd certainly be interested to know how much Iranian money is heading to the Taleban.
Things are extremely complex in Afghanistan at the moment.
Did you get suspicious when the Taliban prisoners were trying to bribe you with Red Cross rations and indented for a 'vaulting horse'. All that singing and chanting in their huts to disguise the sound of digging and the sudden interest in having a vegtable garden must have been combat indicators.After reading of the Taliban prison / tunnel escape, I spent nighttime hours on stag on Bastion airfield watching all round for a tunnel exit
I've not cross checked it yet but this sounds highly likely to have happened
After reading of the Taliban prison / tunnel escape, I spent nighttime hours on stag on Bastion airfield watching all round for a tunnel exit
Taliban 'Great Escape' in April 2011 - 360m long tunnel, 400+ escapees:
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Taliban reveal details of daring Kandahar prison escape
A Taliban spokesman tells the BBC how hundreds of inmates managed to escape one of Afghanistan's biggest prisons for the second time in just three years.www.bbc.co.uk
Nah, I was too busy getting fat off NATO bribes of choc cake & ice-cream to care. I was in no doubt our dedicated commander's 24/7 monitoring of the high tech ground sensors & barrage balloon mounted cameras had our backs covered anywayDid you get suspicious when the Taliban prisoners were trying to bribe you with Red Cross rations
Has Abdul Rasul Sayyaf been put on a one way flight to Guantanamo yet? There's a rumour going round he help Khalid Sheikh Mohammed plan 9/11...Things are extremely complex in Afghanistan at the moment.