Pre-election Trump: It is time to get out of Afghanistan ; Pence: Longest US War will go on

[enhanced_deficit]

Heaven forbid, if conservative media powerhouse Steve Bannon's implied predictions (link Steve Bannon savages 'Javanka') came true and Trump got impeached or stepped downed before end of his first term, will Pence be any better than Trump?















Pence visits Afghanistan, says U.S. will 'see this through'

Jeff Mason
5 Min Read

KABUL (Reuters) - Vice President Mike Pence made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to meet its leaders and underscore U.S. commitment to the country four months after President Donald Trump agreed to an open-ended war against insurgents here.

Pence arrived on a military plane at Bagram Airfield under the cover of darkness on Thursday night after leaving Washington on Wednesday night. He then flew by helicopter to Kabul, where he met President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah at the presidential palace.
Pence told the leaders he hoped his presence there was tangible evidence that the United States was “here to see this through.”
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In a reversal of his campaign call for a swift withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Trump in August pledged a stepped-up military campaign against Taliban insurgents and signaled the United States would send more troops to fight in what is the longest war in its history.
At the end of August, there were some 11,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and more have since arrived.
Ghani expressed gratitude to the U.S. government and said Afghanistan’s partnership with the United States was cemented in sacrifice.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1EF2U3





Related

Iraq/Afghanistan wars disabled 624,000 US troops , Divorces up 42%, Foreclosures up 217%

[nikcers]

pre-election Trump: CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA

Post-election: RT: Trump wants Russia to take their side in a war against China

[enhanced_deficit]

If after 16 years of heavy blood and treasure costs and spending of tens of billions of tax dollars on "training Afghan troops" , "peace and security" is so bad that a US leaders still have to make secret visits in the dark, maybe our military interventions are good at spikes in bloodbaths and destabilization but not good at bringing saftey for civilains of local races?

Pence arrived on a military plane at Bagram Airfield under the cover of darkness on Thursday night after leaving Washington on Wednesday night.

On a side note, though Pence can be criticized for his policy views, some of the recent media/dictionary.com attacks painting him as a servile, flattering deputy of Trump seem bit too controversial:


Dictionary.com trolls VP Pence with ‘sycophant’ definition


At a cabinet meeting Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence lavishly praised President Donald Trump. “There’s a word for a person who would praise someone every 12 seconds,” Dictionary.com’s Twitter account posted Thursday, before linking to the dictionary’s entry for “sycophant.”

PUBLISHED: December 22, 2017
By Kyle Swanson | Washington Post

This week’s passage of the Republican’s tax bill was largely seen as a major legislative victory for President Donald Trump. In a meeting of cabinet members Wednesday, Vice President Mikw Pence got right down to business singing his boss’s praises.

In a three-minute speech, the vice president gushed about Trump’s accomplishments once every 12 seconds, as The Washington Post pointed out. Pence’s pep talk included memorable praise such as telling Trump he has “unleashed American energy,” “signed more bills rolling back federal red tape than any president in American history,” “restored American credibility on the world stage,” and that the president “got Congress to do what they couldn’t do for seven years, in repealing the individual mandate in Obamacare.”

Pence’s speech was fodder for plenty of eye-rolling and jokes online, including from an unlikely source – Dictionary.com.
“There’s a word for a person who would praise someone every 12 seconds,” the site’s Twitter account posted Thursday, before linking to the dictionary’s entry for “sycophant.” The tweet ended with the hashtags “VP” and “Pence.”
A sycophant, according to Dictionary.com, is a noun referring to a “self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.” Synonyms, it went on, include “toady, yes man, flunky, fawner, flatterer.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/12/...nt-definition/






Pence told RNC he could replace Trump on ticket after 'Access Hollywood' tape came out: report
http://thehill.com/homenews/administ...t-after-access

[ILUVRP]

13 yrs military time , 80 yrs old and i feel so sorry for america .

my feelings is its going to get a lot worst .

i feel so sorry for kids growing up and thinking this is all normal .

[Anti Globalist]

With tweets like those, you'd think he would of supported Ron in 08 and 12.

[Raginfridus]

inb4 Trump is so different from Clinton

[enhanced_deficit]

With tweets like those, you'd think he would of supported Ron in 08 and 12.

To be fair, he tends to say things in the heat of the moment that sometimes have to be reversed... depending on the bigness and greatness of the lobbies involved.

[enhanced_deficit]

Video at link below:

Military investigating shooting in newly leaked Afghan combat video

By WESLEY MORGAN
01/10/2018

U.S. commanders have launched an investigation into video footage that appears to show an American service member firing into the cab of a civilian truck as the two vehicles pass on a road in Afghanistan, an action that could have violated the military’s rules of engagement and may hamper the alliance with the Afghan government.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...d-video-276534

[timosman]

Video at link below:

Military investigating shooting in newly leaked Afghan combat video

By WESLEY MORGAN
01/10/2018

U.S. commanders have launched an investigation into video footage that appears to show an American service member firing into the cab of a civilian truck as the two vehicles pass on a road in Afghanistan, an action that could have violated the military’s rules of engagement and may hamper the alliance with the Afghan government.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...d-video-276534

$#@! like this is to make sure we will never get out of there.

[nikcers]

$#@! like this is to make sure we will never get out of there.

I am sure this will help?

Pentagon to send ‘1,000 new troops & drones’ to Afghanistan

The Pentagon intends to deploy an estimated 1,000 new combat advisers to Afghanistan as part of the Trump administration’s planned troop surge, according to reports.

As early as February, members of an Army security-force assistance brigade from Fort Benning, Georgia, will be sent to work as combat advisers to Afghan National Security Forces. Their deployment will bring the number of American personnel in the country to about 14,000.

As part of Trump’s strategy, the White House has delegated substantial decision-making authority to his generals. The new management style has been coupled with a penchant for secrecy regarding troop deployment numbers.
General John Nicholson, the head of US forces in Afghanistan, told reporters last month there would be more US boots on the ground in the coming months, but did not provide specifics.
There are “well over 1,000 advisers out at any given time,” Nicholson said, but in 2018 “this [number] will increase dramatically.”

[enhanced_deficit]

Insurgents lure US, Afghan team to meeting, then open fire


Published: January 12, 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — Insurgents posing as friendly militia members lured a U.S. and Afghan team to a meeting in eastern Afghanistan, triggering a shootout and a coalition airstrike on the compound, the U.S. military said Friday.
U.S. Navy Capt. Tom Gresback said the insurgents baited the team, inviting an Afghan militia leader, a U.S. service member and an interpreter to a security shura meeting Thursday.
Once the meeting was over, the Taliban-linked insurgents opened fire, killing the militia leader and wounding the American service member and the interpreter. The Taliban quickly claimed credit for the attack but overstated the casualties, the U.S. military said.
The Taliban said the attack was carried out by two insurgents disguised as local militiamen. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press the attackers had infiltrated the local force months earlier.
In Afghanistan, local militias are often paid by the U.S. and are partnered with them in operations in remote regions.

[AZJoe]

[shakey1]

When will Trump act on those tweets?

[enhanced_deficit]

Will shutdown impact freddom war there?

[timosman]

Will shutdown impact freddom war there?

A ceasefire wouldn't be unexpected.

[enhanced_deficit]

Kabul hotel attack leaves multiple American citizens killed, injured, State Department official says

By Katherine Lam | Fox News

2 hours ago


Multiple US citizens killed, injured in Kabul hotel attack

Taliban claims responsibility for weekend siege at Afghanistan's Intercontinental Hotel.




Multiple American citizens were among those killed and injured during a weekend siege at Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, a U.S. State Department official said Tuesday after the death toll in the deadly attack rose to 22.
“We can confirm that there were U.S. citizen fatalities and injuries," the State Department said in a statement to Fox News. "We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed and wish for the speedy recovery of those wounded."
The exact number of Americans killed and injured were not immediately released.

People at Hotel Intercontinental in Kabul were forced to escape after gunmen stormed the building. (Reuters)


At least 22 people died when Taliban militants in suicide vests stormed the hotel in the Afghan capital Saturday. Officials initially said 18 people had been killed.
The Afghan interior ministry official said 14 of those killed were foreigners and eight were Afghans.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/01...-official.html

[timosman]

We need to export more democracy.

[enhanced_deficit]

Things are getting worse again in the longest US war:

Taliban attacker driving ambulance packed with explosives kills 95 in Kabul

By Ehsan Popalzai and Laura Smith-Spark, CNN
Sat January 27, 2018



Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN)An attacker driving an ambulance packed with explosives detonated them Saturday in the Afghan capital of Kabul,leaving 95 people dead and 158 others injured, Afghan officials said.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid claimed responsibility for the attack,which comes a week after militants stormed a Kabul hotel.
The blast occurred around 12:45 p.m. local time after the vehicle passed through a security checkpoint, Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told CNN.
Police identified the attacker at a second checkpoint, Rahimi said, but couldn't stop him before he detonated the explosives in a central area near the old Ministry of the Interior building, a large hospital and diplomatic buildings.
The injured have been taken to hospitals across the Afghan capital, said spokesman Wahid Majrooh of the Ministry of Public Health, who confirmed the casualties. He said the toll was likely to rise.
The attack, in the heart of what's meant to be the securest part of the city, is likely to fuel doubts over the Afghan authorities' ability to keep people safe.

Analysis: Attack shows strongholds are vulnerable

Saturday's bombing was not just another attack in the Afghan capital, CNN Senior International Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh said.


Every time the so-called ring of steel in the capital is penetrated, especially to such devastating effect, it undermines the government's ability to appear in control of even its most important sanctuaries, he said.
At a time when President Ashraf Ghani faces many internal enemies and is far from secure, the perception that even his inner enclaves are vulnerable is very damaging.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/27/asia/...ntl/index.html



Spokesman for Trump campaign adviser among 4 Americans killed in Kabul hotel attack

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN
hu January 25, 2018

(CNN)Glenn Selig, spokesman for Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates, was killed in the weekend Kabul hotel attack, according to a statement from spokesperson for The Publicity Agency and Selig Multimedia Inc., his Florida-based companies.

Four Americans were killed in the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, according to the US State Department.
"The United States strongly condemns the attack on January 20 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. We can confirm that there were four US citizens killed and two injured. We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed and wish for the speedy recovery of those wounded. Out of respect for the families of the deceased, we have no further comment," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement.
Selig represented Gates in recent months, as Gates faces criminal charges in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Selig also played a role in promoting a legal defense fund for Gates in December.
"Unfortunately, we have received confirmation Glenn Selig was killed during the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel," the Selig Multimedia representative said in the statement. "Glenn was a tireless professional, loyal friend and pillar of the community, but most importantly he was a loving husband and wonderful father.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/24/polit...ack/index.html

We need to export more democracy.

Or at least another surge.

[undergroundrr]

Trump Wants a $716 Billion 'Extremely Aggressive Defense Strategy' to Fend Off Russia and China
Newsweek 8h ago

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CNBC 23h ago

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[enhanced_deficit]

Trump’s Afghanistan strategy is going badly. But do voters even care?

by Travis J. Tritten
| October 24, 2018

The midterm elections are two weeks away and President Trump’s strategy for the country’s longest war is not going well.
In one of the most brazen attacks in recent memory, a U.S. brigadier general was shot and the top commander in Afghanistan targeted last week by a Taliban gunman, who was able to assassinate two top Afghan officials.
This week, a member of the Afghan security forces apparently turned on members of the U.S.-led coalition, killing one and wounding two others. All as the conflict, which costs taxpayers about $3 billion per month, entered its 18th year.

“Things are not improving,” said Bill Roggio, the editor of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal. Roggio, who has studied the conflict for years, and his colleague Thomas Joscelyn, have now declared that the U.S. has lost the war in Afghanistan.
But as voters go to the polls for midterm elections that many believe will hinge on President Trump, the president’s year-old Afghanistan strategy is not only unlikely to affect the outcome but is largely nonexistent in the public debate.
“There is no question that it has fallen off the charts. Just look at news reports, you hardly ever hear about it,” said Fran Coombs, the managing editor of Rasmussen Reports, a polling company that tracks the midterm elections.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/p...ters-even-care



Related

US Troops To Stay In Afghanistan Several More Years, Top General; Wars Not Worth It, Most Vets

65% jump in number of armed contractors in Afghanistan since Trump took office

[Superfluous Man]

"See this through."

What does that even mean? It's just nonsensical propaganda to sugarcoat perpetual war.

Remember not so long ago when the phrase "exit strategy" was such a big deal. It seemed like everybody agreed that every war had to have one. Somewhere along the line the memo went out saying to stop using that phrase.

[enhanced_deficit]

"See this through."

What does that even mean? It's just nonsensical propaganda to sugarcoat perpetual war.

It's a rewording of then GOP base rockstars Bush-Cheney's 'Don't cut and run' leadership directive during Iraqi freedom war after all their war projections had turned out to be false.

[enhanced_deficit]

Three Americans killed in Afghanistan past week:



One killed, five hurt in Afghanistan blast targeting UN personnel

American Aid Worker for U.N. Is Killed in Afghan Capital

The killing of the United Nations employee underscores the growing threat to aid workers at a time Afghanistan is in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
Afghan security workers at the site of an explosion in Kabul on Sunday.Credit...Rahmat Gul/Associated Press

Nov. 25, 2019
KABUL, Afghanistan — An American national working for the United Nations in Afghanistan was killed and two others were wounded in a blast targeting a U.N. vehicle in Kabul on Sunday, officials said, underscoring a growing threat to aid workers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/w...ghanistan.html


Two American Service Members Killed in Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan

11/19/19
Two U.S. service members were killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday in Afghanistan, Newsweek has learned.

In a brief statement provided to Newsweek from U.S. Forces Afghanistan press operations, Defense Department officials did not identify either service member pending family notification.

The statement said the cause of the crash is under investigation, however, preliminary reports do not indicate it was caused by enemy fire.
https://www.newsweek.com/two-america...nistan-1472854




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ET Bureau's irresponsible reporting on US military 'promoting ISIS in Afghanistan'