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Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Robert Heinlein
Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler
Groucho Marx
I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.
Linus, from the Peanuts comic
You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith
Alexis de Torqueville
Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it
A Zero Hedge comment
Prove your Trumptarian Church dogma is true and we'll see if we can admit it.
This thread is nine pages of disproven claims, proof we don't have any facts, and what if fantasies. If you want to hear what you cannot say, namely someone admitting they're wrong, then prove something already.
But lying Donald didn't "withdraw" US troops from Afghanistan at all did he? So how you want to spin this into a "you were wrong", "I was right" and "Donald is great" after all argument is beyond my comprehension.
My very simple conclusion is that @Swordsmyth was wrong once again, and US troops didn't start "to withdraw from Afghanistan" in March 2020, and lying Donald didn't get any US troops home...
Let's see, if I understand correctly @Swordsmyth started this thread waay back in March 2020 with the title "it begins, U.S. troops start to withdraw from Afghanistan"...
Maybe I've missed something but now that Sleepy Joe has replaced Donald the great MAGA as US president, he has promised to get them out on 9/11 (of this year). I say there's a 50-50 chance that Joe will keep this promise.
Since January 2019, @Swordsmyth repeatedly started threads on US troops coming home from Afghanistan.
January 2019 "Foreign troops to quit Afghanistan in 18 months ...": http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...der-draft-deal
September 2019: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...mes-corruption
February 2020 (@Warlord seems to have left the forum): http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...-me-off-ignore
I think that the OP of this July 2017 started @Swordsmyth thread isn't bad though: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...to-Afghanistan
Last edited by Firestarter; 05-07-2021 at 07:48 AM.
Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3
The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty
This is what has been happening with the Afghan situation. Something like 20,000 contractors/mercs, intel agents, etc while the official troop number slowly drops. They're just swapping the "public" military for the "private military". SecDef is already switching the narrative to promising to remove contractors at some undefined point in the future.Originally Posted by devil21 from 7-19-2020
Last edited by devil21; 05-07-2021 at 11:48 AM.
"Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul
"We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book
You could be right, but today I read a letter in our wonderful Dutch media that not only the US (government) military but also the (private) contractors will be withdrawn from Afghanistan.
I could claim that time will tell, but with our media dumb, deaf and blind, maybe we'll never find out...
Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3
The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty
As I think that D or R are basically the same party, it wouldn't have mattered either way, so precisely the same.
I'm no good at predicting though, maybe because I'm no good at chess (not even the 2D type).
In 2016 I thought that Hillary would win and in 2020 that Donald was the favourite with a longshot.
Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3
The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Robert Heinlein
Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler
Groucho Marx
I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.
Linus, from the Peanuts comic
You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith
Alexis de Torqueville
Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it
A Zero Hedge comment
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Robert Heinlein
Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler
Groucho Marx
I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.
Linus, from the Peanuts comic
You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith
Alexis de Torqueville
Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it
A Zero Hedge comment
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Robert Heinlein
Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler
Groucho Marx
I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.
Linus, from the Peanuts comic
You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith
Alexis de Torqueville
Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it
A Zero Hedge comment
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Robert Heinlein
Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler
Groucho Marx
I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.
Linus, from the Peanuts comic
You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith
Alexis de Torqueville
Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it
A Zero Hedge comment
Not clear if media is trying to paint Trump as DGP 2.0 but if confirmed could reflect bad light on his legacy as final decider of the failed 2017 surge.
New report says 40 percent of all air strike causalities from 2016 to 2020 were children.
7 May 2021
“Sadly, these numbers are no surprise,” said Chris Nyamandi, country director for Afghanistan at Save the Children International. “Afghanistan has been the deadliest country for children for years.”
In other news/views:
Lavon Affair again? "Al Qaeda promises war on all fronts" as US prepares to withdraw troops
If ISIS, Alqaeda want US to leave Afghanistan, why are such groups trying to increase carnage and attacks in Afghanistan when US is reportedly about to start troops withdrawal?
The Guardian
Afghanistan: car bomb kills at least 21 as US prepares to withdraw troops
Scores also injured in the blast in southern city of Pul-e-Alam the day before Pentagon begins to pull out its remaining forces. Afghans wait ...
18 hours ago
CNN
Al Qaeda promises 'war on all fronts' against America as Biden pulls out of Afghanistan
America's "war on terror" is about to enter a new phase as President Joe Biden prepares to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan by the 20th ...
1 day ago
At least 25 killed, 52 wounded in blast near Kabul girls' school
By Jennifer Hauser, CNN
Sat May 8, 2021
(CNN)At least 25 people have been killed and 52 others wounded in an explosion near a high school for girls in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The Ministry of Interior (MOI) said the blast happened close to the Sayeed-ul-Shuhada School in the Dasht-e-Barchi area on Saturday afternoon.
MOI spokesperson Tariq Arian said the number of casualties could increase.
Officials have not revealed the cause of the explosion, or if there was a target. There has been no claim of responsibility yet.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid denied involvement in the explosion in a message to the media.
According to Afghanistan's Tolo News, the incident happened when students were leaving the school. "A car bomb blast happened first, and then two more explosions occurred near the girls school in Kabul," said Ibrahim, a schoolteacher, according to Tolo. He added that the majority of victims are girls, Tolo reports.
Likely-Unrelated
Flashback: Terrorists who bombed US-UK civilian buildings with aim to create instability and stop Western troops exit from Egypt
The Lavon Affair refers to a failed Israeli covert operation, code named Operation Susannah, conducted in Egypt in the Summer of 1954. As part of the false flag operation, a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence to plant bombs inside Egyptian, American and British-owned civilian targets, cinemas, libraries and American educational centers. The attacks were to be blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian Communists, "unspecified malcontents" or "local nationalists" with the aim of creating a climate of sufficient violence and instability to induce the British government to retain its occupying troops in Egypt's Suez Canal zone.
After Israel publicly denied any involvement in the incident for 51 years, the surviving agents were official
ISIS Attacks Surge in Iraq Amid Debate on U.S. Troop Levels
The growing pressure on the United States to reduce its military presence in Iraq comes as strikes by the Islamic State are on the rise.
June 10, 2020
As American and Iraqi negotiators begin a new round of strategic talks on Thursday, the question of how to respond to the Islamic State’s quiet resurgence — and how much American help is required to do so — will be at the center of the discussion.
There are currently about 5,200 American troops in Iraq, whose main missions are counterterrorism and training Iraqi forces.
The Trump administration, which sees the American presence as crucial for tamping down the resurgence of ISIS and as a bulwark against Iranian power in Iraq, wants to keep a substantial force there.
“We’re going to continue to maintain forces as long as the Iraqi government is willing to have U.S. and coalition forces present in the country until the enduring defeat of Daesh is accomplished, and it’s not yet accomplished,” James F. Jeffrey, the American special envoy to the region, said in a briefing on Friday, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. “That’s our policy.”
nytimes.com/2020/06/10/world/middleeast/iraq-isis-strategic-dialogue-troops.htmlly honored in 2005 by being awarded certificates of appreciation by Israeli President Moshe Katzav.
On a side note, lately there may been some glitches in messaging regarding troops withdrawal from foreign lands with active freedom projects though:
June 10, 2020
We’re going to continue to maintain forces as long as the Iraqi government is willing to have U.S. and coalition forces present in the country until the enduring defeat of Daesh is accomplished, and it’s not yet accomplished,” James F. Jeffrey, the American special envoy to the region, said in a briefing on Friday, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. “That’s our policy.”January 5, 2020
Iraq's Parliament votes to expel U.S. military
January 6, 2020
Trump threatens Iraq with crippling sanctions if US troops are expelled
Hopefully Afghan withdrawal messaging would be managed in a better way and won't get mired in some political 'credit war' between Biden and Trump (as happened in the case of recent Vax project where Biden was accused of trying to take credit for massive Vax launch success story that was made possible mostly due Trump's non-stop efforts).
Last edited by enhanced_deficit; 05-08-2021 at 11:40 AM.
MAGA Allies: 'Bully Israel with undeclared nukes steals land'
Dangerous conspiracy theories on Right claim MAGA fake frontgroup
Poll: Should US apologize for financing radicalization of Afghan children in 80s?
Obama-Clinton Years: A Violent Chapter in World History
Trump: If (Neocon) Adelson Backs Rubio "He'll Have Total Control" Over Him
Delta variant, death of 9 Chinese engineers in terror attack led to airport chaos & quick Kabul fall?
What happened to @Swordsmyth? In July 2017 it was still posting interesting info, and has now become the most despised Trump-cheerleader on this forum...
Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3
The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty
Who, then, will protect the huge mineral reserves in Afghanistan that control over was so hard fought for? I won't believe it, especially from a political appointee like SecDef.
On second thought, you may be right and the country just handed over to Chinese control as part of the Belt and Road. Both Trump and Biden have done a lot of China's bidding so it stands to reason that this could be the end game of securing that region for them. Yeah that's probably it....
http://recca.af/?page_id=2077
^^^^^The MoU (between Af and Cn) states “[t]he two sides shall jointly promote cooperation on the One-Belt-One Road Initiative in a bid to realize the goal of common development, and translate the advantages of solid political ties, economic complementarities, and people-to-people exchanges into pragmatic cooperation in an effort to promote increasing economic growth.” Well-resourced in both financial and human capital, BRI is poised to serve as an integral element of the Afghan Government’s Infrastructure and Connectivity Development and Private Sector Development National Priority Programs.
.......................
Additionally, Afghanistan became a permanent member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in October this year, which will further facilitate cooperation on infrastructure development between the two countries under the BRI and RECCA.
That ended up being a pretty sweet deal. Americans only spent trillions of dollars and countless lives in the process to hand it over to China.
Last edited by devil21; 05-08-2021 at 07:29 AM.
"Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul
"We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book
That couldn't be true, I've learned that the Trump-supporting media is always lying, so I wouldn't ever believe that Hunter Biden and daddy Joe are really Chinese agents.
I have argued that Donald is good buddies with the Chinese elite though (Elaine Chao!).
Do-the-Russians-have-a-Trump-card#post6990635
Last edited by Firestarter; 05-08-2021 at 09:13 AM.
Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3
The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty
I always thought it a ridiculous narrative that the Trump administration was constantly meeting with PRC operatives for the better part of 3 years over a "trade deal and some tariffs". As if it takes years of close cooperation in DC and Beijing meetings to agree to sell them soybeans and import their gadgets, which was already happening on a large scale any way. Anyone who believed that story is a moron. Perhaps the "trade" spoken of was finalizing the "trading" of China's financing the government deficit by purchasing bonds, which was then used to finance military conquest of the areas needed for the Belt and Road, in exchange for the insiders getting stupid rich and China not blowing up the dollar by dumping those bonds onto the open market. Now, China is test-running the digital vaporware currency that everyone else will be rolling out soon after. The whole notion that the entire Trump administration wasn't working hand-in-hand with the PRC for that entire 4 years is ludicrous. We are seeing the culmination and conclusion of what Kissinger (who also met with Trump repeatedly) and Nixon promised the Chinese way back in 1971.
(sidenote: Ni hao. Smart people that have come to a similar conclusion should also remember that the entire time, the PBOC was buying every ounce of gold and silver they could get their hands on. Seems the rational conclusion would be that the new vaporware currencies will be declared metals backed, at least in part. Xiexie)
--------
(eta: I just noticed that the definition of "vaporware" has apparently morphed over the years. Vaporware used to mean installed software that disappeared/uninstalled itself after a defined period of time, unless certain terms were met, such as paying for a license to continue using it. I guess I'm out of the software nomenclature loop these days. The current definition is different. When I said vaporware currency I mean currency that has an expiration date, which is exactly what the soon-to-be-unveiled CBDCs reportedly will be.)
Last edited by devil21; 05-09-2021 at 10:08 PM.
"Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul
"We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book
I dunno, news/views like these can end up reinforcing notions like GOP being "pawty of small minds".Trade deficit widens amid Trump tariff war
upi.com/Top_News/US/2018...4601536152355/
Why Trump no longer talks about the trade deficit with China
President has shifted his language after failing to achieve a core 2016 campaign promise
Financial Times 10/2020
ft.com/content/081e6d25-...a-2765a66f0052
Republicans blasting China forget that the GOP enabled Beijing's rise
BY MARIK VON RENNENKAMPFF, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 05/11/20
H/T other forum guests.
MAGA Allies: 'Bully Israel with undeclared nukes steals land'
Dangerous conspiracy theories on Right claim MAGA fake frontgroup
Poll: Should US apologize for financing radicalization of Afghan children in 80s?
Obama-Clinton Years: A Violent Chapter in World History
Trump: If (Neocon) Adelson Backs Rubio "He'll Have Total Control" Over Him
Delta variant, death of 9 Chinese engineers in terror attack led to airport chaos & quick Kabul fall?
Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3
The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty
"Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul
"We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book
I love it.
When the trolls can no longer deny that Trump did a good thing they try to spin that thing as bad.
Maybe the President who stood up to China is actually working for them and the good thing was to help China, or maybe it is a sneaky way to attack China.
Either way it MUST be bad. (Since both helping and hurting China are deemed bad it seems it is the existence of America that is being objected to)
Funny, but most real Americans see ending the war as a good thing whether it helps or hurts China because it is good for America.
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Robert Heinlein
Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler
Groucho Marx
I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.
Linus, from the Peanuts comic
You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith
Alexis de Torqueville
Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it
A Zero Hedge comment
It looks to me that some of us are even more disgusted by this @Swordsmyth than lying Donald or sleepy Joe.
You can spin this all you want into things we didn't post, but that doesn't mean it's true.
Mission accomplished?
As the attention is now diverted from lying Donald for more than 3 years in his presidency NOT withdrawing any troops from the Middle East, and sending troops to chase migrants out of Syria so the EU can continue to be flooded by migrants.
While because of the lockdown we aren't even allowed to go to a restaurant or bar, for some reason it would be in violation of human rights to keep the migrants from coming here.
Can we soon expect a flood of Afghans coming to Europe?!?
Maybe doing some importing of recreational drugs on the side?
Do NOT ever read my posts. Google and Yahoo wouldn’t block them without a very good reason: Google-censors-the-world/page3
The Order of the Garter rules the world: Order of the Garter and the Carolingian dynasty
Or maybe not everything is good or bad....sometimes things just are. Good and bad is entirely perspective and subjective. Information and analysis isn't inherently good or bad. Anyone that filters everything through such a good/bad lens is a slave to duality. But you already knew that, didn't ya mormon?
"Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul
"We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book
So it begins, US troops move from Afghanistan to Middle East...And so it begins, U.S. troops start to withdraw from Afghanistan
to keep up pressure on Iran from the other side and defend our closest allies.
Wall Street Journal
Afghan Pullout Leaves U.S. Looking for Other Places to Station Its Troops
U.S. military planners are seeking options to base forces and equipment in Central Asia and the Middle East after American and allied troops ...
2 days ago
Guess bringing them home was not the first answer that came to the minds of all the thought leaders facing this quandrum.
But OTOH, after America-First Trump escalated military action against Iran and ordered killing of Iranian General few months ago, tensions went up and so did mideast manpower needs.
Very good point that was.
Related
How American Politics Got Troops Stuck—and Killed—in Afghanistan
The Obamas pose for a picture with the author at the grave of his friend Tyler Parten at Arlington National Cemetery in 2011. | Courtesy of Erik Edstrom
"The president tactfully asked to hear about Tyler’s life, and I told him. We took a photo, capturing the moment for Tyler’s family. It felt like a touching gesture from a genuinely decent man. And yet I could not shake a rotten feeling that this was also the man who had pushed the number of troops in Afghanistan beyond 100,000. And though he had just announced his intention to bring that number back down, the violence would not really diminish, just be replaced by drones and special forces. The tableau was thick with irony: The politicians who sponsor pointless wars are the same ones who must be seen “power grieving” for fallen troops on days of remembrance."
Last edited by enhanced_deficit; 05-10-2021 at 08:25 PM.
MAGA Allies: 'Bully Israel with undeclared nukes steals land'
Dangerous conspiracy theories on Right claim MAGA fake frontgroup
Poll: Should US apologize for financing radicalization of Afghan children in 80s?
Obama-Clinton Years: A Violent Chapter in World History
Trump: If (Neocon) Adelson Backs Rubio "He'll Have Total Control" Over Him
Delta variant, death of 9 Chinese engineers in terror attack led to airport chaos & quick Kabul fall?
Trump brought a lot of troops home and would have brought more home.
But even just leaving and being in one less country and in one less active warzone is a victory.
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Robert Heinlein
Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler
Groucho Marx
I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.
Linus, from the Peanuts comic
You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith
Alexis de Torqueville
Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it
A Zero Hedge comment
U.S. Central Command reported Tuesday that close to 20 percent of the U.S. troops withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete. The Pentagon confirmed that the Taliban have yet to attack U.S. troops, as the terrorist group claimed they would.
President Joe Biden announced on April 14 that the U.S. intends to pull around 3,000 troops from the Middle East by Sept. 11. The Department of Defense has thus far turned over five buildings to the Afghan Ministry of Defense, as well as 5,000 equipment pieces. At the order of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the U.S. flew in six B-52 Bombers, 12 F-18 fighter jets, and 600 special forces troops to facilitate the withdrawal process. 115 loads of C-17 equipment have been turned over.
“The withdrawal continues at pace, with nothing more than some minor harassing attacks that have had no impact,” John Kirby, a spokesman for The Pentagon told reporters. “We certainly hope that that remains the case going forward. We’re not going to take anything just on hope and face value. We have to assume and we have to plan for the potential that it could be resisted, it could be opposed by the Taliban, so we’re continuing to take all the right precautions.”
More at: https://thefederalist.com/2021/05/18...m-afghanistan/
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Robert Heinlein
Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler
Groucho Marx
I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.
Linus, from the Peanuts comic
You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith
Alexis de Torqueville
Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it
A Zero Hedge comment
Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
Ron Paul 2004
Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
It's all about Freedom
Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Robert Heinlein
Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler
Groucho Marx
I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.
Linus, from the Peanuts comic
You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith
Alexis de Torqueville
Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it
A Zero Hedge comment
Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
Ron Paul 2004
Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
It's all about Freedom
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