The election thread - Two middle-late aged white men trying to be blokey and convincing..., same old shit, FFS.

[pink poodle]

Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan had reasonable success...

Still the warlords are a reasonably modern (given the thousands of years the area has been inhabited) issue resulting from western interference in Afghanistan. I'm not sure life has ever been peaceful or wonderful there, but the Americans and their allies had a pretty good idea of what an invasion looks like after the Soviets fucked the balance up. I wonder how things would have turned out if a method other than war had have been tried?

I think you're trying to find a stick to beat him with.

I'll be beating nobody off, but that chest thumping "lest we forget our heroes" bullshit just pisses on the Afghan victims of what has happened and is now happening, of which we as a nation are a key instigator.

I wonder if we will see a resurfacing of the issues around the war crimes committed by Australian soldiers or if this will be a handy distraction as the broom brushes up against the rug.

 

[Mattyp]

Kabul in the 70s.
Afghanistan was once a holiday destination... Then it all turned to shit thanks to warlords and tyranny.

 

[pink poodle]

Kabul in the 70s.
Afghanistan was once a holiday destination... Then it all turned to shit thanks to warlords and tyranny.
View attachment 378995

Warren Miller showed a similar scenario in Iran towards the end of the 90s, where their ski industry was apparently helping to lighten the mood of the nation. Clearly Afghanistan needs some chairlifts!

 

[Asininedrivel]

the US has elected to rip-off the band-aid in the hope that it'll be long forgotten by the time the next US Presidential Election rolls around in 3 years time.

Think you're on the money there. Elected representatives in the US are already reporting there's been next to zero blowback for leaving even from areas with large veteran populations.

Still frustrating though, odds are someone will need to go back to clean house against a resurgent Islamic Caliphate or ISIS mk 2 or whatever. Maybe China will pick the tab up this time.

 

[Dales Cannon]

From what I have read the CCP have already had talks along the lines of leave us alone and don't comment or act in support of the Uyghurs and we will leave you alone. Piss poor all round.

 

[Flow-Rider]

Must have been some bandaid if they've withdrawn all the Australian expats, people clinging to planes and falling to their death on take off.

 

[Asininedrivel]

Must have been some bandaid if they've withdrawn all the Australian expats, people clinging to planes and falling to their death on take off.

Tragic but unsurprising. The Taliban ran a sensory deprivation tank when they were last in power, only things allowed were beard growing, beheading and prayer. They even banned music ffs.

As sad as it is, the swift collapse of our "allies" has demonstrated that there is a lot of merit to bailing, even if it'll sow seeds for whatever future calamities are in store for the region.

 

[Flow-Rider]

Tragic but unsurprising. The Taliban ran a sensory deprivation tank when they were last in power, only things allowed were beard growing, beheading and prayer. They even banned music ffs.

As sad as it is, the swift collapse of our "allies" has demonstrated that there is a lot of merit to bailing, even if it'll sow seeds for whatever future calamities are in store for the region.

Humanitarian rights now = exit stage left.

 

[Mattyp]

A whole generation is about to have their world upturned...imagine growing up in a seemingly "normal" Afghanistan and now being age 30 or below, you'd have no recollection of how bad it used to be the last time Taliban were in power...
Our little problems here in Aus are nothing.

 

[Oddjob]

From what I have read the CCP have already had talks along the lines of leave us alone and don't comment or act in support of the Uyghurs and we will leave you alone. Piss poor all round.

You forget the CCP has a track record of shooting first and not worrying about human rights later. The Taliban probably know that a guerilla insurgency won't work when the CCP will just de-populate whole regions if necessary.

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[Oddjob]

A whole generation is about to have their world upturned...imagine growing up in a seemingly "normal" Afghanistan and now being age 30 or below, you'd have no recollection of how bad it used to be the last time Taliban were in power...
Our little problems here in Aus are nothing.

Which will piss them off royally and the northern alliance of Uzbeks and Tajiks will re-form. Maybe the whole country will balkanise properly this time.

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[pink poodle]

A whole generation is about to have their world upturned...imagine growing up in a seemingly "normal" Afghanistan and now being age 30 or below, you'd have no recollection of how bad it used to be the last time Taliban were in power...
Our little problems here in Aus are nothing.

20 years of constant warfare must have been a strange normal.

Far be it from me to defend the Taliban and their history of deplorable behaviour, but perhaps the people of Afghanistan are worn out from the horrors they have been through with the presence of the USSR and USA, and civil wars for so long that they have lost the energy to fight this current takeover and given in to the feelings of hopelessness. It's a shit space for them to be in and the outcomes are going to be horrific.

I can't imagine the Taliban settling a peace deal with the northern alliance that doesn't allow them total domination.

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

It'll be interesting to see how the Taliban V2.0 handle power. In the decade or so between the end of the Soviet occupation and 9/11, the world paid scant attention to Afghanistan and the Taliban were only ever mentioned in the humorous news stories that would arise whenever they enacted some mad new law like banning music or enforcing beard length.
Nowadays they're going to be subject to a lot more scrutiny and if the Taliban commanders are savvy enough, they'll dial back the human rights abuses in favour of courting guilt payments/investments from the West.

Also, lets not forget the US have only pulled their troops out and they're always on the lookout for a new place to test their drones, cruise missiles, long-range bombers etc. Biden's already implied as much in his recent speech.

 

[Flow-Rider]

The future of Afghanistan is unknown and ambiguous, the Taliban have run their own government parallel to the Afghanistan one and their wealth has increased over the years through corruption. The people that are running for their lives aren't doing it for no reason, I'll bet the Taliban want some type of retribution.

 

[pink poodle]

It'll be interesting to see how the Taliban V2.0 handle power. In the decade or so between the end of the Soviet occupation and 9/11, the world paid scant attention to Afghanistan and the Taliban were only ever mentioned in the humorous news stories that would arise whenever they enacted some mad new law like banning music or enforcing beard length.
Nowadays they're going to be subject to a lot more scrutiny and if the Taliban commanders are savvy enough, they'll dial back the human rights abuses in favour of courting guilt payments/investments from the West.

Also, lets not forget the US have only pulled their troops out and they're always on the lookout for a new place to test their drones, cruise missiles, long-range bombers etc. Biden's already implied as much in his recent speech.

Let's not forget when they were blowing up ancient images of false gods or negotiating the construction of pipelines...they popped up just enough to remember they were there.

 

[rockmoose]

They will certainly have some financial and military clout behind them now.

China ready for 'friendly relations' with Taliban, calls on US to 'seriously reflect' on Afghanistan

Beijing says it welcomes statements made by the Afghan Taliban looking to "grow sound relations" with China.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Mr Crudley]

They will certainly have some financial and military clout behind them now.

Wonder how the treatment Uighur Muslims will be received by the Taliban. There has to be some friction there but who knows.

 

[Oddjob]

Wonder how the treatment Uighur Muslims will be received by the Taliban. There has to be some friction there but who knows.

Given the uighers are turkic and the Taliban are mainly pushtan, they probably feel pretty good about the uighers being repressed. It presents a good example of what they would pike to do with the turkic people back home.

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[PINT of Stella. mate!]

There’s nothing like a good bit of sectarianism to spice up your spirituality!

 

[Mr Crudley]

Given the uighers are turkic and the Taliban are mainly pushtan, they probably feel pretty good about the uighers being repressed. It presents a good example of what they would pike to do with the turkic people back home.

You definitely out gun me in all things Afghanistan