What a waste....

[Davy51]

..of lives & money the campaign in Afghanistan has become. Lives lost & ruined when all the Taliban needed to do was wait till our backs were turned & the take the country over anyway.

[Observer II]

It was evident from the word go Dave -  The British Empire tried three times,  the Russians tried for 9 years, then Bush chased Bin Laden into the mountains, then reinforced an occupation that included NATO.   As ever, the West tried to impose it's own idea of Nationhood on the Afghans, when clearly it's riven with tribalism and a backward paternalistic religion.  I suppose at the end of the day, non-intervention is the way forward, and it saves on maimed and dead British soldiers.    

[Davy51]

Obviously, the intelligence gathering has failed to notice all these dormant Taliban extremists who have now swarmed over their cities. 

As you say though Obs  Afghanistan has been more than equal to every country that has tried to subdue it.

[Latchford Locks]

Maybe now we will concentrate on just defending our nation and make sure we can do it well.

As for other nations ,if they want to get involved fine.

I have had enough gungho armed ventures to teach me that we should keep out in future.

[Observer II]

That's the problem Latch, we have politicians with no interest in defending our Nation; namely from the migrant invasion.  We've got liberal bleeding hearts already wanting to open our doors to Afghan refugees, to add to the rest piling across the channel.  I feel sorry for our future generations .   💀

[Latchford Locks]

15 minutes ago, Observer II said:

That's the problem Latch, we have politicians with no interest in defending our Nation; namely from the migrant invasion.  We've got liberal bleeding hearts already wanting to open our doors to Afghan refugees, to add to the rest piling across the channel.  I feel sorry for our future generations .   💀

The only benefit of reaching my age is that I don't have to worry to much about the future.

In fact I've even stopped buying green bananas now ☺️

[Observer II]

Interesting the kind of politicians we invest in - the President left Kabul in a fleet of cars and helicopters filled with cash -  same thing happened in Saigon.  

[Latchford Locks]

6 minutes ago, Observer II said:

Interesting the kind of politicians we invest in - the President left Kabul in a fleet of cars and helicopters filled with cash -  same thing happened in Saigon.  

Yes we can't half pick 'em 🙄

[Observer II]

Just to cheer us up !    Aside from a swarm of migrants, there's already speculation that Islamic terrorists will enter in the mix, plus opium traders,  and with the state of the UKBF they'll all get through.   

[Davy51]

No doubt the EU will soon be erecting new & highly visible signs at its Eastern borders to direct refugees quickly & efficiently through member states & towards the ever open door of the UK .

Could there even be a role for any type of UN peacekeeping force in Afghanistan ?

[Observer II]

Think the message is clear Dave;  the Afghans want to be free of any external influence and have fought successfully against 3 Empires to achieve it.  I suppose the Taliban acts as a unifying force within Afghanistan; IE the demise of tribalism;   but the young and female folk will have to suffer a backward lifestyle, living in the 7th century. Just watched a Rory Stewart doc on the whole history of Afghanistan and  if the Empires had studied the history, they would never have committed the lives of their soldiers in a futile endevour to "modernise" such a backward people in their image.    

[Observer II]

Now as the hand wringing reaches a crescendo,  and bleeding heart lefties throw open the UK doors to tens of thousands of Afghan migrants, mostly young males, who will no doubt want the rest of their families to be brought out too;   rather than signing up to an armed resistance to the evil Taliban;  HMG seem to be carried away on this tide of emotion.   Meanwhile,  the Russians and Chinese are laughing at our plight, as they prepare to do deals with the Taliban for mining rights to tap the vast mineral resources of this wasteland.  Apparently Afghanistan is now described as the Saudi Arabia of Lithium,  the much needed mineral for our EV batteries.  It won't happen, but justice demands a public inquiry to identify and punish those Leaders, like Bush & Blair, who took us into this mess and sacrificed our servicemen, in support of their miopic ego trip.    😠

[Observer II]

So, what should we do now ?    The Romans built an Empire on the principle of divide and conquer,  so perhaps we should invest in anti-Taliban factions in Afghanistan, such as the Northern Alliance ?   An ability to strike at the Taliban Leadership with drones and special forces would help reduce their interest in exporting terror to Europe too.   Meanwhile, neighbouring  Countries like Uzbekistan could be funded to provide refugee camps as a source for Afghan opposition.   What is certain is that we're dealing with an evil perversion of Islamic ideology that will spread it's activities with the export of terror amidst the swarm of refugees. 😠

[Davy51]

Hasn't Afghanistan always been a pretty insular nation ? They have fought tooth & nail to repel much more powerful aggressors . Perhaps that is the goal of the Taliban who we hadn't even heard of till a tv programme about 25 years. Are the Taliban exporters of terror or do they just want to be left to get on with their Sharia state with no outside interference? Perhaps the best policy is to just remove the non fanatical muslims etc & allow them to resettle in secular  neighbouring countries.

[Observer II]

Well if it means not having them flood into the UK,  I guess Danegeld to the neighbouring Countries would be preferable, for refugee provision.