The Fall Of Kabul To The Taliban

[Betty P]

https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1427790131788980225

NYT Pentagon correspondent Helene Cooper says there is a "level of despair and depression" among those in the Defense Department that she has not seen before, as the U.S. scrambles to evacuate thousands from Afghanistan.

The Pentagon is in charge of the war and the ending of it. Its their job. With the trillions of dollars we've given the US military for this operation, one would think they could manage it better.

Getting out of Afghanistan was always going to be difficult. There was never a clear exit strategy. It would be as difficult 10 yrs ago as today, as it would also be 10 yrs in the future.

Also, Americans have known for quite some time that the US planned to leave. Why did so many Americans there wait til the last minute to leave? I would have left months ago. Better yet, I wouldn't have gone there at all.

 

[NoSI]

2,448 American service members selflessly gave their lives in Afghanistan... And now this? There is not a strong enough word to describe how utterly devastating this is.

 

[KALI]

Where are our leaders? For heavens sake, fill out FORMS???
Really ?
Send said forms to "where" ? If the internet is even working, then shelter in place until we contact you?
I cannot hide my outrage.
This should not be happening. We're talking about terrorists here.
They don't give a <modsnip> about FORMS.
They want money. Period.
Watch for that.

Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Kabul (August 16, 2021) | U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan
Aug 16 2021
''Event: The security situation in Kabul continues to change quickly, including at the airport. U.S. citizens should continue to shelter in place. U.S. citizens wanting assistance to depart the country should register for any option that might be identified to return to the United States. To receive assistance from the Embassy, U.S. citizens must complete this Repatriation Assistance Request for each traveler in their group. Spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens in Afghanistan who are awaiting immigrant visas should also complete this form if they wish to depart. Please do so as soon as possible. Please do so only once. You must complete this form even if you’ve previously submitted your information to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul by another means.
Do not call the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for details or updates about the flight. This form is the only way to communicate interest in flight options. We will notify you directly by email based on your registration as soon as departure options become available.
We will continue to provide periodic updates to this message.''

Travel Advice and Advisories for Afghanistan
''Still valid: August 17, 2021 23:35 ET
Afghanistan - AVOID ALL TRAVEL
Avoid all travel to Afghanistan due to the security situation, ongoing insurgency, terrorist attacks, risk of kidnapping and high crime rate.
If you’re already in Afghanistan, you should leave immediately if it’s safe to do so. Our ability to provide consular assistance in Afghanistan is extremely limited. We strongly recommend that Canadians register with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service and include personal and professional contact details.
Canadians wishing to depart Afghanistan should contact the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa.''
Updated: 18 August 2021
Afghanistan travel advice
''The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advise against all travel to Afghanistan. We recognise that commercial flights are not currently operating. We will contact British nationals who we are in touch with, with information of any flights we become aware of. If you are safely able to leave Afghanistan by other means, you should do so immediately.
We have temporarily suspended most operations at the British Embassy in Kabul in response to the deterioration in the security situation. The embassy site has relocated. FCDO consular assistance can only be provided remotely and is therefore extremely limited.
If you are in need of assistance, you should call +44 (0)1908 516666 and select the option “Consular services for British nationals”. You can also email help@fco.gov.uk.''

 

[Rosegold68]

How many Afghan refugees have the U.S pledged to take in? Where and how do you decide where to settle them?

 

[Vern]

Ex-defense secretary: Trump's push to get US troops out of Afghanistan possibly 'undermined' deal with Taliban

Washington (CNN)Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that he was concerned that then-President Donald Trump "undermined" the US' 2020 agreement with the Taliban by pushing for US forces to leave Afghanistan without the Taliban meeting the conditions of the deal.

But, Esper told CNN's Christiane Amanpour, "my concern was that President Trump, by continuing to want to withdraw American forces out of Afghanistan, undermined the agreement, which is why in the fall when he was calling for a return of US forces by Christmas, I objected and formally wrote a letter to him, a memo based on recommendations from the military chain of command and my senior civilian leadership that we not go further -- that we not reduce below 4,500 troops unless and until conditions were met by the Taliban."
"Otherwise," Esper continued, "we would see a number of things play out, which are unfolding right now in many ways."

Trump fired Esper in November 2020 in the wake of the presidential election...

more

Trump's actions possibly 'undermined' his deal with Taliban, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper says - CNNPolitics

I am so angry ... depressed ... furious over what is happening.

As a female in the Canadian Army who has served there multiple tours, lost friends there, has friends greivously wounded, PTSD, worked to raise funds to build and supply schools for girls ... from seeing no young girls out and about during my first tour nor boys playing - to seeing girls and boys out playing my last tour and music in the air ... just friggin' viciously angry.

1) DO NOT NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS.

Talks/negotiate with the Taliban my butt ... any troop could have debunked that that would work.

45 and 46 should know better. That's rule number one. They can't claim that any more.

 

[shotgun09]

How many Afghan refugees have the U.S pledged to take in? Where and how do you
decide where to settle them?

FORT MCCOY, Wis. —

Wisconsin's Fort McCoy is preparing to house refugees evacuated from Afghanistan.

CNN reported Monday that the Department of Defense wants to relocate up to 30,000 Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants into the United States.

Wisconsin's Fort McCoy preparing to house Afghanistan refugees

 

[shotgun09]

Fort Bliss in El Paso could receive thousands of Afghan refugees as Taliban topples government, Pentagon says

WASHINGTON — Fort Bliss in El Paso will be the destination for potentially thousands of Afghan refugees, Pentagon officials said Monday during a press conference to address the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“As we prepare for even more arrivals, [U.S. Northern Command] and the U.S. Army are working to create additional capacity to support refugee relocation in the U.S., including temporary sights under assessment at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Camp McCoy, Wisconsin,” Department of Defense official Gary Reed said.

“There may be other sites identified if services are needed, additional capacity is needed,” he added. “At this point we’re looking to establish 20 [thousand] to 22,000 spaces. We can expand if we need to.”

 

[sds71]

UAE says Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is in the country

Interpol urged to arrest Ghani for ‘stealing public wealth’ | The Express Tribune

 

[JerseyGirl]

Dutch evacuation plane forced to leave Kabul without any passengers
Afghanistan latest news as Taliban take charge: Live updates

A military aircraft sent to Kabul from The Netherlands to evacuate Dutch citizens was forced to take off without any passengers on board amid chaotic scenes at the airport on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag said.

“There was too little time,” she told Dutch news agency ANP on Tuesday.

“There were many people at the gates of the airport, with their children and with their families. It’s awful. We are back in contact with the Dutch citizens there. In this case, we are only talking about Dutch evacuees and hopefully, the situation will be better tomorrow. We, and other European countries, are focused on getting clarity on how the process in and around the airport is managed," the minister said.

The plane had been on the ground for half an hour before it took off without any passengers, she said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday there are Dutch citizens on board other evacuation flights that have departed from Kabul.

The initial plane sent by the Netherlands on Monday to evacuate people from Afghanistan was unable to land in Kabul and had to turn around due to dangerous scenes which unfolded at Hamid Karzai International Airport, the Ministry said.

 

[JerseyGirl]

German shuttle service to evacuate from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan underway

Afghanistan latest news as Taliban take charge: Live updates

A shuttle service ensuring “rapid evacuation from Afghanistan” is underway, Germany's military said Wednesday.

“Two A400Ms will fly back and forth between Tashkent in Uzbekistan and Kabul several times a day. This will ensure that as many people as possible are evacuated from Afghanistan,” a Bundeswehr tweet said.

On Tuesday night, Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said another evacuation flight with 139 people on board had left Kabul and was headed to Tashkent.

Germany’s foreign office tweeted that the flight included Germans as well as other European and Afghan citizens. “Airlift will continue as long as the security situation somehow allows,” the tweet said.

Evacuation flights from Kabul were continuing on Tuesday, with the UK, Australia, France and Italy among the countries able to get planes in the air to get diplomats and Afghan nationals out of the country.

 

[JerseyGirl]

UK PM says 2,052 Afghan nationals evacuated so far
Afghanistan latest news as Taliban take charge: Live updates

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said British forces have evacuated 306 UK nationals and 2,052 Afghan nationals from Afghanistan so far and a further 2,000 Afghan applications have been completed.

“These are interpreters, locally engaged staff and others who have risked their lives supporting our military efforts,” Johnson said. “We are proud to bring these brave Afghans to our shores."

He reiterated the UK’s plans to relocate 5,000 Afghans under a new resettlement scheme “focusing on the most vulnerable, particularly women, and children” – with the “potential of accommodating up to 20,000 over the long term.”

Johnson promised the UK “will not be sending people back to Afghanistan”.

But added, “nor by the way… will we be allowing people to come from Afghanistan to this country in an indiscriminate way.”

 

[JerseyGirl]

Italy evacuates 85 Afghan nationals from Kabul
Afghanistan latest news as Taliban take charge: Live updates

The first flight of the "air bridge" created by Italy to evacuate Afghan aides and their families will land Wednesday at Rome Fiumicino airport, Italy, the Defense Ministry said in a press release, adding that 85 Afghan nationals are on board.

Seven aircraft from the Italian Air Force are involved in the evacuation operation.

The commitment is “maximum” for those who have collaborated with Italy, Italian Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini said in the press release.

“Our commitment is to work with the utmost effort to complete the evacuation plan for Afghan collaborators, activists and those exposed to danger,” Guerini said.

The personnel boarded the plane at Kabul airport on an Air Force C130J that had taken off from Kuwait. After a technical stop, the airplane will return to Kuwait, where the passengers will be transferred to a KC 767 to be transported to Italy.

Two other C130J aircraft are due to take off from Kuwait Wednesday to collect another roughly 150 people in Kabul, who will be transported to Italy with a KC 767 flight.

A first plane carrying Italian diplomats and their Afghan assistants arrived in Rome from Kabul on Monday.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Second plane carrying French citizens and Afghans lands in Abu Dhabi
Afghanistan latest news as Taliban take charge: Live updates

A second French military plane carrying 184 Afghans and 25 French citizens from Kabul has landed in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement by the French Foreign Ministry Wednesday.

The 184 Afghans are from “civil society who are in need of protection”, the statement said.

France also provided support to partner states, bringing on board four Dutch nationals, one Irish national and two Kenyans.

“France is proud to welcome Afghans who are fighting for freedom, as it has already done in recent weeks by repatriating local embassy staff and their families,” French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said.

On Tuesday, France’s first evacuation flight landed in Paris carrying 45 people, including French nationals and citizens from partner countries.

 

[JerseyGirl]

First Australian evacuation flight transports 26 from Afghanistan
Afghanistan latest news as Taliban take charge: Live updates

An Australian evacuation flight retrieving people from Afghanistan arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, according to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

There were 26 people onboard the flight including Australian citizens, Afghan nationals with visas, and one foreign official working in an international agency, Morrison added.

 

[Betty P]

Where are our leaders? For heavens sake, fill out FORMS???
Really ?
Send said forms to "where" ? If the internet is even working, then shelter in place until we contact you?
I cannot hide my outrage.
This should not be happening. We're talking about terrorists here.
They don't give a <modsnip> about FORMS.
They want money. Period.
Watch for that.

JMO I think its a good idea to screen all of the Afghanistan people who want to come to the US now. No doubt the terrorist plan to hide some of their operatives among those claiming to be US citizens and refugees.

 

[Lilibet]

JMO I think its a good idea to screen all of the Afghanistan people who want to come to the US now. No doubt the terrorist plan to hide some of their operatives among those claiming to be US citizens and refugees.

Can you imagine the outrage if even one terrorist slips through due to sloppy paperwork and into the U.S.?!

 

[Skigh]

Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled with $169MILLION in his cash-stuffed helicopter | Daily Mail Online

 

[LadyL]

A statement from Global Affairs Canada on Tuesday morning confirmed one flight landed in Toronto carrying Afghans who qualified to come to Canada under the government's recently announced special immigration measures for former interpreters and embassy staff who helped Canadians on the ground.

The second flight landed in Ottawa and included returning staff from the Canadian embassy in Kabul, which has been evacuated as the Taliban insurgents seize control of the country.

Trudeau said 807 Afghans who supported Canadians on the ground had been evacuated so far, and 500 of them have arrived in Canada for resettlement, but did not answer whether he plans to recognize the Taliban regime that has seized control of the country.

Trudeau added there are still Canadian citizens and dual citizens who remain on the ground in Afghanistan, and that the government is working to track them “as much as possible in the chaos.”

2 Canadian flights arrive in Ontario carrying staff, Afghans fleeing Kabul

 

[LadyL]

Taliban will forcefully marry underage nieces, fears Afghan man in Canada (video)

 

[LadyL]

"When they are in their homes at night, they know that any knock on the door — or any time [they] hear a noise — could be the Taliban coming for them. That way is no way to live."

Hope and heartbreak as Canadian Afghan filmmakers monitor developments in Kabul