Northcountryman

Saw on the news this am that one of the leaders of the Tali in the video aired last few days was one of the Sweethearts released under the Beau Berghdal Prisoner Exchange agreement brokered by Obama. Of course, one of the conditions of his release was that he had to promise he wouldnt go back and join the Taliban; what he said , in fact , was that he "wanted to go home to care for his sick father"- Right!! Very poor decision; it was a bad deal , brokered by a very weak, albeit well meaning Commander-In-Chief!!

Gentleman , I do think That were in need of a good Moderator on this here forum - I nominate VH ( no sarcasm or condescension implied Here , seriously)!!

HUGE Cat- Wow x 2!!

Wait: you just criticized me for prentending to tell others how they feel (meaning you), yet you're now telling me how I feel in regards to how seriously I take the forum? You take the debate on here VERY seriosuly IMHO - almost personally the way that I see it. Your post was inaccurate, but thats fine, Icorrected it Because Biden blew it- period.

You clearly demonstrate how you feel about the man all on your own VH.

Not really, I said that it was the major reason , I believe. Perhaps, but I believe that we did bolster our own military in order to effectuate the invasion and that it we are better off for it. Already explained that, we just disagree is all. No way, couldnt have happened. So, Im a little confused by your remarks here. You appear to be very anti interventionist ( I think) , at least in terms of the Afghan operation, yet you support ops in 3 other theaters? Trump tamed Syria ,btw, remember? I may be inlined to agree with you on this, but again, dont follow your logic. Lets hope youre right on this; i honestly donmt know, but I dont trust those bastards at all! Absolutely sure youre right here!

Yet you do demonstrate it constantly on here- your contempt for others who view political issues differently is obvious to most on here. Hardly, contempt, derision and sheer hatred. I dont think you want to bring up rambling video clips in this convo, do you? Anyone on here can reference TONS of Bidens ramblings which are, frankly, more than a little disturbing when considering his level of competency and fitness for the office. I respectfully disagree.

In what way?

Considering the hostility of the entire press corps (except FOX), im surprised it wasnt longer (if your number is accurate, that is). Biden , on the other hand, enjoys a perpetual love fest with the liberal Press Corps and theyre STILL busting his ass over this- should tell you maybe he made a serious boo-boo , dont you think?

Correct, I am and if you watched the entire press conference like I did and were objective, you would arrive at the same conclusion. Your hatred for the former President impairs youre ability to think objectively in regards to any issues surrounding him. I believe you know this yourself VH.

Bin Laden was smoked using the ops machinery set in place under the Bush administration; Obama almost dismantled it. Thank God he did this one thing right during Presidency.

Yeah , I’ll bet she’s not lookin forward to it - who would ?

VH you showed me this Press conference before When you claimed Trump was recommending injecting bleach to the public - that has been debunked , remember ?

Not true, I watched many , nearly all I'd say, of his press conferences during the height of the pandemic and I found him to be quite articulate with advanced elocution; most imprtantl, his ability to speak extemporaneously is impressive . I dont think ANYBODY would say that about Biden currently, although at one time, he was a very accomplished speaker in his own right.

Not at all- Ask Suleimani if its laughable.

Youre comparing all 20 as if they were-and still are- equal and they are not. Afghanistan was the most viable threat for terrorism in 2001 and was largely behind the the 911 attacks, which explains our miliary intervention and response since. It may not be the only reason why our country is kept safe but it is undoubtedly one of the major reasons, if not the major reason. In termos of your 2002 timetable for withdrawal , that is simply untenable and not true as such a timetable would allow us no time to effect any form of effective response or make substantial progess. Nation building was never going to happen because the masses are largely ignorant and illiterate. And the Taliban will bring them back to the 15th century very soon

This debacle damages our credibility on the world stage profoundly- hopefully, not irrepairably, though.

Well, I guess freedom comes with a price. All american lives lost, of course, are tragic but in my estimation, better to lose lives over there on their turf as oppsed to losing the lives over here- on our soil, wrecking our cities , destroying our civilian planes. etc. The military operations conducted were a success and were necessary to fight the war on terror , no doubt. I do agree that withdrawal was was the right decision now, 20 yrs later but not the way it was done- it was a disaster.

We obviously have totally different perspectives as I couldnt disgagree more- but thats ok!!

Yup, embarrasing

Iraq did go well until Obama screwed up the withdrawal and allowed ISIS to take root, but I think your missing the point:NO TERROSIST ATTACKS ON AMERICAN SOIL SINCE. Yes, weve had a few lone wolves during the Obama years ,but absolutely none during Trumps term. Also, Trump decimated ISIS. Successes in Iraq were significant, indeed. We went into Afghanistan because Bin Laden was hiding out there and intelligence directly connected 911 to al Queda operating there. I agree we should have done more in Pakistan but that was difficult because there were (technically) our ally in the war on terror- Remeber Musharaff? The dude with the cool hair? Iran is a threat, of course, but they werent directly linked to 911 and . lets face it, you can only do so much!! Bombing wouldnt work as Ive stated previously; that would be a waste of resources. Boots on the ground did, though imperfect, of course. Vietnam was botched because of US strategy- if we would have stuck to larger engagementsd, it could have turned out far more in our favor.

Not many mumbled words? My God!!

I will as is nearly everyone, even the pundits who normally, carry water for the Dems- you should too, cuz he deserves it. Also, he gets on national TV yesterday and does his best to blame Trump, the Afghans and EVERYONE else but himself- and then, insincerely, says that the buck, ultimately, stops with him. Too bad, he just didnt man up and accept responsibility completely and unequivocally like Kennnedy did in Bay of Pigs! He is a fool and totally botched this whole operation.

Dont expect them to honor it, though.

Well, that much we agree on