Prickly City by Scott Stantis for August 31, 2021

Trillions for military contractors.

That was the plan all along.

Not one Gdamn thing.

We gained hero status for Bush and Cheney.

You know, because America First.

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And we gained a shiny new patriotic ‘issue’ for Republicans* for their new technique of Continuous Campaigning, which could later be used against whatever Democrat had to clean up the mess.

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And, as noted above ^, trillions for military contractors.

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*Republicans are now The Party Of Trump.

It was a FUBAR Absent Fiends

Other countries are now making fun of the USA. Here, in New Zealand, the news reporters are absolutely aghast at what America has done.

You gained the absence of military troops from Afghganistan which the majority of Americans wanted!

You gained the incredible ire of the military Industrial complex who will have to foment new wars for their selling of war machinery by which they retain their riches!

And that said military industrial complex will have to pump millions if not billions in lobbying ( i.e. bribery and corruption) into the the party of trump to regain their monetary status to it’s previous level!

New York Times The Morning: The longest war is over — After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, less than four years … After the secession of Southern states in 1860 and 1861, slightly more than four years … After the first battles at Lexington and Concord in 1775, about eight years … The war in Afghanistan … 19 years and 47 weeks… longer even than its previous protracted defeat in Vietnam or stalemate in Korea. U.S. has been able to claim some accomplishments. American troops killed Osama bin Laden and captured or killed other architects of the 9/11 attacks. Afghanistan temporarily turned into a democracy where schools improved and women could live more freely than before. Some people believe that an unending, low-level war in Afghanistan was worth the trade-offs. That would have required Biden to renege on Donald Trump’s promise, likely causing the Taliban to intensify its attacks. Instead, for better and worse, America’s longest war is over.

We got Bin Laden. We got another lesson in the futility of nation building. We got some graves. We got the bill.

To quote President Obama, “I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb ones.”

This was a dumb one.

We lost much in the Biden debacle. WHO in their right mind pulls the military out BEFORE the Civilians?

WHO, in their right mind, leave over $80 billion in military equipment to hand over to the Taliban?

WHO, in their right mind, abandons Bagram airbase, allows the Taliban to run security at the front gate of an airport kill zone?

All so “President” Biden could have a photo-op on Spetember 11 saying he got the Troops out?

Biden Should apologize and resign. But then, he won’t because he is NOT in his right mind. He is in his manchurian candidate mind with a dementia problem.

The inventiveness of the propagandists is admirable, if frustrating.

The death of the man that killed 2,996 in a single morning. We should have pulled out with his death. We didn’t and more died. Another thing we gained was no more needless deaths in a country where we cannot determine the future. We gained the last coffin from Kabul. While for that family it is an unimaginable tragedy, for the country it is an unimaginable relief.

The people of Afghanistan were given the chance to change the way they were/governed, they have “voted”.

THe “Military Industrial Complex” gained trillions!

SIGH

This is not any U.S. president’s fault; nor does blame accrue to our military forces; rather, guilt lies with the feckless Afghans who ignored the training, equipment, and munitions made available to them.

Thanks to lying republican GW Bush.

We started with the Taliban in charge, killed 2,448 troops, maimed tens of thousands, spend $2.2 Trillion, then left with the Taliban in charge again. Based on our past history, I don’t think the lesson has taken hold yet.

We did see 20 years of relative calm in that area.

For most civilians pride that there country stands up for people’s rights. For most military and there families the pride and honor of serving there country. But for a few, reasons to complain and bring dishonor and degrade the United States of America. People and opinions all differ and in our country you have that freedom. Hard fought and won for by the military. That is what we have gained.

The Afghani refugees who come here will have a lot more appreciation for democracy, education, and other Western values than the present-day “Republicans” who want to keep them out. That’s some compensation, but not enough.

We renewed our reputation for being willing to dump a whole lot of suck just about anywhere if you distract us from our celebrity gossip.

We’ve been asking that question for most of the past twenty years. And expected the same answer the whole time…

We’re not cutting and running.

We’re cutting our losses.

He’ll never admit it, because you don’t show weakness, but I’m willing to bet Biden will be a one-termer and this won’t stick to Kamala.

One reason I hate TV news is that it’s so hard to cite sources.

Last night’s Nora O’Donnell featured a retired military analyst who blamed the American public squarely for what happened. His logic: Americans had grown tired of the war and had elected at least two presidents who had promised to get us out.

As far as this analyst was concerned, we had fought for twenty years, and we could have fought for another twenty years, but it was the American public that called for the pull-out – and, therefore, the debacle.

One thing that, to me, is consistently overlooked in this war is that it had become a father-and-son war, with parents fighting along with their children. This was a „forever war“.

Look, I get it. One message, the message the Taliban and ISIS are spreading, left over from Vietnam I suppose, is if you wait long enough, Americans will get tired of the fight and go home. Victory is assured just by waiting us out.

On the other hand, this war had become a „bring your daughter to work day“ in the worst possible way.

Ask John Bolton!

Have no fear many countries are already negotiating with the newly forming government who would like nothing better than to make money from sources other than opium poppies and you can bet the U.S. is doing that right now as well.

possible a hard-learned lesson