re: Taliban has taken Kabul. Terrorist attack at Airport at least 12 marines confirmed killed

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In his 40+ years in Washington DC, what has joe biden ever done to indicate he was an expert of foreign policy?

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Through this entire thing and reading stories from that part of the world, it makes you appreciative for what you have here. I feel for those people.

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You would think wouldn't you? Maybe give little perspective to some?

Nah, American's are oppressed haven't you heard? The regressives are too dense to see the disconnect of what they purport as oppression vs actual oppression being brought to light in Afghanistan.

This is from a Ugandan news sight, but the article was written by AFP. It has some interesting info about the current mood at the Pentagon and how the Biden Administration botched the withdrawal.

Monitor via AFP

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At the Pentagon, US military officials bitter as they watch chaos in Kabul

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Some criticized the State Department, which has sole authority to grant visas to former interpreters and other US military support staff and their families, for waiting more than two months to begin the process for Afghans in fear of their lives. 

"We warned them for months, for months" that the situation was urgent, said one military official, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

"I am not angry, I am frustrated," another officer remarked. "The process could have been handled so differently." 

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Biden decided in mid-April that all US troops must be out of Afghanistan by September 11, though he later moved that date up to August 21.

The State Department however waited months to set up an ad hoc structure to get US allies to safety.

Another Pentagon official interviewed by AFP said that diplomats had tried to speed up the visa process -- but the process was too long and complicated under the circumstances.

The Biden administration assumed that the US embassy in Kabul would remain open and that the Afghan government would retain control of the country for months after the US withdrawal, he

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As soon as Biden announced the withdrawal, the Pentagon said it was making preparations for a mass evacuation.

But by mid-June the administration still did not consider an evacuation necessary and favored the granting of special visas -- a process that can take up to two years. 

It was only at the end of June that the White House raised the possibility of evacuating the Afghan interpreters before the end of the military withdrawal, and asked for the Pentagon's help. 

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Asked during a press briefing on Monday about the delay of more than two months between the announcement of the withdrawal and the creation of the crisis cell, its director Garry Reid stressed that the Pentagon could only act in "support of the State Department." 

State Department spokesman Ned Price said that, when the administration realized that the situation was "quickly evolving," it launched what Operation Allied Refuge, which he described as "a gargantuan US effort not only to process, adjudicate and to grant visas to so-called Special Immigrants but to actually bring them to the United States with a massive airlift operation."

He said 2,000 Afghans have been brought to the US through the airlift so far. 

The action group, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, got stood up in July.

"But you can go back to the spring and  hear the Secretary (of Defense Lloyd Austin) himself talk about interpreters and translators and the sacred obligation that we know that we have to them," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. 

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ToloNews female anchor interviews a Taliban official in their Kabul studio.

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govt officials, urges return to work

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Hell with covid 2.0 we can't even get that here.

I wouldn't characterize it as throwing State Dept under bus. That's the nature of NEO (non-combatant evacuation) ops. State always has lead and drives the initial execution timing. Military is in a supporting role and if State doesn't see writing on wall and request NEO soon enough then we are behind power curve at execution. This is always a huge concern for NEO planning and requires ample contingency planning for likelihood of getting the ask from State too late and thus fighting our way in and out. So far, our air and ground forces seem to be holding their own in a tenuous and chaotic situation. Now is the time to support the troops rather than rooting for chaos to feed domestic political agendas.

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Taiwan

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China won’t move directly against Taiwan. It won’t have to. It will simply set up anti-ship missiles on islands in the sea lanes. Then it can starve Taiwan into submission.

The anti ship missiles are cheap and mobile. They leave such a small footprint and are so scattered that you can’t bomb them out. The Navy can’t get the fleet close without losing a billion dollar ship to a ten thousand dollar weapon. The Army can’t get there as a result.

That leaves the Marines. The Corps knows China’s plan and is actively preparing to counter it. They can get in with small vessels, clean out the islands and, using their own sea denial weapons, hold them with small numbers acting independently for a long time. (Think Guadalcanal.). Berger is a thinker and a pragmatist.

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That was a huge fricking blunder

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all in joes plan relax

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The anti ship missiles are cheap and mobile. They leave such a small footprint and are so scattered that you can’t bomb them out. The Navy can’t get the fleet close without losing a billion dollar ship to a ten thousand dollar weapon. The Army can’t get there as a result.

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Why do you think the Army can't put boots on the ground on any landmass in the world? They sure as frick don't need a bunch of sailors to get them there.

I asked my mom - who’s a huge Biden supporter - what she thinks of the situation, and this was her response:

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Great! This has always been inevitable and no other president had the courage to do it. It's a shame that the Afghan president left. We could be there 100 years and it's always been obvious that they were not willing to fight. After 911, Our government decided that the those countries should be like us in terms of human rights, etc. they don't want to be like us. A number of countries, including Russia, have tried to help but have been defeated we are just the latest losers. We have always felt very strongly that we needed to get out! Trump had a deadline of May 1, 2021 and no plan beyond that. He played politics and cowered and stayed. This is the right thing.

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I don’t even know how to respond to that. I honestly feel bad for her, and by the others like her who are totally oblivious.