An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier stands guard at Bagram Air Base, after the departure of all U.S. and NATO troops. ZAKERIA HASHIMI/Getty Images
Written by Dr. Binoy Kampmark.
From the Bagram Airbase they left, leaving behind a piece of the New York World Trade Centre that collapsed with such graphic horror on September 11, 2001. As with previous occupiers and occupants, the powers that had made this venue a residence of war operations were cutting their losses and running.
Over the years, the base, originally built by the Soviets in the 1950s and known to US personnel as Bagram Airfield, became a loud statement of occupation, able to hold up to 10,000 troops and sprawling across 30 square miles. It was also replete with cholesterol hardening fast food restaurants (Pizza Hut, Burger King), jewellers, car dealerships and such amenities as swimming pools, spas and cinemas.
Bagram also had room to accommodate the unfortunates captured in that anomalously worded “War on Terror”: detainees, many al-Qaeda suspects, faced torture in what came to be known as Afghanistan’s Guantanamo. US forces relinquished control of the prison, now sporting the benign name of Parwan Detention Facility, to Afghan security forces in December 2014. Ill-treatment of prisoners continued.
After two decades, it seemed that the US armed forces could not wait to leave. The departure date, scheduled for September, was being brought forward, though President Joe Biden denied that anything had changed. “A safe, orderly drawdown,” stated the Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, “enables us to maintain an ongoing diplomatic presence, support the Afghan people and the government, and prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists that threatens our homeland.”
There was little fuss in the way things unfolded on July 1 – at least initially. The New York Times observed that the final withdrawal “occurred with little fanfare and no public ceremony, and in an atmosphere of grave concern over the Afghan security forces’ ability to hold off Taliban advances across the country.”
The signal for chaos and mayhem had been given. Darwaish Raufi, Afghanistan’s district administrator for Bagram, found himself confronting an ominous spectacle. There had been confusion and uncertainty about the logistics of the operation. With the base unsecured, around 100 looters capitalised, seizing gas canisters and laptops. “They were stopped and some have been arrested and the rest have been cleared from the base.” The district governor was left puzzled. “American soldiers should share information with the Afghan government, especially local officials, but they didn’t let me know.”
US military spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett disagreed. “All handovers of Resolute Support bases and facilities, to include Bagram Airfield, have been closely coordinated, both with senior leaders from the government and with our Afghan partners in the security forces, including leadership of the locally based units respective to each base.”
Across the country, the Taliban are smacking their lips in anticipation of further gains. “We consider this withdrawal a positive step,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. “Afghans can get closer to stability and peace with the full withdrawal of foreign forces.” So far, the peace negotiations move at snail-like speed. The Taliban refuse to declare a ceasefire. Districts in the country have been falling with regularity to their forces. Demoralised Afghan soldiers have been leaving their posts, though this is justified on the basis of strategic soundness (urban centres need protection).
With a security vacuum gapingly prominent in parts of the country, regional militias have promised to mount resistance. “Having reached home,” Nishank Motwani, Deputy Director of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation in Unit in Kabul gloomily remarked, “Americans and allied forces will now watch what they fought so hard to build over 20 years burn down from afar and knowing that the Afghan men and women they fought with risk losing everything.”
Former UK chief of the defence staff Lord David Richards could hardly improve on that, telling the BBC that, “A country that we promised a huge amount to now faces … almost certain civil war, with the likelihood that the Taliban will get back to where they were in 2001, occupying most of the major cities and the majority of the country.”
General Richard Dannant, formerly chief of the general staff, kept matters paternalistic; as with other civilising missions of imperial days past, he wrote of a task that had failed. “Taliban force of arms has prevailed, and the people of that country have been denied the chance to choose a better way of life.”
The Biden administration continues to offer its model of hollow assurance for an ally it has cut loose, accompanied by a promise to provide security assistance to the value of $3 billion in 2022. The President’s meeting with President Ashraf Ghani and chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah on June 25 saw the recapitulation of unconvincing themes. All three “concurred on the need for unity among Afghan leaders in support of peace and stability”. Biden “reaffirmed the US commitment to fully support intra-Afghan negotiations.” Despite the departure of US troops, “the strong bilateral partnership will continue.”
In a State Department briefing on July 1, officials continued to patch up the façade of support. When asked by a journalist how the US could claim to be supporting the Afghan government “when we’re not going to be there”, department spokesperson Ned Price was prepared with some casuistry: “we are withdrawing our military forces, as the President announced, but we intend to maintain a diplomatic presence in Kabul.” The country would not be abandoned; support would be undiminished.
At a White House press conference, Biden suggested how far down Afghanistan, and its fate, features in US policy circles. In a moment of frankness, he put a halt to questions on that doomed country and wished to “talk about happy things, man. I’m not going to answer any more questions on Afghanistan.” It was a matter of priorities. “It’s the holiday weekend. I’m going to celebrate it. There’s great things happening.” Just not in Afghanistan.
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com
The Americunt loser dumbasses spent trillions, killed a million civilians and fled like dogs. The ANA is worse than the ARVN and will fold in a few weeks. Most of the northern based ANA has either joined the Taliban or fled to Tajikistan. Russia and Iran need to strengthen the Tajik border as the Americunts are propping up ISIS in Afghanistan to continue the terrorist war. China needs to lean on the Pakis who are main conduit of weapons and supplies for the Taliban who are really the Paki frontier force in mufti. The Americunts have the midas touch of sh1t, anything they touch turns into crap.
Pakistan now needs to focus on Kashmir.
Not really. They’ll eventually send in the Chinese to sort out the Chaiwallas. I reckon Beijing and Islamabad could capture all of Northern India upto Delhi.
There wasn’t a civil war in Afghanistan until the US and nato poked their noses in. All the atrocities were at the hands of US&nato backed groups posing as Taliban.
Afghanistan keeps its record of defeating dying empires.
Not really, the Afghan communists had successfully overthrown a corrupt monarchy that was propped up by the CIA. The Americunt arseholes started the Wahhabi Jihad against the progressive Afghan Khalq and Parchim factions and internal coups which forced the USSR to intervene, albeit half hardheartedly. Americunts created this whole mess and are now fleeing like kicked dogs.
The Afghan communists were the most educated and progressive and caused the CIA a lot of angst so they let loose their Wahhabi dogs on Afghanistan via their corrupt Pakistani ISI puppets and ruined a proud peaceful country. Now most Afghans hate the Pakistanis who will reap blowback in Pasthun and Baluchistan regions where an Indian supported insurgency is already taking hold.
India are outmatched in Afghanistan by Taliban long term well established functioning support from Pakistan next door. Maybe China also providing logistics and financial backing via Pakistan too.
There are no greater fighters on earth than Islamic fighters today – whether Shia or Sunni Hezbollah, Hamas,Taliban,Chechen are incomparable and unmatched ANYWHERE except for Hitech weapons the West has, they have NOTHING on Mooslim Mujaheddin. India will be carved up in days.
BULL fkin Sh!t – Pakis were not involved until LATE into the war as a conduit to finance and train Mujaheddin. CIA rode on the backs of Mujaheddin peoples movement and their ONLY worthwhile contribution were Stingers. Mujaheddin are not Saudi or Saudi backed. Abdullah Azzam brought Gulf money to the Mujaheddin long after the anti-russian Jihad was declared. Azzam recognised Afghan Mujaheddin struggle as a true Jihad – F@ck you for trying to conflate “Wahhabism” to the Afghan Jihad
The world trade center buildings one, two and seven did not simply “collapse”. They were controlled demolitions as part of a cabalist ritual.
This is why american “soldiers” are among the dumbest on earth. You are dying for the one percent investor class who launder billions of dollars worth of heroin through their investor funds and front companies.
The idiotic american soldier does not even realize he is not at war with anyone. He is simply supporting the global heroin drug trade along with human trafficking schemes and other sick, depraved practices.
The docu ” Donald Trump, 9/11, Case Closed ” is worth a watch. Runtime is just under one hour.
Even an independent commission has proved that there was no plane that hit the pentagon and the NY twin towers were indeed controlled implosions. No wonder dancing Jews in Brooklyn. The repulsive coward Rumsfeld caused millions of civilian deaths for the Jews and endless wars that bankrupted the US deadshit failed state. Natural justice, just look at the rout in Afghanistan.
Rumsfeld family are jews… Facts
Pat Tillman joined up because of 11/9, was shipped to Afghanistan, almost immediately realised that everything he had been told was lies, and then was murdered by a bullet in the back before he could spread the word back home.
Are you still afraid to say hooked nose, children of lucifer, Master terrorist zio Jews??? This is not RT where your are BANNED PERMANENTLY for pointing out these facts.
RT is under Jew control like most of Russian institutions.
The deed is done. Zio p1gs let US and Western forces slaughter Millions of Muslims for twenty + years. The revenge must be annhilation of Zionists and destruction of Western capitals
They going to Europe to reinforce Nato against Russia for WW3…
The dumb corrupt pimp Uki hohol arseholes are going to be the delusional frontline against Russia LOL with the mighty limeycunts and Dutchfaggots navy as their support. Limey gits humor never ceases.
An interesting thing happened in Modistan. Back in June Modi’s foreign minister, the grovellingly servile American servant S Jaishankar, travelled twice to Qatar in one week to negotiate with Takiban there. The Qatar government confirmed the negotiations were taking place. Modi’s lapdog mouthpiece media stated making noises about how India needed to mend relations with the Taliban and turn it against Pakistan (fat chance).
Now, since yesterday, the same Modi regime media is making a sudden concerted propaganda drive against the Taliban, as though a switch was thrown. It’s taken to calling them “terrorists”, and claiming that Taliban in the liberated areas are making men grow beards and forbidding women to go out alone, which not just the Takiban but people in those areas denied.
And the Modi regime is now suddenly and stridently denying, after two weeks of silence, that it met the Taliban at all.
There is really just one explanation: the Taliban were offered a bribe of some kind by Modi, possibly a “power sharing arrangement ” that would leave stooges like Ghani and Abdullah in office, in return for letting India ship terrorists, spies and saboteurs to Pakistan like it used to before the Taliban resurgence. And the Taliban told Modi to stick his bribe up where the sun doesn’t shine.
There were probably a lot of sorrows being drowned in cow urine in Modi’s foreign ministry the other night.
New cartoon series on Afghanistan! My site.
https://ragheadthefiendlyterrorist.wordpress.com/2021/07/04/left-on-afghanistans-plains-part-i/
Infrastructure in your favourite superpower China 😂😂 https://mobile.twitter.com/TruthAbtChina/status/1411044221872574464
Infrastructure in YOUR favourite ‘souperpower’ USA:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/03/us/florida-condo-collapse-steel-rebar.html
At least China’s building have learned to stand up over time.
Why not show us infrastructure in your favourite shithole, India? – Never mind infrastructure, just show us ONE Latrine. LMFAO
Who’s my prophet? As far as I know I don’t have any. Unlike your gibbering globetrotting genocidal Gujarati gangster god Narendrabhai Damodardasbhai Modi, whose own prophet is Amitbhai Anilchandrabhai Shah, and whose owners are Gautambhai Shantilalbhai Adani and Mukeshbhai Dhirubhai Ambani.
What a lot of bhaichaara in this Gujarati regime! Happy drinking your cow urine!
Don’t deflect your arguement and respond to the two comments
India has been outplayed in its own backyard. They are like Yankees – when things go South, Bollywood comes to the rescue. expect another movie depicting cowardly hindu heroes drinking their own piss and phucking monkeys
The 5 WTC towers did not “collapse.” They were imploded from within. Yes, 5: WTC 1 & 2, 7, and 5 & 6.
WTC 5 & 6 were imploded, but the top(s) of WTC 1 & 2 did not fall where they were supposed to, and so 5 & 6 remained upright sans their tell-tale imploded cores. There are even photos from within the imploded remnants of 5 & 6. Hard to find those photos now, as the Jews have been scrubbing all such photos off the Internet.
By the way: No airplanes hit any building or field that day the Jews attacked America.
When the Afghan government and ANA collapses the amount of military material the Taliban inherit will be even more than that in 1975 South Vietnam. The US and subservient lapdogs really know how to squander gigantic amounts of money on years long foreign vacations. Only ~7,000 Americans killed during this so-called “war on terror” since 2001? That number alone shows what a complete farce US policies are.
The ‘Fall of Kabul’ could happen within weeks. It will not be long and drawn out like Vietnam. What a total waste. The strategic ineptitude of the Americans is amazing.
In 2001, the magazines Outlook and India Today* ran cover stories celebrating the fall of Kabul to the puppet child sex slaver Quisling warlords of the Northern Alliance, using the same photo of a Northern Alliance tank in a Kabul street as illustration. I emailed both asking if, on the inevitable day that the Taliban recaptured Kabul, they would dare do a cover story on that. Not surprisingly, neither published my letter.
*India Today was at the time jumping up and down like a rabid baboon to make India an Amerikastani vassal, first calling 11/9 a “war against the world”, and then in 2003 howling in support of India joining the invasion of Iraq. For all this, and his grovelling fealty to the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime, its owner Aroon Purie was given a civilian award by Vajpayee.
Unfortunately for the Indian people, the Indian government, tyranny, has been bought by the Jews and is now doing their bidding. As seen lately, China does not like it, nor the rest of Asia.
One consequence of India’s tyranny, government, with the Jews is the systematic looting from within by the Jews. The Jew, Greensill and his Greensill capital, has done just that against Sanjeev Gupta and his GFG Alliance.
The Indian people can now expect the plagues that always follow the Jews: Social chaos and division, economic decline and collapse, ever more human misery, and war.
Dr.Fidel Castro described the Americunts as a bunch of drugged teenagers armed with a shot gun and more a danger to themselves. They are violent cowards and totally moronic.
Former UK chief of the defence staff Lord David Richards could hardly improve on that, telling the BBC that, “A country that we promised a huge amount to now faces … almost certain civil war, with the likelihood that the Taliban will get back to where they were in 2001, occupying most of the major cities and the majority of the country.”
And all having come full circle based on this Truth (https://www.ae911truth.org/) and the lies of the “official narrative” Commission Report that still has no justice for it’s victims in Afghanistan or at Ground Zero that died that day!
Murikkkan trash run away with their tails tucked up against their azzholes… LOL!!!