"Everybody got it wrong" says head of British armed forces

[Dr. Anthony J. Toole]

Following in the footsteps of all great leaders of men, Gen Sir Nick Carter told the BBC: "It was the pace of it that surprised us and I don't think we realised quite what the Taliban were up to."

So there we have it folks - we're all to blame, we should have known better than to invade first Afghanistan then Iraq. It must suck to be us but there it is and now we're going to have to pay for it. Oh we already have? Well that's something. Poor Gen Sir Nick Carter and his buddies who cheerleaded us on in our lust for war in the middle east against our better judgement and all historical precedent must feel terrible. There there Sir Nick, don't listen to the sound of pitchforks clanging together or marching mobs on the street, that's probably chime bells ringing out Freedom like the sound of our great armies sent to protect the Iraqis and Afghanis.

[Dr. Anthony J. Toole]

Re: "Everybody got it wrong" says head of British armed forces

I mean, I'm not in favor of socialized anything but in this case I think the ordinary people need to take the share of the blame. The 1% calculate that to be 99%.

[MitzaLizalor]

Re: "Everybody got it wrong" says head of British armed forces

Which ordinary people?

I had never met anyone who didn't know what the Taliban were up to or who was unable to predict exactly what they'd do at the first opportunity.

The Turks knew.
The Persians knew.
The Arabs knew.
I think we can safely assume the Pakistanis knew.
And I bet the Russians knew!

All anyone needs to do is read the Koran. Are you suggesting more Korans in schools?

[Joanna Lytton-Vasey]

Re: "Everybody got it wrong" says head of British armed forces

There seems to have been quite a lot of confusion this year over where exactly the troops were needed. This will also have caused logistical problems when planning to bring them home.

[MitzaLizalor]

Re: "Everybody got it wrong" says head of British armed forces

Have they made it to "The Former" Abracadabrastan yet? It's a very specialist little club – Syria's application has yet to be approved and I think Egypt's been waiting even longer? They do seem to have two things in common (all of them) which is the communism or another ism I've forgotten what it is now but I'm pretty sure Egypt was never a commie fordrough, from Lake Victoria to The Caspian, so whatever was going on in (the former kingdom of) Libya would fill in that blank.

https://mapcarta.com/Hindu_Kush

This thread is about somewhere else though and I've just checked out their current status, which is "The Former Republic of . . ." now being "The Islamic Emirate of . . ." plus whatever denizens of the Hindu Kush are calling themselves now. Actually it's probably the same thing they've always called themselves, modern national delineations being both recent and imposed. The map circles some better-known locations for reference and is therefore bigger than I'd intended. The link [above] provides border details and is zoomable.

Chelyabinsk: location of the Russian meteor
Tashkent: well-known silk road trade hub
Mazar Sharif: famous for agricultural exports
Tehran: Hell
Dubai: popular destination for gold-plated Rolls-Royces et al.

[WWJDnow]

Re: "Everybody got it wrong" says head of British armed forces

We should have depopulated the whole country with nukes. Then they wouldn't be launching terrorist attacks against us. I'm tired of liberals standing in the way of practical solutions like this!

[Dr. Anthony J. Toole]

Re: "Everybody got it wrong" says head of British armed forces

We should have depopulated the whole country with nukes. Then they wouldn't be launching terrorist attacks against us. I'm tired of liberals standing in the way of practical solutions like this!

Too right Brother! The Taliban are ruthless - we should exterminate them and their families and render their land inhospitable.
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/u...liban-ruthless

Defence Minister Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley downplayed the level of collaboration between the US and Taliban, saying it was necessary to reduce the risks to US service personnel and American citizens as they evacuated Kabul.
General Milley went on to warn that the Taliban remain a "ruthless" organisation

[Joanna Lytton-Vasey]

Re: "Everybody got it wrong" says head of British armed forces

... and render their land inhospitable.

I think God did that for us at the time of His Creation, Brother Dr. Toole, Sir. It mostly consists of stuff that needs to be mined (in the sense of minerals, not explosions, though I dare say the latter plays a part) and is therefore full of craters.

My dear husband has spent several weeks there over the years, on Church or state business, and confirms that the food is dreadful and the accommodation 3-star at best.