18 replies to this topic

[August West]

Just in time for the Taliban regaining control of Kabul, I commend to you Scott Horton's 14 part video series (they're not that long) summarizing his impeccably researched book, Enough Already: Time To End the War on Terrorism. Scott and I diverge on several points about things such as 9/11 but he is about as consistently anti-war and grounded in reality and research as it gets (also fantastic work on OKC '95 and Waco, fyi)

 

At least we can say it was money and lives well spent. I'm sure Raytheon and Halliburton and their ilk don't mind grabbing an extra trillion or two for a couple decades worth of work.

 

Here's part 1. I'm sure you're bright enough to find part 2 and the rest, if you're interested:

[Direct Link]

[Tenderfoot]

Let's hope he researches the Branch Covidians next!  The truth shall set you free.....

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

It's almost like we have been here before. The scenes of aircraft lifting off while desperate people cling on because their life depends on it is all to familiar.

To be fair if one took a look inside that massive cargo plane from a day or two ago you would see it was full to the brim with people. The thing that is a bit frustrating is that Canadian goverment was dragging its feet on vetting people and allowing them to escape persecution for helping the westerners. You can walk across our southern border and the RCMP will help you with your luggage, set you up in a hotel while they process your application. Guess we should have got the RCMP to help immigrate all those desperate refugees.

What I find the most frustrating is the idiotic flip flopping over the issue by conservatives. It was all good when it was Trumps idea but now that Biden is in charge its too soon. These idiots never gave a fuck about Afghanistan and the people that lived there, its just another political talking point for them to bicker over.

It is a bit, hilarious is not the right word. More like uncomfortable I don't know what else to do but laugh moment I have been having watching all the news networks trying to explain what we have know for decades. That it in an unwinnable war, you cannot defeat an insurgent population unless you seek to exterminate the entire populace. You can literally throw trillions of dollars it, use the most advanced equipment in the world and you will still lose the battle by the death of a thousand cuts.

The only alternative to allowing the Taliban to regain control of the country was permanent occupation. Of a pointless region. Well unless you consider the region as a whole. It does make for a strategic location if your goal was to topple the middle east.

Not to mention did you know opium production actually increased after occupation. I mean pfizer has to get its drugs from somewhere so they can make them all safe and non addicting for us right

Edited by FLASHINGROOSTER, 17 August 2021 - 01:49 PM.

[Juthro]

It's almost like we have been here before. The scenes of aircraft lifting off while desperate people cling on because their life depends on it is all to familiar.

To be fair if one took a look inside that massive cargo plane from a day or two ago you would see it was full to the brim with people. The thing that is a bit frustrating is that Canadian goverment was dragging its feet on vetting people and allowing them to escape persecution for helping the westerners. You can walk across our southern border and the RCMP will help you with your luggage, set you up in a hotel while they process your application. Guess we should have got the RCMP to help immigrate all those desperate refugees.

What I find the most frustrating is the idiotic flip flopping over the issue by conservatives. It was all good when it was Trumps idea but now that Biden is in charge its too soon. These idiots never gave a fuck about Afghanistan and the people that lived there, its just another political talking point for them to bicker over.
 

 

And so you get to see the true nature of the conservatives here in 'merica....   If you look at it, it's kind of the same way they choose to ignore COVID, and the vaccines.  They don't give a damn about facts, facts are a piss poor tool for people that dont know they are morally right... TO HELL WITH FACTS!!  IF YOU RELY ON FACTS YOU MUST BE A SOCIALIST CUCK !!!

 

 

(Sorry, my radio in the background switched shows, and started playing a Sean Hannity podcast,  I got it turned off now, and I took some meds.  I'll be fine in a moment)

 

Back to Afghanistan.  If I was a refugee, I would much rather go to Canada then anywhere in the fucked up lower 48....

[August West]

These idiots never gave a fuck about Afghanistan and the people that lived there, its just another political talking point for them to bicker over.

 

Most of that is just window dressing for constituents. 

 

U.S. actions in Afghanistan encompass decades of both Republican and Democrat governance and have nothing to do with the people that inhabit the region. These are geostrategic moves. The war on terror has been a massive transfer of wealth. A lot of people got very rich and solidified more control. There are idiots to be sure but there are also many lines between the lines.

[Myc]

Once we moved into Afghanistan I became pretty convinced that this was about control of heroin trade and production - just like with IndoChina during the Vietnam war.

I knew, absolutely, that "winning" was never an option. The Russians proved that with their failed campaign.

 

Will be reviewing the videos later this week when I get a chance.

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

For those that needed to know, the signals were all there, loud and clear. The outright blatant dismissal of them sure leads one to question how could they ever miss it, they couldn't

 

Should we start a side pool to see what country is blessed with invasion, er uh I mean freedom next?

 

He who's name shall not be spoken in mandarin (Taiwan), Ukraine, or Venezuela?

[TVCasualty]

Once we moved into Afghanistan I became pretty convinced that this was about control of heroin trade and production - just like with IndoChina during the Vietnam war.

 

It would be crazy if the flood of cheap Fentanyl is what made being there moot. It would make more sense than most reasons I hear for both being there and leaving, which almost never mention the poppies.

 

This is an old photo back from when the current soldiers' parents first got there back in 2001, so I can see the appeal for hanging around, I guess...

 

 

 

(it was taken by a U.S. soldier riding on a tank IIRC)

Edited by TVCasualty, 18 August 2021 - 07:15 PM.

[August West]

Once we moved into Afghanistan I became pretty convinced that this was about control of heroin trade and production - just like with IndoChina during the Vietnam war.

I knew, absolutely, that "winning" was never an option. The Russians proved that with their failed campaign.

 

Will be reviewing the videos later this week when I get a chance.

 

I agree that there is a space for wanting to control heroin channels by a subset of the actors in this situation. I think for more of a 30,000' view, proverbially, we may look elsewhere. Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor under Operation Cyclone (covert funding of the mujahadeen against the Soviets) and "Obama's brain" during the 2008 selection cycle (as well as founder of the Trilateral Commission and member of the CFR) spelled out the gameplan in his 1997, The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and it's Geostrategic Imperatives. While not dealing specifically with Afghanistan for any length of time, this is must-read for anyone wanting to understand U.S. foreign policy around "Eurasia".

 

Here is Brezinski meeing with the mujahadeen during covert operations against the Soviets:

 

[TVCasualty]

Brezinski sure was prescient, but I can't tell if it's ironic or not.

 

There was even a Rambo movie about helping the proud and noble freedom-fighting Mujahideen resist the Soviet menace.

 

It was nice of them to re-brand themselves as "The Taliban" so we can pretend that they aren't the same people and thereby spare decent, patriotic, and propaganda-loving Americans the awkwardness of unpacking all that "history" stuff.

 

I guess some of this stuff really is planned a long time in advance because the original ending for Rambo III would have looked even worse today, but for some reason they scrapped it:

 

Originally, however, the ending would have seen John Rambo decide to stay and fight alongside the Mujahideen in their struggle against the Soviet Union.

 

https://screenrant.c...ding-explained/

[August West]

Brezinski sure was prescient, but I can't tell if it's ironic or not.

 

There was even a Rambo movie about helping the proud and noble freedom-fighting Mujahideen resist the Soviet menace.

 

It was nice of them to re-brand themselves as "The Taliban" so we can pretend that they aren't the same people and thereby spare decent, patriotic, and propaganda-loving Americans the awkwardness of unpacking all that "history" stuff.

 

I guess some of this stuff really is planned a long time in advance because the original ending for Rambo III would have looked even worse today, but for some reason they scrapped it:

 

Originally, however, the ending would have seen John Rambo decide to stay and fight alongside the Mujahideen in their struggle against the Soviet Union.

 

https://screenrant.c...ding-explained/

 

You may enjoy this...or not, of course.

 

Tom Secker has some entertaining and enlightening unique content on the intersection of popular culture and the security state. He's probably done more than anyone at revealing the connections (with paper trail) of the security state and Hollywood. 

 

Here's one of his offerings from a while back:

 

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

I finally took the time to watch those original set of 14 clips and I have to say they were quite good. One of the better collections of information on the lengthy and complex subject. I like how he stayed focused on the middle east

It sort of reminds me of that true history of the united states series by Oliver Stone, however it pulls out and looks at the idea of the military industrial complex worldwide, starting back at WW2. If I remember correctly during the Bush years they referred to a similar document to The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and it's Geostrategic Imperatives

The project for a new American century

https://militarist-m...erican_century/

Edited by FLASHINGROOSTER, 19 August 2021 - 06:09 PM.

[shiftingshadows]

twitter feed

@wikileaks

Julian Assange speaking in 2011: "The goal is to use Afghanistan to wash money out of the tax bases of the US and Europe through Afghanistan and back into the hands of a transnational security elite. The goal is an endless war, not a successful war" #Afghanistan

and from the comments...edited:
.... @elmidwill

Replying to
@wikileaks
What does it mean to “wash money out of tax bases”?

[email protected]
US Gov pays US Contractor $1B US Contractor pays forign affiliate $1B, now US Contractor owes zero tax. It's not just looting US gov/public, it's tax free looting

...replying to
@elmidwill
and
@wikileaks
Billions in govt ie taxpayers money poured into Afghanistan in the name of 'nation-building' all sorts of 'construction projects' 'training' 'development' and the security that runs alongside them- the money back-channeling to companies run by wealthy elites- is my best guess...

...Replying to
@elmidwill
and
@wikileaks
Once the money is declared as funds to be used in Afghanistan, it is out of the system and nobody knows the when, where, and who used it for what purpose. It doesn't involve companies, no invoices? They can hand out any amount to anyone.

 

etc. etc. ....

Edited by shiftingshadows, 19 August 2021 - 09:29 PM.

[shiftingshadows]

A consequence of this is not that covid & the vaccines are a conspiracy by elites, (which assumption some folks immediately jump to), which seems farfetched when one looks at all the different countries struggling with it, but rather that much of the power structure of most countries is so greedy, short sighted, and corrupt that there is no hope for really dealing with Global Warming and the related issues, identified  by Paul Cherufka, as linked to in a related post.

[August West]

A consequence of this is not that covid & the vaccines are a conspiracy by elites, (which assumption some folks immediately jump to), which seems farfetched when one looks at all the different countries struggling with it, but rather that much of the power structure of most countries is so greedy, short sighted, and corrupt that there is no hope for really dealing with Global Warming and the related issues, identified  by Paul Cherufka, as linked to in a related post.

Is this in the correct thread? Honest question.

[shiftingshadows]

your post of Aug 16 relates to Afghanistan ..."Just in time for the Taliban regaining control of Kabul," so I thought it did...

perhaps I am confused?

 

my 1st post above refers to  "Julian Assange speaking in 2011: "The goal is to use Afghanistan...."

 

and my 2nd post attempts to fit the 1st one into a larger context

 

but perhaps you feel that's too much of a stretch?

 

or I jumped too quickly, but the idea is simple: if all countries are focused on such deep bullshit as Assange suggests, then the big picture is that they all are incapable, of dealing with the simple biggest and most urgent problem facing us all.

 

And given that this is the reality we are all stuck in, which is like being on the Titanic, emotional upset about every new horror, accomplishes nothing. When the Titanic sank, some men threw women and children out of life boats, but in the movie (which I think was accurate) both the captain and the music band went down with her, and the band played on, as it sank.

Edited by shiftingshadows, 20 August 2021 - 09:47 AM.

[FLASHINGROOSTER]

I wonder, is it propaganda at the forefront that keeps the population at large so unaware of such blatant examples of hawkish behavior. Or a somewhat normal unwillingness to care. An underestimation of mans appetite for distractions. Is it a simple answer like that I don't know, probably not

 

A hidden history, a blurred truth.

[rockyfungus]

My echo-chamber lead me to believe they were all displaced billionaires. They know and envy that they can't get away with such blatant corruption. Same way they secretly love the Taliban for doing what they failed to do on the 6th. 

I think it's just too much social media and complete naivety of the horrors and wonders of the internetz. 

[TVCasualty]

Some of the best political commentary I've been finding these days comes from cartoons. This one begins with the Afghanistan evacuation, and also has some good observations about Texas:

 

[Direct Link]