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  1. The AtlanticGeorge Packer8/15/2114 min
    15 reads7 comments
    9.5
    The Atlantic
    15 reads
    9.5
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    • thorgalle
      Top reader this weekScoutScribe
      2 years ago

      All the effort required to pass a single case through the bureaucracy, maybe. A good illustration of all the lives in jeopardy now. I had no idea what the significance of the last days was. Horrible 😨

      • Karenz2 years ago

        This read is what we knew would happen. I’m a Democrat, voted for Biden and he has disappointed me bitterly. What credibility will we have with any Allies. I feel for the brave people of Afghanistan who wanted a better life especially for the women and girls. Their troops let them down, their president and now us. My office manager’s husband was a US soldier in Afghanistan and went back there as a contractor. He is devastated by what’s happening. So am I.

        • KapteinB
          Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
          2 years ago

          What credibility will we have with any Allies.

          There wasn't much left to lose after Trump. NATO allies have learned that every four years can bring a complete reversal of whom the US administration considers allies and enemies, and the Kurds were abandoned for a second time.

          • SEnkey2 years ago

            What is killing me are folks make realpolitic arguments, like 'what else are we going to do it sucks but had to be done' etc. But the realpolitic answer is to keep a strategic base near the long term threats of Iran/China/Russia. Afghanistan is that strategic point.

            We could've left the air support, we could've left a battalion of 2k and held the country. Now begin the terrors, the purges, the forced marriages and mass rapes, all for what? It's very disheartening, I'm really sad for our Afghan friends, and really ashamed of us.

    • KapteinB
      Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
      2 years ago

      In hindsight, maybe September 11th wasn't the best choice of date for leaving the country. There's some pretty heavy symbolism connected with that date. 2001.09.11 was the date of the terrorist attack that caused the war, and 2021.09.11 is the date the USA accepts defeat and leaves the country in the control of the enemy they've been fighting for 20 years. If I was a Taliban leader, I'd make September 11th a national holiday; I'd name it "Independence Day" to really rub it in.

      Wait, hang on, that date is still three weeks away! How are the Taliban capturing Kabul already, while there are still US troops in the country?

      This withdrawal does seem like a mess. Fox News is going to use this for all it's worth, and I won't be surprised if this helps the Republicans take solid control of both chambers in the midterms. They're going to make this Biden's Benghazi.

      • Karenz2 years ago

        Exactly. This takes me back to the Vietnam War. Apparently we’ve been abandoning countries we were there to “ help” for most of our history. Before Vietnam, I innocently had thought we were the good guys.

    • Pegeen
      Top reader this weekReading streakScoutScribe
      2 years ago

      Horrifying and heartbreaking.