U.S. Military Withdraws From Bagram Air Base as Afghanistan Drawdown Continues

Check out the new docuseries, “Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror” on Netflix. It is an expansive and detailed historical study about HOW & WHY we got to 9/11, with an almost complete history of WHEN & WHY Afghanistan became a focal point for the American government and the American people. This 5 episode series explains so much and in such detail, afterwards you’ll know EXACTLY WHY we left Afghanistan, and WHY we should have left much sooner than August of 2021! It’s ALL there. And it’s ALL the TRUTH! The main idea I got out of it is this: Never go to war without a clear exit strategy that leaves the invaded country better than you found it. NOT doing so will be catastrophic!

Afghanistan "Translators" Abandoned? It strikes me as odd that we are getting reports that 1. Some seven hundred Afghanistanis have been grant visas, but 2. There are more Afghanistanis who are awaiting vetting. How many Afghanistanis provided help so vital as to merit such help? With those kinds of numbers, I’m doubting that their “evacuation” was unplanned. I think the more important aides have been taken care of. But, hey, what do I know? I'd probably want to leave the country too. Biden Defends Afghan Pullout, Sets Evacuation for Interpreters - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghan-translators-will-await-admission-to-u-s-in-other-countries-officials-say-11625757547 Pentagon to House Afghan Interpreters at Military Bases in U.S., Qatar - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/articles/pentagon-to-house-afghan-interpreters-at-virginia-military-base-11626719470

We should have had a plan in place to evacuate or have been evacuating Afghani interpreters, and other personnel that helped with the effort prior to our announcement of leaving. Why the afterthought? We cannot keep doing this to those that risk their and their family’s lives to help us.

This will be a disaster for the women, children, and college educated afghans who’ve grown up under our protection. Anyone who believes this regime will survive our withdrawal is an idiot.

It good that our troops are comming home, but this country needs to make sure the Afghan interpreters get out of harms way in their country. The US needs to move them out of harms way while their papers are being looked at.

Should have happened a decade ago, but I'll take it.

First off, withdrawing from Afghanistan is long overdue. However, the rapidity of our exit is troubling in light of leaving the people who helped behind. The Guam option seems like a perfect solution. It is too important to future situations that we absolutely take care of our friends.

Sad all around mission not completed .. to many politicians have a say. .. that don’t know squirt lol

It is about time!

The USA is finally getting out of Afghanistan. Now let’s start holding the DoD and the Pentagon responsible for program costs. Y’all always scream about money, deficits, big government well, now’s your time to do something about it. 1) no more boondoggle F35 programs 2) close & cleanup unnecessary bases 3) stop with the military needs straight men and women or you take their place. Simple as 1,2,3 even for the Texas Three Stooges. Now git it done.

The last time we left, ISIS rose up. But we need an expiration date on these conflicts. If bringing our troops hon means they’ll die here rather than there, I’d rather leave the fight off our soil. I don’t think this is a simple matter.

While I support withdrawal of American troops this should have been handled better , very disrespectful .

We’ve been there far too long.

I think it’s a little too fast. It should have happened a very long time ago. We should not have been there at all. But a quick withdrawal is screwing our allies and handing our facilities over to our enemies. Are our promises being kept? Our word is meaningless.

Safer in Afghanistan than Chicago.

Mi$$ion Accomplished! Around the initial build-up of forces in Afghanistan, I recall listening to a Pacifica Radio station talk show relating the connection between the US' presence and the construction of a major oil pipeline. It made more sense than the appearance of a vaguely targeted bloody vengeance that was turning parts of Afghanistan into rubble. The caller further alleged that some of the bombings were to rough cut the pipeline. I did not follow up on this allegation until today. Well, about 17 years later, construction finally began. Does this mean those allegations have been validated? I don't know. "In 2018, Afghanistan broke ground on the 1,127-mile-long Afghanistan oil pipeline that will connect the state of Punjab in northern India with the Galkynysh gas field in the desert in eastern Turkmenistan. Once energy starts to flow, the country of Afghanistan expects about $400 million a year in transit fees, partly offsetting some of the international aid that now props up the government. "The United States is backing the pipeline, which will carry 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year, passing through five southern Afghan provinces — Herat, Farah, Nimruz, Helmand and Kandahar — that have been Taliban strongholds, and a major security concern. However, both the Taliban and Pakistan, a country believed to hold sway over the insurgent group, have pledged support. "At an estimated cost of US$10 billion, an Isle of Man-based holding company will oversee the project with Turkmengaz, a Turkmenistan state company. Turkmenistan officials have also said that they have received loans from Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank. The pipeline is expected to be completed by 2020." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan_Oil_Pipeline? So, one way or another we're "done" … for now. As always, follow the money.

I ABSOLUTELY SUPPORT OUR WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN. AMERICA NEEDS TO START TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME. HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO PROTECT OTHER COUNTRIES NOW? SINCE JANUARY 6, 2021, AMERICA HAS BEEN IN A FIGHT TO HOLD ON TO OUR DEMOCRACY.

This isn’t our fight and never has been. Get the boys back home. I don’t care if it’s Biden or Obama or Trump. Just get em home

We'll see about the outcome but we've been there forever for no reason, so the president of Afghanistan told America he could give them uh Osama Bin Laden but America said f that, you got him there- your harboring a fugitive, we at war with you! A disgusting truth like racist police being kept a very dark past. Time for the rich to be kicked to the curb as our leaders! Put them in jail with their death cult! Put the cops under the lie detector test and fire all corrupt cops who aren't evil pricks! Psychos do well as cops gratifying their urge to kill and maim! The rich own 6 of 9 supreme court and it's extremely psychotic working for the rich and no heir schemes of the devil! Get rid of them or else!

In my opinion, the decision to get into Afghanistan was not well-considered. Of course, not having been part of the process, I can’t be sure. Nonetheless, maybe we didn’t look at the whys and wherefores of Russia’s exit with their tail between its legs after decades of occupying Afghanistan. I also wonder if a full-on invasion was necessary to punish the Taliban and warn others about the attack on our soil on 8/11. After all, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld touted our capabilities to carry out long distance, surgical, and aerial strikes which meant we didn’t need an overwhelming boots-on-the-ground force. Couldn’t we have inflicted sufficient damage on the Taliban and sent special forces teams in stealth to focus specifically on elusive leaders without a war? Beyond the initial decision to conduct war, Petraeus’ leaderships’ rules of engagement shift from protect your life and the lives of your brothers- and sisters-in-arms to winning hearts and minds. The only problem with that is human nature - it takes generations to change a perceived enemy into a perceived non-threat or a friend. Building schools and other infrastructure is only a start for that process. Last, did we not consider that those born and raised in Afghanistan, after centuries of war, understood how to use cultural imperatives, climate and terrain to their advantage in carrying out and sheltering from attacks? Or, was our leadership so uneducated in military history and strategy, so arrogant to believe that those inhabitants of a country seen as “third world” or “backward” were too stupid to defeat us? Regardless of the quality of the decision, I think we and those who stood with us have paid enough in blood, lives, and treasure. I think the people of Afghanistan who just want to live their lives peacefully have, too. Although my heart aches for those who endured so much in the name of our country in the conduct of this war only for this outcome, I do support the withdrawal. I hope there is an influence to the benefit of the people of Afghanistan that is moving, unseen, in the background.