To want to weep fir the girls in afghanistaan

As an aside I’m puzzled why the US left a country ( where they had a big presence) which has possibly the largest lithium deposits in the world.
As we know we are all expected to drive electric cars in the future. And what does an electric car need: a battery, and what does a battery need: lithium.
Back in 2010 the US called Afghanistan the Saudi Arabia of lithium.
China have just bought the rights to the second largest copper mine in the world.
Looking forward to our ‘green future’ it looks like the Chinese will have the world well and truly by the balls.

Biden is asking the American people to pray for Afghanistan. What good will that do?

And he says there is no criticism of America from other countries. I still think Trump is behind some of this but I had high hopes for Biden and I’m bitterly disappointed.

Oh and it’s ‘almost’ as important to get non American people ( interpreters etc) out of Afghanistan.

MerylStreep My husband and I both said that straight away. We can not understand it at all? Are we watching something unfolding? Is this not the end of our involvement? It makes no sense at all!

MayBee70

And he says there is no criticism of America from other countries. I still think Trump is behind some of this but I had high hopes for Biden and I’m bitterly disappointed.

I agree.

MayBee70

Biden is asking the American people to pray for Afghanistan. What good will that do?

Quite a lot of America believe it will and Biden has a strong faith I understand.

I have absolutely no problem with people having faith, but those needing to be evacuated from Kabul need more than President Biden’s prayers.

Doubtless GrannyGravy, but it would be a little to much like the Taliban to deny Americans their faiths.

I’m not averse to praying to whichever God will listen to me. I will probably go into our church and light a candle for the Afghan people. Maybe that makes me two faced but I do believe in karma and the collective will of people’s. But I’d feel very uncomfortable about asking people to pray for a situation that I had been partly responsible for. I still think Trump is far more responsible for this than many people realise eg what did he ‘negotiate’ with the Taliban. I understand that many of them were released from prison during his presidency. What other countries are involved? Russia? China? What a mess, though. What a horrible horrible mess.

I am an atheist and even I have contemplated praying this week. What a mess. Biden is deluded. I cannot compare a worse end to a war than this withdrawal? Maybe Palestine/Israel? But not this which in my opinion everybody was looking elsewhere.
Why did nobody know that the Taliban had pulled together such a force. I keep hearing "everyone was taken by surprise by the speed of it." I will never understand why.

I can’t believe sone of the comments on here. Just cannot bring themselves to apportion blame where it belongs - Biden.

Trump started the withdrawal with strict conditions attached to his ‘deal’ with the Taliban. Biden (an absolute disaster of a president) could have cancelled the withdrawal or stuck to the conditions but didn’t. He’s been proved a liar several times over the past week alone. I dread to think where this is all leading.

I think if Biden had cancelled the withdrawal it would have been a call to arms for the Trump supporters. And it was Trump who released from prison the man who now has control of the country. I’m not saying Biden is blameless in all this: far from it, but there’s more to this than meets the eye.

MayBee70

And he says there is no criticism of America from other countries. I still think Trump is behind some of this but I had high hopes for Biden and I’m bitterly disappointed.

Clearly has fingers in his ears, trilling la la la...What a complete disgrace this is. Biden has lost credibility around the world. He's a more cultivated version of Trump, it seems. America First. Dreadful!

tickingbird

I can’t believe sone of the comments on here. Just cannot bring themselves to apportion blame where it belongs - Biden.

Trump started the withdrawal with strict conditions attached to his ‘deal’ with the Taliban. Biden (an absolute disaster of a president) could have cancelled the withdrawal or stuck to the conditions but didn’t. He’s been proved a liar several times over the past week alone. I dread to think where this is all leading.

I don't think anyone is excusing Biden here. It's been a disaster. But saying it's only his fault, not Trump's, because he didn't cancel Trump's deal, is quite possibly the best bit of "Trump excusing" I've ever seen

Trump is not the President though, Biden is, and he had the power to overturn or at least stick with the ‘deal’. No I couldn’t stand even looking at Trump. All down to Biden, and the way he walked off after his speech, not answering questions, wonder why that was?

The point being I think is that Biden is right to end the USA and allies acting as colonising military, but it is the WAY it is being done is the issue.

Of course the biggest problem Biden was been presented with is the fact that TRUMP negotiated ONLY WITH THE TALIBAN thus indicating that he expected them to be the main players in Afghanistan after the soldiers had left.
The Taliban had the wind behind them and the confidence that they were not going to be prevented by the allies.

It would be incredibly difficult - as is evidenced - for anyone to prevent what is the heir apparent crowned by Trump.

MawBe

Absolutely heartbreaking and it's only an accident of birth that we, our daughters and granddaughters ate not in this nightmare.
How about if every gran on GN donated to eg Save The Children or one of the charities specifically set up to help girls and women in these countries?

No thanks, have my own charities.
www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/05/save-the-children-let-down-staff-and-public-over-sexual-misconduct-claims?back=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fclient%3Dsafari%26as_qdr%3Dall%26as_occt%3Dany%26safe%3Dactive%26as_q%3DHow+to+save+the+children+been+involved+in+any+wrongdoing%26channel%3Daplab%26source%3Da-app1%26hl%3Den

Lincslass

Trump is not the President though, Biden is, and he had the power to overturn or at least stick with the ‘deal’. No I couldn’t stand even looking at Trump. All down to Biden, and the way he walked off after his speech, not answering questions, wonder why that was?

You mean like Cameron used to do?

Lincslass

Trump is not the President though, Biden is, and he had the power to overturn or at least stick with the ‘deal’. No I couldn’t stand even looking at Trump. All down to Biden, and the way he walked off after his speech, not answering questions, wonder why that was?

Okay, so you are a Trump supporter. God know why you want to support the leader of an attempted coup in a democracy, but you do. However, this takes away any sense of truth from your posts. Haven't you realised that.

I cannot do better than to quote this which was on another thread:

Trump released this evil on us; more importantly, he released it on the people of Afghanistan. What was in his addled brain when he did it I've no idea. Biden has handled it appallingly, but what a poisoned chalice he was given...

Weak arguments like the one LincsLass posted only cut the mustard with those who want to believe that this man, who would have inflicted a coup on his country if he could, is something akin to the second coming.

Logic and truth are worth a lot and support democracy. Trump and his cohorts want to destroy it.

I don't think Lincslass is a Trump supporter.

I accept that Lincslass is not a Trump supporter on her word.,
"No I couldn't stand even looking at Trump.".
Maybe PippaZ you could track Lincslass down - I believe she lives in Lincolnshire and stick pins up her fingernails until she confesses to being a supporter of Trump.

I blame Biden for this too as he is in The White House now. And he was in there with Obama when Bin Laden was murdered. I like Lincslass say I am not a Trump supporter. They have all left a trail of unfinished business. The usual US mess they leave behind. But Biden isn't some wet around the ears new kid on the block he has been part of this.

And Blair's silence is deafening.
G W Bush said in July it was wrong to pull out now and heartbreaking to think what would happen to the girls and women. God knows what he thinks now. At least he put his head above the parapet and stood by his actions.

I agree with Lincslass Trump is not the President now Biden is, he's in charge he has the power to do what ever he wants. Carry on with Trump's plan for an orderly withdrawal, or overturn the withdrawal plan completely. He could have made the Afghans who worked for the US top priority and got them to safety first. He could have kept a strong US army presence there to keep law and order. The blame lies squarely on Biden's shoulders.

He could have kept a strong US army presence there to keep law and order.

No, he couldn't.
Allied forces have been there in a training and advisory capacity for the last seven years.
The Taliban had stated that any troops still there after the date agreed in the Doha Agreement would be treated as an occupying force.

Trump seemed to have no clue what he was agreeing to because he did not understand Afghanistan.

There has, however, been time for an orderly withdrawal and not the dreadful scenes we are seeing.

President Biden will have blood on his hands, the situation in Afghanistan is his mistake and his responsibility.

He has been in US Government for over forty years whether in opposition or the administration of the day, he should have know better, he should have listened to his advisors.

President Trumps agreement was in hindsight not fit for purpose.

Afghanistan will become a training ground for Jihadi / Daesh freedom fighters/terrorists The whole of the western world could be living under high alert for the foreseeable future.

The women and girls of Afghanistan will be house slaves, or worse.