Not a single plane has left Kabul in 8 hours

I saw something earlier about the Taliban stopping something but I was doing something else so didn’t give it 100% attention - maybe that was it.

New born babies, elderly folk, tiny children in boiling hot sun with no lavatory, water food etc. People are going to die, just waiting.

It is truly dreadful.

I’ll leave this to stand although it did eventually show up on another thread.

This site really is crappy.

Welshwife

I saw something earlier about the Taliban stopping something but I was doing something else so didn’t give it 100% attention - maybe that was it.

CNN are reporting that the Taliban are now blocking all access to the airport.

GrannyGravy
I’ve just read the interview with the Norwegian wife of the Royal Marine.
She said the plane waited for 4 hrs but people couldn’t get through.

Whitewavemark2

New born babies, elderly folk, tiny children in boiling hot sun with no lavatory, water food etc. People are going to die, just waiting.

It is truly dreadful.

I agree a truly horrific situation, made worse by Covid. I can’t help wonder how it must be spreading amongst people who already have a nightmare to contend with. So sad.

MerylStreep

GrannyGravy
I’ve just read the interview with the Norwegian wife of the Royal Marine.
She said the plane waited for 4 hrs but people couldn’t get through.

Yes it’s tragic.

The international community needs to call out the Taliban whose spokesmen say one thing while their fanatical foot-soldiers do another.

The main difference between the Taliban of today and the monsters of twenty years ago is that today's Taliban have much better PR advice.

The next time there is a carefully orchestrated public information event, serious questions must be asked and the Taliban leaders should be called to account.

Apparently there are 15.000 American civilians still left in Kabul + 85.000 vulnerable Afghans, all these people are now hostages to fortune courtesy of the Taliban . Any bombing of military equipment will probably mean death for these poor souls, so that's that idea out of the window. American policy is very difficult to understand and that's a fact, no wonder NATO is wringing its hands!

And now Qatar has stopped all evacuation flights from landing so another hub airport needs to be found.

Called to account? By whom? China and Russia are cosying up to them, the leader of the free world is mentally incapacitated the rest of us are too weak to utter a squeak, so why on earth would they care or take any notice of what we in the West think? We shall have to go cap in hand to them and their new friends for all the lithium and so on we shall be needing for our greener (?!) world so on the back foot yet again.

It isn't new re Russia or China

That’s just what they need Varian a good talking to.
And if they don’t listen: what do you suggest we threaten them with, sanctions. That should work, not!!!
They’re in bed with the Chinese. I don’t think they’re going to go without anything, do you?

Thank you for yet another disaster Donald Trump!!!

Trump (who has never had the first idea about how to do a deal) met with the Taliban, but not with the Afghan government or any NATO allies and made umpteen concessions early last year.

Obviously President Biden did not need to follow the path Trump set down when he made so many concessions to the Taliban, he was able to take a different path but did not chose to do so.

Biden has now gone down in my estimation and I think I am not alone in that.

My source for Qatar denying evacuation flights landing is CNN

They aren’t denying evacuation flights.

They are full

Germany has now said to fly there.

Just waiting for the U.K. to offer.

I see Johnson says things are getting better......I have just watched the news and seen dreadful footage and heard what the reporters in the ground say. Johnson, I don't think so

Oh no,you can't just blame Trump. His deal had several caveats, none of which Biden carried through. Only Biden established the military leaving first, civilians later and weaponry left behind. Biden left without informing his NATO allies, none of this can be attributed to Trump.

westendgirl

I see Johnson says things are getting better......I have just watched the news and seen dreadful footage and heard what the reporters in the ground say. Johnson, I don't think so

??? I had to grin when I listened to him.

He is such an idiot.

I had just finished watching CNN and footage of the chaos being told that no flights had left for 8 hours.

Then idiot came on and announced that things have improved today and that 1000 people have been evacuated to the U.K.

Hope footage of this plane is shown when it lands.

Not as much of an idiot as the President of the free world that's for sure.

The pictures of the frightened and crying children are just heartbreaking. The frightened people are desperate. The soldiers are having to turn away numerous desperate and panicking people; it is clear from watching a lone soldier shouting No continuously and forcing a gate shut against a desperate woman, that things are still close to bubbling over into complete loss of control of a desperate crowd. Heartbreaking!

Watching Biden

Not a lot he is saying seems to fit with what I’ve been watching today on footage direct from Afghanistan.

Neither did the NATO bod seem to agree with what Biden is saying.

Maybe the president of Afghan people could return the cash he took. To be distributed to Afghan people. And flights leaving with people on board, with paperwork to be sorted on board. Sort it out when plane lands. Quicker exit for those kids and babies.

The big issue I think is that both leaders - Biden and Johnson dont seem to be able to match rhetoric with footage that the world is seeing.