@Iftikhar many thanks for taking the time to reply to me. It is so easy here in the west to become insular and your country rarely gets mentioned in our media unless there has been a natural disaster. I am sorry to hear about the political situation. I do hope that in time it will improve… 
I am going to make a point of reading up on the recent history of Bangladesh to understand better what is going on.
@Rambler
My mum’s cousin worked 25 years as a lecturer in Chemistry in the northern regions of Swat. It is known as Switzerland of the east.
When the Taliban came, they threatened to burn down the College she taught in. She left the beautiful home she made there. They told her and her husband leave otherwise they guarantee their security. They ended up leaving their house reluctantly.
My heart goes out to the next generation of Afghans and the women who worked so hard to get their civil rights and work in the rural areas with their mobile libraries and healthcare clinics.
There is no hope for this nation💔
Kabul today
The government has surrendered, Taliban moving into the city center today. Some parts with foreigners they won’t touch until the US is out. What was called an Afghan president, has escaped, reported to now be in Tajikistan.
It is time to congratulate Pakistan, they did did it ! So congrats to the Pakistanis and their Geopolitical strategy, they managed to win in the end since no one actually opposed them much and went pussy footing around with them pretending as if they were some how allied (US airstrikes went ridiculously through Pakistani air space, hitting Pakistani controlled allies next door, lol). A Taliban victory would have been impossible without Pakistan, so well fucking done to Pakistan that now gets an allied heinous regime from hell at their doorstep, which is what they have longed for and wanted for so many, many years.
I am pissed off, been watching this slow moving train wreck for years and the last few months have been awful to watch.
From today, we should call Afghanistan the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. An Al Qaida allied wahhabist state that will spawn various armed jihads for decades to come.
@Magnus
Taliban won’t stop at the Khyber pass. They aid the Pakistani Taliban. Then, Pakistan will uuderstand, when it effects their territory especially the Khyber Pakhtunkwa province and northern areas.
Previous USA and UK govts over the years have alot to answer for, it is not just Pakistan to blame. They created their foreign policy for Afghanistan.
Yes I wonder how this will go down in history. One thing for sure it will be far from the truth.
It’s not a theatre I am well versed in so am reading around it now. How a group of right wing students, zealots took over a beautiful country.
It’s part of the Pakistani strategy, they do understand all of this very well, they are not stupid. In every Talibani Shura meeting there are 2 representatives from Pakistani military intelligence and this has been the case for years and years. It is their geopolitical victory and viewed as important in their strategy against India. The Pakistani Taliban exists because it is in the interest of ISI, much like Putin has Kadyrov, Pakistan has the Taliban. Imperfect pawns that sometimes cause trouble (Kadyrov is certainly seen as an acceptable evil from the pov of the Kreml), but still pawns and most definitely allies. You may be right, this may indeed backfire at Pakistan, but that doesn’t take anything away from the fact that this has been the Pakistani strategy for decades and it is bloody time to put the majority of the blame at their feet !
Obviously a lot (as in a lot) of blame should be put at the feet of Washington (Uk does really take many strategic decisions regarding Afghanistan, it implements American decisions). Nation building experiment was a catastrophical failure and US generals lied to the politicians about the solidity of the Afghan army for years and years.
But none of the bit about the US and the UK, NATO in general, takes away from the fact that this could have been different had NATO tackled Pakistan many years ago with actual intense political pressure. But it was difficult, so it was not done and head in the sand prevailed.
If someone wants to actually understand this, then they will have to read a lot, certainly for hours, because it takes hours to scroll through months and years of information using these select sources and others:
https://twitter.com/bsarwary
https://twitter.com/billroggio
https://twitter.com/thomasjoscelyn
https://twitter.com/RisboLensky
The track record of these sources have been almost impeccable. But it will take probably a lot of time for someone new to these sources, to filter through all of this and get a good overview that is better than that of a correspondent for BBC, CNN and etc.
From what I can gather it’s far from tribal anymore and since a very long time now.
I like how Biden and his lackeys are stressing how the whole situation is not like the fall of Saigon when in fact it’s probably going to be worse. The Taliban was the Islamic State before the Islamic State. I hope this bites Biden in the arse, he deserves it.
You forgot the murder of atheists and non Muslim minorities.
Considering what the implications are, do you genuinely hope so?
Absolutely. Every politician who talks and acts shit should get brickbats no matter which side of the spectrum.
Imagine all the women in Afhganistan who grew up free over the last 20 years, attended college, had dreams. That’s all going away now. All the interpreters, soldiers, helpers who worked with the Americans. They and their families are utterly f*cked.
Biden says well dont blame me, blame Trump who initiated the withdrawal. Well Biden overturned a lot of Trumps stuff immediately after entering office, so why not this?
That’s not what I’m saying though. Biting him in the arse implies that something really bad will occur to some people that will cost him politically. That’s what I’m taking issue with, do you really wish harm on people just so he will suffer politically?
I do think it’s a lot more nuanced than that however, given that it’s been a never-ending quagmire for quite a few different forces. The Taliban were already making significant gains before the withdrawal, and it’s not like the Afghan government was making very good progress in actually building a state, were they?
What? America unilaterally decided to invade Afghanistan simply because it could. It cant later throw its hands up and say why doesnt anyone else step up. You either throw your weight around or build consensus you cant have both as and when you want them.
And where have I said I want trump back. But I dont want Biden and his Democrats to get a free pass for this disaster either. I’m old enough to have been around for the Talibans first avatar and I can tell you that this will have far reaching and terrible consquences not just for Afghans but for the West as well. The successor to the IS already exists in Khorasan and now they’ll just have a base to grow on.
Educated, independent women and economic opportunities works wonders world over. Before the American drawdown things were messy but there was a status quo. Things would have taken time but improved to a new normal eventually. These things take time. Even events like Arab Spring don’t suddenly improve the world.
I blame the media especially in the West. The constant chastisement of American foreign policy has led to this. America is often psychopathic and cynical but a unipolar world with America leading is far better than a multipolar world or god forbid an amoral regime like China leading. It was called Pax Americana for a reason.
I think the only “solution” is a complete rethink of what the limits of military intervention can do.
Because there is no credible argument to our ability to do anything about the situation without a significant escalation of US forces and reengaging in war. There is no appetite for this, nor is the a political mandate to it with the current thinking of what the original AUMF covered. We were not there to fight the taliban per se, but to root out Al Queda. Reengaging them militarily just for taking back their own land from the supposed government is not remotely covered by that.
And what do you define as better?
So America isn’t amoral? 
That’s news to me.
Like call me simple but isn’t the UN meant to step in for situations like this (before the US pulled out ideally)?
Seems to be the Taliban must have had some help with this. Wonder who is backing them from the shadows?
Another good reason to absolutely despise these disgusting Middle East oil sheiks.
