This afternoon, President Joe Biden explained to the nation why he ended the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, the longest war in American history. He reminded Americans that the purpose of the attack on Afghanistan in 2001 was to destroy the ability of the Taliban to protect al-Qaeda and to capture or kill the terrorists who had attacked America on September 11, 2001. American bombing immediately weakened the Taliban, and when U.S. troops killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, we met those goals.
I need to think and collect my thoughts. The war in Afghanistan has taken a terrible toll on Afghan citizens, US Americans, and allies. There are loose ends which will result in additional lives being lost.
It is, first and foremost, time for every US American to understand that being a US American citizen is not a gift but something that takes dedication and commitment. That commitment includes not diminishing the intrinsic worth of another human being no matter where they live, the color of their skin or the god they believe in. Those of us who have sprung from immigrants, today or centuries ago, need to stop, take a breath and consider the fate of those Afghans (and others) who are desperate to land on US soil and live a "good life" - one where they and their children can learn and grow unencumbered by the politics of submission and hate.
There is no real difference between the far right, the evangelical right and the Taliban. They all are about curbing human and civil rights. We, in the US, have allowed bigotry and hate to percolate just below the surface for decades. When Trump became president he unleashed an unfathomable amount of hate and rage which infected millions around the country. We still, today, live with Trump's influence and stain.
My 67 years on this planet have been extraordinary in so many ways. I have been blessed. Even when I've struggled, I've believed in a better tomorrow and carried on. I no longer believe in a better tomorrow even as I advocate for one today. My thoughts are with those who have personally felt terror and loss as a result of the war in Afghanistan and subsequent withdrawal. May they find peace and comfort.
Joe Biden, the wise sage, the one adult, working steady and earnestly to clean up the damage that greedy, selfish, juvenile delinquents have left in their wake. Observing the extreme competence of the face of his administration, Jen Psaki, also encourages hope that Biden & staff are capable of succeeding against the formidable odds. Thank you Heather your daily very generous gifts. 🙏
20 years ago another refugee airlift forever changed the trajectory of my life and my mindset. That was when 3,800 "Lost Boys of Sudan" came to the U.S.; approximately 300 to the Boston area. They were unaccompanied, older teenage boys who, when very young, literally escaped death and destruction of their villages.
So many stories of heartbreak, joy, struggles, successes, resiliency. My involvement literally began by collecting winter clothing, making meals, then forming a nonprofit to help with education, housing, and providing guidance and support (i.e. parenting!) to help adjust to a new world. These young men (now with their wives and children) are among the loves of my life - they are family. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to become involved with refugees to seize the moment. You will see a "better tomorrow" through their eyes!
There is now much written about "The Lost Boys". These links give a quick overview.
It's important to keep in mind that the right-wingers and regressives are the minority! Part of their tough talk is based on a desperate push to keep everybody convinced they have the upper hand.
That isn't entirely true. Their ranks are shrinking.
Biden shifting the focus of our government to start serving the needs of the populace undermines the arguments of the regressives more effectively than any tough talk ever could. That is no accident! As time passes and people's lives are improved, the yapping of the regressives will become increasingly irrelevant and the regressives know it. Time is not on their side.
I find it interesting that Russia who was a destabilizer of Afghanistan before we were and faced with that instability on their own border is calling for the US to unfreeze the money that may be the only thing to help keep the Taliban in a compromising frame of mind. Russia of course does such a poor job for it's own people that it can not even hope to influence Afghanistan without someone else paying the bill.
A bunch of grumpy rich old white men are being faced with the changing of the world and they hate it and so keep trying to stop the world from moving on without them. They do not have the powers of superman where they can make the world spin backwards and time is their kryptonite.
I wonder do McCarthy, Greene, Jordan, etc, etc hear the footsteps of justice coming down the hall for them? "... ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee" (John Dunne). Kudos to Rep. Lieu for reminding the traitors of the law.
Biden has just acknowledged that the world's conflict is centered and fueled by money. Just suppress it and the fuel and fire are gone. Just like removing oxygen from a fire.
Some years ago I wrote about Vietnam as a Greek tragedy. Successive American presidents were desperate to avoid the back lash from ‘losing a war.’ Ike was rather modest in accepting the transfer of the Vietnam ‘hot rock’ from the French. JFK escalated our involvement with troops and authorized a military coup in which Diem, our once-favored Catholic president, was killed. I do not believe thatJFK would have pulled us out of Vietnam in a second term. LBJ was a Texan who thought he could overwhelm Ho Chi Minh. LBJ’s cabal of yippe cowboys including General Westmoreland, Walt Rostow, and Defense Secretary NcNamara (before he had a change of heart). Nixon sought to leave ‘with honor’ and, in reshuffling the deck, cost another 20,000 American dead and perhaps another million dead Vietnam before an ‘honorable surrender’ in 1973. It took another two years before a final hasty evacuation.
The music was somewhat different with the Afghan ‘dance of the storks.’ We entered to capture bin Laden and his al Qaeda buddies. Missed them, but remained pissed with the Taliban. A gradual build up oozed into a major military and financial commitment to ‘nation build.’ Obama came in after the Bush/Cheney, Rumsfeld ‘slap the leather’ cabal. In 2011 Obama seemed to explore seriously our withdrawal from Afghanistan, but this probably was only political window dressing [VP Biden was in the ‘let’s leave’ minority]. Ultimately Obama approved a military-recommended troop surge.
Trump never had a rationale policy on Afghanistan. At one time he expressed an intention to pull us out entirely. In February, 2020 he approved a long-term ‘surrender’ to the Taliban and, while president, declared a total troop withdrawal in May, 2021 (oophs, lost the election).
PRESIDENT BIDEN BIT THE BULLET AND SET AN AUGUST 31ST DATE FOR OUR TOTAL WITHDRAWAL. THIS, IN MY OPINION, WAS THE APPROPRIATE DECISION AND I GREATLY ADMIRED HIS GUTS FOR BEING PRESIDENTIAL.
There will be Monday morning quarterbacks second guessing what President did and how he did it. I do not believe that his decision to end our 20 year fool’s errand in Afghanistan will be a significant political liability for him six months hence. Meanwhile we and others will be engaged in the vexing task of facilitating new lives for over 100,000 Afghan refugees.
"“I don’t think enough people understand how much we have asked of the 1 percent of this country who put that uniform on, who are willing to put their lives on the line in defense of our nation,” Biden said today."
Another good idea. Have the 1%ers fight the wars. We'd have peace forever.
Roe vs. Wade died today -- at least in Texas. Texas passed an abortion bill that no woman (not many men need them) could have an abortion if the fetus was six weeks old or older. Most women don't even know they are pregnant yet at six weeks. Here's how the Texas Tribune sees it: Beyond outlawing abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, the Texas law, signed in May, would deputize citizens to file civil suits against abortion providers or anyone who helps facilitate the procedure after six weeks, such as a person who drives a pregnant person to the clinic. Individuals found to have violated the law would have to pay $10,000 to the person who successfully brings such a suit — a bounty abortion rights advocates warn will encourage harassment, intimidation and vigilantism. ... SCOTUS ignored the motion for an emergency stay letting the law go into effect at midnight. Bounty hunters!! It is aimed at also shutting down women's clinics. If you're a women in Texas you may feel you'd be better off with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Abortion is a religious construct. It's murder if you believe the soul enters the womb at conception or not murder if the soul enters the body at birth. And, what about the religions that believe in reincarnation. I like what Barbara Bush said about abortion -- that God would take a that soul no matter what. Can't stand the people that say they are Pro Life before birth and won't do anything for that life after birth. The anti-maskers have even stolen the Pro Choice slogan. -- My Body, My Choice!
Long, involved LFAA with lots to unpack. What I notice now is that there seem to be some trolls now popping over here. Please, folks, don't engage with them. Just let their words lie dead and don't breathe life into them.
"Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said, 'These telecommunication companies, if they go along with this, they will be shut down. That’s a promise.'"
Another insight into the radical rights plan for the future of the US. No communications network. I've read dystopian future novels that are less harsh.
I need to think and collect my thoughts. The war in Afghanistan has taken a terrible toll on Afghan citizens, US Americans, and allies. There are loose ends which will result in additional lives being lost.
It is, first and foremost, time for every US American to understand that being a US American citizen is not a gift but something that takes dedication and commitment. That commitment includes not diminishing the intrinsic worth of another human being no matter where they live, the color of their skin or the god they believe in. Those of us who have sprung from immigrants, today or centuries ago, need to stop, take a breath and consider the fate of those Afghans (and others) who are desperate to land on US soil and live a "good life" - one where they and their children can learn and grow unencumbered by the politics of submission and hate.
There is no real difference between the far right, the evangelical right and the Taliban. They all are about curbing human and civil rights. We, in the US, have allowed bigotry and hate to percolate just below the surface for decades. When Trump became president he unleashed an unfathomable amount of hate and rage which infected millions around the country. We still, today, live with Trump's influence and stain.
My 67 years on this planet have been extraordinary in so many ways. I have been blessed. Even when I've struggled, I've believed in a better tomorrow and carried on. I no longer believe in a better tomorrow even as I advocate for one today. My thoughts are with those who have personally felt terror and loss as a result of the war in Afghanistan and subsequent withdrawal. May they find peace and comfort.
Joe Biden, the wise sage, the one adult, working steady and earnestly to clean up the damage that greedy, selfish, juvenile delinquents have left in their wake. Observing the extreme competence of the face of his administration, Jen Psaki, also encourages hope that Biden & staff are capable of succeeding against the formidable odds. Thank you Heather your daily very generous gifts. 🙏
20 years ago another refugee airlift forever changed the trajectory of my life and my mindset. That was when 3,800 "Lost Boys of Sudan" came to the U.S.; approximately 300 to the Boston area. They were unaccompanied, older teenage boys who, when very young, literally escaped death and destruction of their villages.
So many stories of heartbreak, joy, struggles, successes, resiliency. My involvement literally began by collecting winter clothing, making meals, then forming a nonprofit to help with education, housing, and providing guidance and support (i.e. parenting!) to help adjust to a new world. These young men (now with their wives and children) are among the loves of my life - they are family. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to become involved with refugees to seize the moment. You will see a "better tomorrow" through their eyes!
There is now much written about "The Lost Boys". These links give a quick overview.
https://www.rescue.org/article/lost-boys-sudan
The 2014 film "The Good Lie" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2652092/
It's important to keep in mind that the right-wingers and regressives are the minority! Part of their tough talk is based on a desperate push to keep everybody convinced they have the upper hand.
That isn't entirely true. Their ranks are shrinking.
Biden shifting the focus of our government to start serving the needs of the populace undermines the arguments of the regressives more effectively than any tough talk ever could. That is no accident! As time passes and people's lives are improved, the yapping of the regressives will become increasingly irrelevant and the regressives know it. Time is not on their side.
Native Americans would probably disagree that Afghanistan was the longest war in US history.
I find it interesting that Russia who was a destabilizer of Afghanistan before we were and faced with that instability on their own border is calling for the US to unfreeze the money that may be the only thing to help keep the Taliban in a compromising frame of mind. Russia of course does such a poor job for it's own people that it can not even hope to influence Afghanistan without someone else paying the bill.
A bunch of grumpy rich old white men are being faced with the changing of the world and they hate it and so keep trying to stop the world from moving on without them. They do not have the powers of superman where they can make the world spin backwards and time is their kryptonite.
I wonder do McCarthy, Greene, Jordan, etc, etc hear the footsteps of justice coming down the hall for them? "... ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee" (John Dunne). Kudos to Rep. Lieu for reminding the traitors of the law.
Biden has just acknowledged that the world's conflict is centered and fueled by money. Just suppress it and the fuel and fire are gone. Just like removing oxygen from a fire.
Hello! Welcome to a brand new month. It is September 1st, 2021, and for the first time in twenty years, America is not at war.
Why so afraid of the phone records? Hmm, I wonder!!!
Some years ago I wrote about Vietnam as a Greek tragedy. Successive American presidents were desperate to avoid the back lash from ‘losing a war.’ Ike was rather modest in accepting the transfer of the Vietnam ‘hot rock’ from the French. JFK escalated our involvement with troops and authorized a military coup in which Diem, our once-favored Catholic president, was killed. I do not believe thatJFK would have pulled us out of Vietnam in a second term. LBJ was a Texan who thought he could overwhelm Ho Chi Minh. LBJ’s cabal of yippe cowboys including General Westmoreland, Walt Rostow, and Defense Secretary NcNamara (before he had a change of heart). Nixon sought to leave ‘with honor’ and, in reshuffling the deck, cost another 20,000 American dead and perhaps another million dead Vietnam before an ‘honorable surrender’ in 1973. It took another two years before a final hasty evacuation.
The music was somewhat different with the Afghan ‘dance of the storks.’ We entered to capture bin Laden and his al Qaeda buddies. Missed them, but remained pissed with the Taliban. A gradual build up oozed into a major military and financial commitment to ‘nation build.’ Obama came in after the Bush/Cheney, Rumsfeld ‘slap the leather’ cabal. In 2011 Obama seemed to explore seriously our withdrawal from Afghanistan, but this probably was only political window dressing [VP Biden was in the ‘let’s leave’ minority]. Ultimately Obama approved a military-recommended troop surge.
Trump never had a rationale policy on Afghanistan. At one time he expressed an intention to pull us out entirely. In February, 2020 he approved a long-term ‘surrender’ to the Taliban and, while president, declared a total troop withdrawal in May, 2021 (oophs, lost the election).
PRESIDENT BIDEN BIT THE BULLET AND SET AN AUGUST 31ST DATE FOR OUR TOTAL WITHDRAWAL. THIS, IN MY OPINION, WAS THE APPROPRIATE DECISION AND I GREATLY ADMIRED HIS GUTS FOR BEING PRESIDENTIAL.
There will be Monday morning quarterbacks second guessing what President did and how he did it. I do not believe that his decision to end our 20 year fool’s errand in Afghanistan will be a significant political liability for him six months hence. Meanwhile we and others will be engaged in the vexing task of facilitating new lives for over 100,000 Afghan refugees.
"“I don’t think enough people understand how much we have asked of the 1 percent of this country who put that uniform on, who are willing to put their lives on the line in defense of our nation,” Biden said today."
Another good idea. Have the 1%ers fight the wars. We'd have peace forever.
Roe vs. Wade died today -- at least in Texas. Texas passed an abortion bill that no woman (not many men need them) could have an abortion if the fetus was six weeks old or older. Most women don't even know they are pregnant yet at six weeks. Here's how the Texas Tribune sees it: Beyond outlawing abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, the Texas law, signed in May, would deputize citizens to file civil suits against abortion providers or anyone who helps facilitate the procedure after six weeks, such as a person who drives a pregnant person to the clinic. Individuals found to have violated the law would have to pay $10,000 to the person who successfully brings such a suit — a bounty abortion rights advocates warn will encourage harassment, intimidation and vigilantism. ... SCOTUS ignored the motion for an emergency stay letting the law go into effect at midnight. Bounty hunters!! It is aimed at also shutting down women's clinics. If you're a women in Texas you may feel you'd be better off with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Abortion is a religious construct. It's murder if you believe the soul enters the womb at conception or not murder if the soul enters the body at birth. And, what about the religions that believe in reincarnation. I like what Barbara Bush said about abortion -- that God would take a that soul no matter what. Can't stand the people that say they are Pro Life before birth and won't do anything for that life after birth. The anti-maskers have even stolen the Pro Choice slogan. -- My Body, My Choice!
"Researchers estimate that the war in Afghanistan has cost more than 171,000 lives."
That 171,000 includes Afghans, Americans and others over the 20-year history of the war.
Covid-19 has killed almost 4 times as many (about 640,000) in the US alone.
I strongly agree with Biden that it was long past time to end the US presence there.
Right now we have more serious issues to deal with.
Long, involved LFAA with lots to unpack. What I notice now is that there seem to be some trolls now popping over here. Please, folks, don't engage with them. Just let their words lie dead and don't breathe life into them.
Wondering if the outcry re Afghan withdrawal is in support of the profiteers in the war. q.v., Sarah Chayes on corruption.
No word of SCOTUS ruling on the Texas abortion law as of this hour. Evisceration of Roe?
Voter suppression is surging. So is fascism?
Anthropogenic climate disruption __> Dahr Jamail: The End of Ice
Our People--> https://verfassungsblog.de/our-people/
Ruptures in every direction.
Meanwhile, I sing in the forest, a song of longing, of bereavement for our Earth.
Our people.
"Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said, 'These telecommunication companies, if they go along with this, they will be shut down. That’s a promise.'"
Another insight into the radical rights plan for the future of the US. No communications network. I've read dystopian future novels that are less harsh.