A massive evacuation involving aircraft from the U.S. and Britain are currently involved in evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.
At approximately 9:12 PM local time today, the Associated Press reported that the Taliban would soon declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from the presidential palace in Kabul.
#Kabul Airlift – Aircraft Tracking Sheet – Version 1.0 (20:00BST 15/08/2021)
Data collected via @flightradar24 @ADSBexchange and @planefinder
Created with help from the amazing @vcdgf555 (go give them a follow if you don't already!)#Afghanistan #Taliban pic.twitter.com/y7qoUxFKPi— DefenceGeek (@DefenceGeek) August 15, 2021
600 British military personnel have deployed to Afghanistan on a short term basis to assist British nationals to leave.
The UK Government say that UK troops are there provide force protection and logistical support for the relocation of British nationals where required and assist with the acceleration of the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy, you can read more about this below.
Let’s wish them well, get in, get our dependants and get the hell out safely……
Im absolutely stunned at the speed of this tragedy – has there been a bigger Capitulation in Modern History ?
Ask anyone that has fought over there and they will tell you the ANA is a joke. Always has been. It’s just a cultural thing. No amount of training or money would ever change that.
Apart from ‘Three weeks to stop the spread’ do you mean?
Why should you be stunt? US is a falling and failing state run by an incompetent president who didn’t see it coming….as said on TV, “it is not going to be inevitable”. Lol!!!!
I wasnt alive when Saigon happened but the way this has deteriorated so rapidly must have been how it felt.
From Trump selling out the country by doing a separate peace deal with the Taliban behind the governments back (which worked so well…) to Bidens weak willed strategy of still going along with it even when it wasn’t being honoured.
Withdrawal of Nato support has allowed the Taliban to conquer 70% of the country in a week, thats faster than Germany took Poland…
Biden in July:
“They’re not remotely comparable in terms of capability. There’s going to be no circumstance for you to see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable.”
“The likelihood there is going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.”
Biden hasn’t made sense in 30 years. No big surprise.
EXACTLY. Some people are trying to pin this mess on Trump 0 he only struck a deal with terms and conditions, it was Biden’s job to ensure those terms and conditions were met or US would not have left. Certainly not under trump. No, Biden sabotaged this because the peace deal was Trump’s deal. It’s all a game and the little people are the victims.
The first part is probably correct, it seems the embassies have had time to evac to the airport, so no need to airlift them off the roof tops.
Second part we will still see, from what I read it’s not really a uniform Taliban offensive, it’s multiple groups acting at same time. Whether a stable gov can be created or if there will be a civil war is anyone’s guess at this point but year clearly biden got that part wrong.
Theyve been flying CH47 Chinooks and CH46 Sea Knights off the US embassy roof. Early this morning the americans were also flying the helicopters low over Kabul airport to block the runway so civilian airliners couldnt take off. Germans have had to go by road as the transport from Germany carrying helicopters to evacuate the embassy was delayed by political dithering. Heres a good tweet with side by side comparison: Stefan Simanowitz on Twitter: “PHOTO 1: US diplomat evacuate US from embassy via helicopter as the #Taliban enter #Kabul from all sides. #Afghanistan (2021) PHOTO 2: US diplomat evacuate US… Read more »
The US is an unreliable alliy again, just like at the time of the Suez Crisis!
Time to rebuild UK armed forces capabilities.
After this & the preceeding abandonment of our Kurdish allies to their Turkish enemies we are disgraced & shown to be very unreliable allies. The Taliban can’t be trusted. Being duped is our weakness.
Actually I draw the conclusion perversely that the Taliban can be trusted. They do what they they say they will do. They have faith in their vision of their country and society and the will and staying power to carry it through.
Lies as usual. And the media parrots this like we are fools.
“Even when it wasn’t being honoured”.
You’re assuming you know the real detail of the deal with the Taliban….
Details will eventually come out, it’s going to be interesting to see what was really agreed
Looking to Biden for leadership is a lost cause.
It’s not Trump’s fault although I understand it is convenient that somehow this must be the orange man with the mean tweets fault. The guy that has not been in charge of anything for 8 months, right? No, this is all Biden. Trump negotiated a peace deal with terms and conditions, but Biden didn’t hold anyone accountable to maintain those terms and conditions. He just gave a demented executive order to leave quickly. But how could he hold anyone accountable? Americans don’t even hold themselves accountable. This debacle will be nothing compared to when CCP is calling the shots.
I was! and its exactly the same American problems. Failure to understand separate cultures and ideology and real geopolitik. Biden has to be elected and his voters do not remotely appreciate foreign policy which has been also driven by homegrown financial behemoths eating government dollars to vast personalised profits.
This post is not open for debate. I have listened to everyone else’s hatred, rhetoric and outright lies for the last four years, so now I am having my say. If you don’t like it, you can Go Pound Sand!!! Let me be clear, I am not a Biden fan. I think he is corrupt, a liar, a racist bigot, is in bed with China and probably suffering from dementia. He has done nothing to improve anything in his 50-year political career. But what has Trump done in the past 4 years? The “arrogant” in the White House brokered four… Read more »
I’m with you on this. It has been self-evident for a while that Trump was a far better President than Biden is or can be. Roll on the Mid Terms.
Have spent most of the day watching this sorry state of affairs unraveling on the various news outlets.
Some pictures released by MOD of elements of 16 Air Assault leaving UK, the looks on some of the faces says it all.
If they have only left the UK today, they are already to late. Why has it take so long to deploy them.
The pictures were from earlier only released today. As I understand it our first lot arrived overnight Saturday morning our time. I’m sure more detail will be released when and if we complete a successful evacuation.
Biden, 4 weeks ago, said there was no chance at all the Taliban would defeat a world class ANA of 300,000 soldiers. Come to find out, he lied or is just dumb. That’s why we are caught with our ones down, too much reliance on Americans with their so called leadership.
Humphrey on Thin Pinstriped Line writes thought provokingly about this.
You seem to forgotten why the West intervened in Afghanistan.
I hope you will take some responsibility if terrorism returns to our streets?
The terrorism is home grown as we imported massive numbers of young men from these war torn countries. It’s simpler not to offer asylum and the you have no terrorism on your streets. It’s very simple but instead we went to war on lies and deceit. Pre-1997 we only had IRA terrorism now with massive numbers of young Islamists offered refuge/asylum in the UK we have now our own version of Afghanistan in many our our cities. Time to rescind the 1951 asylum convention to prevent further terrorism being imported to the UK.
Not to mention the acts we now have to stop criticism in the name of “inclusion” and giving the police more power.
EXACTLY.
Just nonscence. Rejecting all asylums becsuse of a few idiots, isn’t the country I want to live in. Most refugues are running away from the mess we created and fleeing for their lives /trying to create a new life for themselves, and mean this country no harm. Ok we risk a few extremists, but it’s a tiny percentage and let’s face it most of the mass killed killings in this country have been done by white British born idiots, we have plenty of our own.
You seriously think that most terrorism in the UK is white British nationals…where do I start with you…I would agree on one point you make which we should not intervene in countries though but the final point you make…well suffice to say I totally disagree with you.
British and American, liberal PsyOps will have you believe white supremacy is the real threat. Total propaganda job. Sane people need to take the mantle of leadership. Or we are all done for.
Rob I wanted to fully respond to Steve but I thought facts, figures and statistics would be lost on him and it would merely entrench his position where he thinks all white people are the problem. It’s far better for me to save my breath and just say I disagree with him.
You did the right thing. Unless it’s all unbridled emotion, they don’t want to know. Facts and figures, like their cooked election go by the way side. Stay strong!
Thanks Rob you too. Hope you have a good evening.
Liberal PsyOps????
Yes of course – the left wing media. They only report “news” that is on narrative while burying everything else to prop up left wing ideology. BBC, CNN they are all the same, deeply ideological and left leaning. We live in the US but like most, we get our news from overseas agencies. This is how we know it’s scrubbed and sanitized for the masses. I’ve lost count of all the things that the US and UK media bury in favour of left wing narrative.
What overseas agencies, I’m curious
It’s not hard – you can find out for yourself mate, but suffice to say, it’s not UK BBC, US CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, CBS.
I’m afraid I agree Rob.
It’s OK. Don’t be afraid we all have to stand in our truth at some point – it just takes time. Cheers.
And i suppose you rely on the heavily unreliable and strongly biased fox news?
Thanks for speaking the truth. We need you more than ever.
You’ve been watching too much BBC and CNN mate. Most deaths in the UK are minority on minority knife killings. Sorry I know you don’t like facts and data but it’s true. A year or so ago London had more killings than New York City. Sorry, more facts.
I’ll stick up for BBC then the most impartial news In TV network and is in no comparison to the US media as Dick Chainy wavered impartial laws in the US years ago ,and youtube amateurs channel giving there opinion is in no comparison to the BBC either, it seems what ever views people have today they will find support some where on the internet and stick with in that group and not listen to the other side of the argument, UKDJ bucks the trend though.
Check the actual stats provided by the ONS (real stats not click bait news story) rather than the daily mail etc. The vast vast majority of all murders in this country are done by people of white origin. The whole London killing thing was also badly reported, it was very specific, it related to knife killings only, clearly most similar killings in the US related to gun crimes. Facts / hard numbers are a wonderful thing.
So the West should just stay in Afghanistan indefinitely? It won’t make a bit of difference. The Afghan people don’t want the West. They never have. They want to be left alone and not invaded and occupied anymore. Who are we to tell them different.
5.5 million Afghan women might disagree with you.. We made a big difference to them.
Why did we, I honestly don’t know? I don’t think anyone is narrow minded enough to really think it was to stop terrorists after 9/11, there would have been way better options.
I think it was meant to be a demonstration of Neo-Con power a al 2003 Iraq invasion. It 2-8 against the Americans in terms of victories since WW2. Two if you consider Grenada a victory. One if you believe the Balkan campaign was a success.
Surely no-one still believes the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden were responsible for the 9/11 attacks? Take a look at the early videos and live news reports from 9/11 at the Pentagon and Shanksville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELSIQfabe4M
The above mentioned in the Hague … oh please!
There was no deal, at any time with the Taliban. The ‘speed’ of the uprising is not particularly surprising. Its the Taliban. Its join up, or we trash your village. Fear then spreads, forcing the population in general to choose … Taliban or die.
Look boys and girls, we are talking about a medieval mindset, and all that goes with it. This is ‘shock and awe’ medieval style. 8th Century kick the shite out of Spain tactics, thats what the Afghans are afraid of. Better be a part of it, rather than dead in a ditch I guess.
I’m actually surprised the British government didn’t at least read the very substantial historical reference texts on the two Anglo-Afghan wars…makes you wonder how intelligent our politicians are sometimes…not much has change in 150 years in Afghanistan….still tribal to the core…
We did Not have airpower 150 years ago, that has made a big difference in modern military campaigns!
The West eventually, only needed small token forces of a few thousand to keep Afghanistan stable until recently.
Very much like the last days of The Vietnam war….
Let’s hope we learn a lesson from this disaster that was Afghanistan. I doubt it though.
Iraq in a few years.
Biden has taken a decision which ends the post WW2 era of American ‘nation building’. The allies success in rebuilding Germany was based on generosity, an assumption of familiarity with western values and family connections. The successes of Japan, the Balkans and Sierra Leone also has these catalysts which ignite the dormant spirit of self confidence and self reliance in the host people. They can pick themselves up. No amount of external military training and weaponry can compensate for the absence of these cultural values and missing sense of identity. This is why the Afghan army has collapsed and why… Read more »
Amen. That is USA 2-8 in winning hearts and minds in military conflicts since WW2. Grenada and the Balkans are the winners…
Americans are a generous people as they showed in and after WW2. The reasons for the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan were a mixture of righteous indignation, to bring Osama to justice and to transform these countries somehow into clones of Western democracies. This might be well meaning but was naive. And let’s face it Bush was on an ego trip. Once we had got Osama we should have left them to it. As my grandmother used to say, you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
Well said, and accurate thanks.
You complete nicompoop. Are you aware of 9/11, 7/7? The old Taliban harboured AQ and OBL. We did well in 2001-4 but fucked up after 2005 and the attempt to control the poppy trade. The Blair government bears some responsibility, as do all the others that followed. And I was in Afghan in 1993-5, 1997-8, 2001, 2006-8 and 2010.
Osama bin Laden, a Saudi national, was found and killed in Pakistan. AQ was formed mainly from Saudi national and Pakistani nationals. Insults are really not needed by you either. You may have been in Afghanistan but it doesn’t necessarily mean your views are more valid than mine…you just have a different perspective which I respect – do me the same curtesy.
You are correct.
Interesting date James, just prior to and during the Talibs emergence and capture of Kabul in 96 and the re-commencement of the civil war, then the removal of the Talibs in 2001, onwards we know. Any meat to flesh out those dates you are able to divulge, interesting times you were there mate, the 90s. Government or aid agencies?
“We did well in 2001-4…”
Yes correct, the focus turned to Iraq after 2003, so took the eye off the ball on Afghan.
Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi national, was found and killed in Pakistan. The 11th of September bombers were mostly Saudi nationals. The founders of the Taliban are Middle Eastern, Pakistan and Iran. It does make you think why the hell we were in Afghanistan…
The only people who benefited are the politicians, who make 200k a year but strangely are all Millionaires….some are billionaires. this is because they have inside information and hold lots of defence stocks likes BAE Systems. WE ARE BEING ROBBED BLIND AND PLAYED FOR FOOLS.
At the time he was operating out of Tora Bora and that is where the 9/11 attacks were planned and organised. About 3 months after the invasion of Afghanistan he moved to Pakistan.
If reports are true a UKSF team were close to him but had to hold off until the US forces arrived as it was politically vital that they have the kill.
Air power then hit the Tora Bora region and SBS went Into the caves.
And it would have been embarrassing if we captured him as he would face the death penalty if sent to the USA
And rightly so. But then if he was tried in the US properly there would not have been the accusations he was assassinated without trial in his compound.
Embarrassing? Not for me, would have been a feather in UKSFs cap. One of many.
As it is, after 9/11 he was a dead man regardless.
I wouldn’t doubt it. Do not trust Americans, rule No. 1.
Because Afghanistan under the Taliban between 1996 and 2001 hosted those foreign nationals like OBL with terrorist training camps.
With hindsight it would have been better to have inserted a special forces unit into Afghanistan, locate and ID Bin Laden’s camp, then send in a couple B1bs to bomb the AQ camp out of existence.
They tried that in Sudan. Whether there were SF there or they located him via technological means when he used his phone I’m unsure.
They TLAMed the camps, they’d already moved.
And in Afghan there were many camps.
They tried that in Sudan. Whether there were SF there or they located him via technological means when he used his phone I’m unsure.
They TLAMed the camps instead of B1s, they’d already moved.
I think he got more paranoid about his own security after that incident.
Destroying the camps as they crop up is one thing, killing an individual harder. Might be easier now with the advent of Reaper, Sentinel and persistent coverage from above. They got Jihadi John that way.
I feel it could have still been done in 2001, though. Difficult and time consuming, yes, but far less so than what actually happened.
This was inevitable from the moment Trump did his deal. The question remains a) why was UK intelligence so abysmal and b) why had not plans and evacuations begun when Trump signed the deal? Actually Biden is doing the right thing by not supporting the Afghan position per se but the same questions apply to him and yet again its a case of Americans do not understand other cultures………….
Not inevitable. A slower draw down whilst retaining airbases at both Kabul and Bagram would have been better. Withdraw the civilians then withdraw the troops. Not set a deadline in the middle of “fighting season” which the Taliban can use to plan against. Instead using a date of 11th of Sept because of its political significance. What an absolute moron. He knows he’s done wrong because he’s hiding.
Our guys will do a great job and grip the situation.
On a related note and a consequence of this circus. Europe now needs to urgently reprioritise defence. It’s potential enemies are now stronger and it’s principle ally is now weakened and it’s seemingly led by an imbecile.