Islamist Jihad and Taliban Throw Out US and NATO | 27 comments (27 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Poisonous Pen of Tom Friedman Kills (none / 1)

Tom Friedman on Afghanistan circa 2002: "Give war a chance." We did, Tom. And it was fucked up advice then, and it's even worse now. For SHAME! [_link]
— Tikun Olam (@richards1052) August 22, 2021

In November 2001 the Taliban was defeated, OBL was in Tora Bora, crucial decisions, poor judgement ... Rumsfeld "the warrior" decided the Americans wanted to see more blood ... the moment for a settlement and peaceful transfer was missed ... 20 years and 100,000 lives lost Leaves the Afghans distraught and the Americans suffering due to waste of 💵💵 two trillion.

... At the bottom of the pyramid are the liberal hawks in the punditocracy, figures like New Republic editor Peter Beinart, Time writer Joe Klein and New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. These pundits, along with purely partisan outfits... help to both set the agenda and frame the debate. The journalistic hawks churn out the agitprop that the more respectable think tanks turn into "serious" scholarship, some of which eventually becomes policy, or at least talking points, when adopted by the politicians. [Source: EuroTrib in 2005]

The Madness of NYT's Tom Friedman By Tom Parry

The Taliban Peace Deal Might Have Been Had Many Years and Thousands of Lives Ago | Daily Beast - Feb. 29, 2020 |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Aug 22nd, 2021 at 09:07:02 AM EST

Re: Poisonous Pen of Tom Friedman Kills (none / 1)

Friedman was right: Afghanistan is far away....

Ad for OBL beng in Tora Bora: How do you know that? From the people that lied about everything else

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Aug 22nd, 2021 at 09:27:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Tora Bora (none / 0)

Tora Bora Revisited: How We Failed to get Osama Bin Laden and Why It Matters Today | Report to U.S. Congress |
Executive Summary
On October 7, 2001, U.S. aircraft began bombing the training bases and strongholds of Al Qaeda and the ruling Taliban across Afghanistan. The leaders who sent murderers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon less than a month earlier and the rogue government that provided them sanctuary were running for their lives. President George W. Bush's expression of America's desire to get Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" seemed about to come true.
Two months later, American civilian and military leaders celebrated what they viewed as a lasting victory with the selection of Hamid Karzai as the country's new hand-picked leader. The war had been conceived as a swift campaign with a single objective: defeat the Taliban and destroy Al Qaeda by capturing or killing bin Laden and other key leaders. A unique combination of airpower, Central Intelligence Agency and special operations forces teams and indigenous allies had swept the Taliban from power and ousted Al Qaeda from its safe haven while keeping American deaths to a minimum. But even in the initial glow, there were concerns: The mission had failed to capture or kill bin Laden.

Battle of Tora Bora

Best educated guess 😉

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Aug 22nd, 2021 at 10:16:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Islamist Jihad and Taliban Throw Out US and NATO | 27 comments (27 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)