Glezza was worried in the comments about it being difficult to bomb Islamists at home. Well, that may be true, but it's also just become a lot easier to bomb the Islamists abroad, because now we're working with them abroad ...
US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said it was “possible” the United States will seek to coordinate with the Taliban on counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan against Islamic State militants or others.
Marine General Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, has described the U.S. relationship with the Taliban during the evacuation as “very pragmatic and very businesslike”, saying they helped secure the airport.
Service folks should not think their efforts have been in vain in Afghanistan. Far from it, neither of the two paragraphs quoted above would have been possible to say 20 years ago. In fact, the turning point against terrorist Islamism has been made in those 20 years by the skill, courage and resilience of those who served in Afghanistan.
We now have the Hairies willing to fight and kill each other, and, with the faction we're backing willing to down tools against us. This is the mirror of the success in Syria and the wider ME, where we got Shia and Sunni terrorists to fight each other.
"Bait and bleed", the Judean People's Front vs the People's Front of Judea, hold their coats while they kick the proverbial out of each other, all of these are with us now on all foreign fronts against the enemy.
So Glezza, back to Winnie's old adage that seems to be worrying you "When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you"? And we have the enemy within, therefore a problem, right?
Well the homeboys are puppet-mastered by their hard-nut masters abroad. And correct me if I'm wrong, but the hard-nut foreign puppet-masters are mighty busy in their Sunni-on-Shia and soon to be Taliban-on-ISIS wars all across the ME and Asia. So the command strings have been somewhat severed.
And, if any Brit Conservative Muslim Dad's and Grandad's fancy sending their nutter youth to those foreign wars to fight the new priority enemies over there, we should buy them their EasyJet or RyanAir tickets and wave them a fond farewell! The problem of bombing our homeboy terrorists just got solved by getting them to travel abroad and bomb themselves there!
If the West's foreign policy and military picks up the massive opportunity granted us by the blood, toil, tears and sweat of our armed forces, in the end it will be easy being a Roman again ...
SoD
That was pretty much my thoughts after the ISIS-K suicide bomb attack, but expressed of course less eloquently.
THe long-anticipated great Sunni/Shia fight to the finish is well overdue, and now could be the moment.
Watch this space.
Posted by: Jack the dog | Thursday, 02 September 2021 at 12:33
JtD, you seem far better at nailing it in one liners while I take copious amount of digital ink to say it!
It is extraordinary how factionalism is the key to winning a political-military competition, isn't it?
Also, it's the reason why Orwell's "Boot stamping on a human face - forever" simply can't happen, no matter how much I worry about it, and so it is also the reason why Liberty always stands a chance against power and control if it plays the factionalism card and can never be eradicated.
Other than life itself, I can't think of a greater gift from God than factionalism to defend us, the Ordinaries, from Satan's contribution to our world, namely, the pol-gene.
I guess it was called "The Life of Brian" for a reason!
SoD
Posted by: Loz | Thursday, 02 September 2021 at 13:22
The Pentagon always wants to keep its hand in the game. They had a great deal of faith they would be able to control Afghanistan from afar until the government security forces folded in about a week. Who remains are the Taliban.
"Right now, "over the horizon" is more a fuzzy concept than a polished military plan. But when U.S. forces leave Afghanistan in September, if not sooner, we're likely to find out fast exactly what it means."
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/17/997494815/the-u-s-looks-to-support-the-afghan-military-from-over-the-horizon
It probably means lots of expensive smart bombs and maybe some political pressure wherever it can be applied.
Meanwhile, what's really interesting is the most viewed story in the Guardian informing us that David Crosby thinks Neil Young is probably the most selfish person he knows. That's probably bullshit. Young is Canadian, and everyone knows Canadians are nice.
Posted by: Bob | Thursday, 02 September 2021 at 14:52
Uncle Sam snatching defeat from the jaws of the hidden victory ...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/09/02/taliban-calls-china-principal-partner-international-community/
China is the Taliban’s “principal partner” in the international community, the Islamist group has said in its strongest signal yet of diplomatic priorities.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Thursday claimed Beijing was “ready to invest in and reconstruct” Afghanistan as he set out hopes that China would provide a gateway into global markets.
Not only is Uncle Sam missing the hidden victory, but actually allowing Ping-a-Ling to pick up the spoils.
Now correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Sleepy Joe say that withdrawing from Afghanistan was so that he could re-focus US efforts on China? Well, given that China is piling into Afghanistan to collect the spoils, doesn't that mean that the US needs to step lively and get back into Afghanistan to front up Ping-a-Ling!?
Sleepy Joe really is a Muppet of the first order. China is everywhere. Therefore, withdrawing from somewhere in order to "re-focus on China" is instantly illogical and wrong-headed, no matter where "somewhere" is because "somewhere" is already infested with China.
Truth is, Sleepy Joe didn't withdraw from Afghanistan or anywhere else to "re-focus on China". Sleepy Joe is withdrawing from everywhere because he doesn't want to be the world's policeman no more, and wants to hand the stinking badge to Ping-a-Ling!
Gonna be very interesting to see what the Don's take on this changed landscape will be, enacted as it has been in only a few months, let alone the rest that might be coming over Sleepy Joe's term.
The true realisation of what isolationism and handing over the stinking badge to China really means might just be dawning on Uncle Sam and the US peeps.
Maybe a new Pol will arise with an alt-strategy?
SoD
Posted by: Loz | Friday, 03 September 2021 at 10:05
What ever happens, Sell out Joe won't make it to the end of his term. His replacement will be somebody just as loathsome and anti-America/pro China as he is. January 2025 will be as soon as this current breed can be driven from power. Hope it's not too late.
Posted by: Whitewall | Friday, 03 September 2021 at 12:29
When the men in white coats take Biden off to his rest home, would Kamala Harris be known as the first mixed race female President, or the first giggling fellatrix President?
Posted by: Penseivat | Friday, 03 September 2021 at 13:08
Yes!
Posted by: Whitewall | Friday, 03 September 2021 at 13:15
https://americandigest.org/noted-in-passing-hitler-is-informed-about-afghanistan/
Posted by: JK | Friday, 03 September 2021 at 17:29