Looking at what happened, how would an incremental
by AquinasDomer (2024-02-27 17:52:29)

In reply to: Either still there or a managed withdrawal  posted by ACross

Cannot Reply Return to Political

Looked? It seems that at some level you'd have needed to surge troops into the country to actively fight and likely take casualties at a level we'd last seen under Obama. All to get out a little more slowly? Who was going to cooperate with us if that intervention was only going to be temporary?

An AC130 cleared hot would have projected the power necessar
by airborneirish  (2024-02-27 18:18:57)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

to get the Taliban to cut the shit long enough to fulfill what ACross suggested.

Knocking the table over and leaving all of your chips on the ground after you spill them is not how you play poker or negotiate. Teddy KGB wouldn't do that with Grama sitting over his shoulder. An AC130 is a hell of a lot more of a power projection than an out of shape tough.
CNN coverage of the downed
by AquinasDomer  (2024-02-27 19:00:42)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

AC 130 would have made the terrorist suicide bombing look like a walk in the park.

Hey Siri. How many ac130 were lost in GWOT?
by airborneirish  (2024-02-27 20:49:15)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Mr blutarski. 0.0

Those things are terrifying *
by ACross  (2024-02-27 21:12:15)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

The 105mm cannons rain death.
by four pillars  (2024-02-27 21:21:02)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

I’ve had the pleasure of being aboard an AC130 to see it first hand. It’s humbling.

And yeah…a downed AC130 would have been about number 1,897 on the list of things to be concerned about in an Afghanistan withdrawal.

I am no military strategist
by ACross  (2024-02-27 18:12:31)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

I am just talking about getting interpreters (and other people to whom we owed a duty of loyalty due to their assistance to America) to get the hell out of dodge rather than abandoning them as they clung to landing gear.
Thanks for the clarification.
by Kali4niaND  (2024-02-27 19:29:31)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Its an understandable criticism. Personally, I'm not sure there was a graceful exit to be made. But we could have certainly made much more of a concerted post-exit effort to get our Afghan allies to safety and situated here in the US. Still legislation pending to make that a reality, as I understand it. Bipartisan efforts in both chambers are underway to get it done. But nothing is getting through Congress these days, unfortunately.
I think they were needlessly slow
by AquinasDomer  (2024-02-27 18:55:05)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

And overestimated the ability of the Afgans to hold out against the Taliban.

If Joe was planning on getting out, expediting people getting out rapidly should have been a priority.

But once the collapse started it seems like it was too late to go back and slow down the collapse.