Posted on 03/23/2020 7:16:07 PM PDT by Farcesensitive
The Trump administration is slashing $1 billion in assistance to Afghanistan and threatening further reductions in all forms of cooperation after the country’s rival leaders failed to agree on forming a new government.
The announcement came from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday after he made an unannounced visit to Kabul to meet with Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the rival Afghan politicians who have each declared themselves president of the country after disputed elections last year.
In an unusually harsh statement, Pompeo slammed the two men for being unable to work together and threatening a potential peace deal that could end America’s longest-running conflict.
“The United States deeply regrets that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and former Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah have informed Secretary Pompeo that they have been unable to agree on an inclusive government that can meet the challenges of governance, peace, and security, and provide for the health and welfare of Afghan citizens,” he said.
Pompeo said the U.S. was “disappointed” in both men and their conduct, which he said had “harmed U.S.-Afghan relations and, sadly, dishonors those Afghan, Americans, and coalition partners who have sacrificed their lives and treasure in the struggle to build a new future for this country.”
Pompeo said their inability to work together posed a “direct threat” to U.S. national interests and that the administration would begin an immediate review of all its support programs for Afghanistan, starting with a reduction of $1 billion in aid this year. He said it could be reduced by another billion dollars in 2021.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
[Time to just leave and let them kill eachother.]
* In fact, it’s impossible to think of a single situation where Muslims completely killed each other off. They’d fight for a while to decide who would be top dog, and go jihading again once that was settled.
The Taliban won’t keep their end of the bargain. Just as the NVA didn’t when they rolled into South Vietnam in 1975.
“If the Taliban takes over again, we’ll get another attack like 9/11. Just a matter of when.”
Probably so. This is why the U.S. needs to increase our ability to remotely destroy targets without boots on the ground. Easier said than done but this country must get to that point.
Why is there any aid at all? American blood is not worth a penny to support this country stuck in the seventh century. Pull out and let it rot as it has been since the time of Alexander the great.
We should be close enough.
Destroy or take everything, pull out and cut them off. Neutron bomb them all and let God sort them out.
“...ability to remotely destroy targets...”
We can do that now, can’t we?
Let’s make us gone too.
We need to get to out of there. Poison their water, salt their fields and leave.
” If the Taliban takes over again, we’ll get another attack like 9/11. Just a matter of when.”
We can prevent that easily without caring who wins over there.
The congress critters who were counting on the kickbacks are pissed!
“We can do that now, can’t we?”
We have drones, cruise missiles etc. But we still need intelligence on the ground and pre-positioned assets somewhat in the general area of the target.
We need to get to the point where problems like these can be taken care of using assets much further away or even from continental U.S. You still need improved intelligence and targeting. I’m sure we will get there.
So no we don’t have it at the level needed. Otherwise Trump would not still be in Afghanistan in the fourth year of his Presidency.
[We can prevent that easily without caring who wins over there.]
All we need is descent border/immigration policies and we won’t have any trouble worth caring about Afghanistan.
We lose too many men and far too much wealth there to be worth anything it might do for us.
If terrorists are going to attack us they can do it from lots of other places.
“So no we don’t have it at the level needed. Otherwise Trump would not still be in Afghanistan in the fourth year of his Presidency.”
Trump is getting us out, so we must have what we need to protect America.
[All we need is descent border/immigration policies and we won’t have any trouble worth caring about Afghanistan.]
Trump knows what he is doing.
We can protect ourselves without being there.
And there are indeed other places that terrorists currently use aside from Afghanistan.
I can see why the thugs who run third world hellholes hate Trump...
Cut out ALL foreign aid to EVERYONE. Only reinstate it on a case-by-case basis when it is PROVEN to provide a benefit to the United States.
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