Did America just lose Afghanistan because of WhatsApp?

Preston Byrne ^ | August 15, 2021 | Preston Byrne

[Robert DeLong]

It appears the Taliban tried something different this time around. Open source reporting shows that rather than rocking up and going toe to toe with the Afghan national army, they appear to have simply called everyone in the entire country, instead, told them they were in control, and began assuming the functions of government as they went:

There was 1 for sure and possibly 2 episodes (memory is not real sure on the number) like that on the old TV show The Saint. They bluffed that the good guys had taken the country and met no resistance whatsoever. 🙂

The one I can be sure of happened in the Middle East, and the other one happened in South America, if my memory on that one is accurate. 🙂

[cuz1961]

called everyone in the entire country, instead, told them they were in control, and began assuming the functions of government as they went:
/\
\/

Sounds familiar.

[cuz1961]

called everyone in the entire country, instead, told them they won, and began assuming the functions of government as they went:

[cuz1961]

WhatsApp has unique benefits in the fight against the Taliban, who also rely on the app to update their superiors and check in with their fighters. The battle has become a war of small, quick tactical gains — a district here, a village there — and for this, the advantages of the app, they say, far outweigh the potential vulnerability.

[cuz1961]

WhatsApp is an American product. It can be switched off by its parent, Facebook, Inc, at any time and for any reason. The fact that the Taliban were able to use it at all, quite apart from the fact that they continue to use it to coordinate their activities even now as American citizens’ lives are imperiled by the Taliban advance which is being coordinated on that app, suggests that U.S. military intelligence never bothered to monitor Taliban numbers and never bothered to ask Facebook to ban them.

[cuz1961]

Incompetence ?
Or
Complicit ?

[Albion Wilde]

they appear to have simply called everyone in the entire country, instead, told them they were in control, and began assuming the functions of government as they went

Pronunciamiento
A pronunciamiento (Spanish: [pɾonunθjaˈmjento], Portuguese: pronunciamento [pɾunũsiɐˈmẽtu]; "proclamation, announcement or declaration") is a form of military rebellion or coup d'état particularly associated with Spain, Portugal and Latin America, especially in the 19th century.

Looks like Wikipedia is going to have to add Dari and Pashto translations and "Islamic nations" to their definition.

[Enterprise]

" If true, the American intelligence apparatus and military was completely outwitted by these third worlders."

Well, as they might say, when it comes to a battle of wits, Government bureaucrats are unarmed.

[x]

Not terribly different, if true, from what Lenin did in 1917. He did have to secure the capital before he issued his pronunciamento, though.

[blueplum]

there's a later posted article that alludes to commanders being paid off to not defend the town.

I posted an article last night that alluded to the Chinese having pow-wows with ‘pakistan taliban’ about extending diplomatic ties to the afghanistan taliban (pretty much one and the same?) around Jul 28 (not sure if the date is signif). China came out today with the old carrot/stick - “we'll build you roads, long long time!” I wouldn't put it past China to have ‘contributed’ to the firepower and or logistics of the Taliban that allowed them to sweep towns without doing much entering of towns. China knowing Beijing Biden would do zipity doo da.

my two cents to add to the equation

[Petrosius]

Instead of trying to build a civilized army, they should have just paid some local chiefs, warlords etc. to form their militias and do the job.

Exactly! The mistake, going all the way back to Bush, was to try to build Afganistan as a modern centralized liberal state. That was never going to work even if we had been there a hundred years. Afganistan is a tribal medieval society and we should have work with it as such. As the saying goes: When life deals you lemons, make lemonade.

[Revolutionary]

It was easy. They used one of my strategies. Buy off the local leadership; both military and civilian. China bankrolled them.