Article

2019-09-19 Afghanistan

Former SEAL, SOCOM boss McRaven says we're going to be in Afghanistan ‘for a very long time'

[Military Times] A draft agreement for peace between the U.S. and the Taliban in Afghanistan got a lot of hopes up late this summer, but the former head of U.S. special operations ― most well known for overseeing the mission that ultimately took out Osama Bin Laden ― said that making concessions to the extremist group is the wrong move.

Retired Adm. Bill McRaven, now a national security professor at the University of Texas in Austin, likened negotiating with the warlords who control much of Afghanistan’s square mileage to sitting down with ISIS, in a discussion Wednesday at the New America Special Operations Forces Policy Forum in Washington.

"And maybe that’s not a good comparison," he said. "But I do believe that if we negotiate some sort of settlement with the Taliban, and that settlement involves the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, that, you know, it won’t be six months or a year before all of the blood and treasure we have put into Afghanistan will have been reversed because the Taliban will come back in and do what the Taliban do."

Multiple international news outlets reported in late August and early September that the Taliban and U.S. diplomats had reached an interim peace agreement after nine rounds of peace talks in Qatar.

The deal fell apart just before the 18th anniversary of 9/11, when President Donald Trump canceled a secret meeting with Taliban officials at Camp David, a direct response to the Taliban’s car-bombing of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier ― which killed him and 11 others ― days before.

McRaven never agreed with the peace talks to begin with, he said.

Posted by Besoeker 2019-09-19 03:16|| || Front Page|| [11138 views ] Top

#1 Not one word about the puppet master, Pakistan.

Posted by Glotle Anginelet8973 2019-09-19 08:12|| 2019-09-19 08:12|| Front Page Top

#2 NO. This is NOT in the interest of the American people.

McRaven just loves playing the game of thrones, and just assumes it's always worth the price. This is pretty typical of many globalist leaders. Not a thought as to what our interests are, or how they might serve us.

Posted by Herb McCoy 2019-09-19 08:44|| 2019-09-19 08:44|| Front Page Top

#3 Ref #1: Not one word about the puppet master, Pakistan.

There it is again, the mysterious "what's not mentioned" bit.

Posted by Besoeker 2019-09-19 09:36|| 2019-09-19 09:36|| Front Page Top

#4 Did he talk about wanting to dredge Tampa Bay so he could moor his barge at McDill?

Posted by Skidmark 2019-09-19 11:21|| 2019-09-19 11:21|| Front Page Top

#5 Nice work, McRaven! Now you are gonna get Herb all spun up again.

Posted by SteveS 2019-09-19 13:38|| 2019-09-19 13:38|| Front Page Top

#6 How about we withdraw all our troops and just bomb Afghanistan with pallets of $100 bills from C-17s. Why not? It would be cheaper (VASTLY cheaper), work better, and bring the death rate down to zero.

Posted by Herb McCoy 2019-09-19 15:27|| 2019-09-19 15:27|| Front Page Top

#7 Now SteveS, it's not sporting.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2019-09-19 15:29|| 2019-09-19 15:29|| Front Page Top

#8 May be on to something. If we can hyper-inflate the food prices then after 60 days only those with power connections will not be malnourished, therefore easily identified as friend or foe. With starvation affecting the sick, elderly, and young not only will the culture take a hit, but so will the next generation.

It could be right up there with the slaughter of the bison vs. Plains Indians.

With fewer workers the price of opium would dramatically increase or migratory workers imported to fill the harvest gap - and when that doesn't work perhaps a Pakistain north border crossing crises?

Trick would be keeping the UN from trading food for opium so its all over in less than 3 months instead of a slow Somalia style wither.

The C-17 is a nice touch, as I think India operates those as well, assisting in a faster delivery time. If C-5s can land in Kandahar, smaller delivery craft can be loaded for better distribution and/or localized targeting.

I believe speed and saturation are key; like that Chapelle skit where reparations get paid, and in ten minutes a bucket of chicken is running $500. Perhaps deteriorating money so if some squirters do make it to Greece - poof! no scrilla.

Posted by swksvolFF 2019-09-19 16:21|| 2019-09-19 16:21|| Front Page Top

#9 Aw shit - now you've activated the Herb Bot

Posted by Frank G 2019-09-19 19:37|| 2019-09-19 19:37|| Front Page Top

#10 Sure you aren't hearing some 5.25"s spinning up?

Posted by swksvolFF 2019-09-19 22:03|| 2019-09-19 22:03|| Front Page Top

#11 In fairness to Herb, what to do about Afghanistan and similar 'regions' is a real problem. Used to be, we could ignore such places and their inhabitants, but globalization is all about flow - goods, money, and people. Along with disease, drugs, crime, and jihad. Leave them alone and the rottenness just festers and you end up with 9/11.

Endless low-level conflict is more a coping mechanism than a solution. Even if we can afford the financial cost, the political cost is too great once American bodies start coming home. Ramp up the violence and you the usual suspects whinging about civilian casualties.

What to do? Given the Af-Pak terrain, I like the idea of turning it into a proving range for autonomous killbots. Also wouldn't hurt to leave people with the message that you don't want us to come back again. But that involves actually doing something.

Posted by SteveS 2019-09-19 22:41|| 2019-09-19 22:41|| Front Page Top

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