[ckaihatsu]

This would explain why the US stayed in Afghanistan 12 years after even I, an internet nobody, knew the country was inevitably going to fall after the US left.

The Taliban flying around US-bought blackhawk helicopters isn't a disaster for the US when Lockheed Martin has already been paid.

I'm not actually a fan of Assange, I think the right way is to give that stuff to journalists to sift through so they can report the important stuff and keep under wraps the classified stuff that could harm national interests with no benefit to the public. Snowden at least gave it to journalists. Assange just releases everything with no regard. He could be putting the lives of people at risk. Journalists who whistleblow don't go to jail and they keep their sources secret. I think Biden is right to do the legal thing against him.

That whole 'putting lives at risk' thing is a *myth*:

More recently on 12 September 2019, Kevin Gosztola of Shadowproof.com interviewed each of the presidential candidates about their attitudes towards Assange. While some flat out claimed they would drop the charges, such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Marianne Williamson, others such as President Biden, obliquely answered the question, while still indicating their disdain for Assange, again claiming that Assange had put lives at risk. Recall, however, that it was established earlier herein that Assange was not the sole and was indeed the last agent to disseminate the unredacted portions of the diplomatic cables. Undue emphasis on his culpability is problematic, as a result. On top of that, it is important to remember that no evidence of harm done to informants has ever been documented. In the article by Greenwald cited earlier, the former co-founder of The Intercept testifies to this, when he writes:

“Recall that Adm. Michael Mullen and others accused WikiLeaks of having “blood on its hands” as a result of publication of the Afghan War documents, but that turned out to be totally false; as Shane noted today in the NYT: ‘no consequence more serious than dismissal from a job has been reported.’ Even Defense Secretary Robert Gates mocked claims about the damage done by WikiLeaks as “significantly overwrought.”

https://www.laprogressive.com/myth-of-a ... terrorist/

[ckaihatsu]

(Again.)

Sure, i guess Western imperialism, at least through war, is not really in the news much anymore so we don't talk about it much anymore.

Also, the following isn't due to Western imperialism *per se*, but it *is* due to international bourgeois geopolitics:

Lebanon, a tiny country whose population has swelled to six million following the influx of Syrians fleeing the decade-long proxy war to topple the regime of President Bashar al-Assad orchestrated by US imperialism, has long been at the mercy of the rival regional powers and their more powerful backers. Caught in the crosshairs of the escalating conflict between the US, Israel and the Gulf petro-monarchs on the one hand, and Iran and its allies, including Syria on the other, it has been hung out to dry as Washington steps up the pressure on Iran.

The Gulf states have made any aid dependent upon a government that excludes Hezbollah, while the Western banks and institutions have refused to stump up $11 billion pledged at a 2018 conference until the government implements the free market reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund. This is an anathema to Lebanon’s corrupt financial elite that are dependent upon government succor.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/0 ... a-j23.html

[Rich]

There's no logical reason to defend the invasion of Iraq or Libya, or most of the waste that was Afghanistan. Hey check it out, my 1st post here 12 years ago I basically predicted Afghanistan in 2021: viewtopic.php?p=13244795#p13244795

The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was a wonderful thing. The mission was quickly accomplished, the irreversible transfer of power from Sunni Arab terrorists to the Shia majority and the Sunni Kurds. I said before the 2003 invasion that America would invade, transfer power to the Iran friendly Shia and leave. That's basically what happened.

Obama campaigned on the lie that Afghanistan was the right war and Iraq was the wrong war. I said at the time he was completely wrong. Supporting the Northern Alliance was a good thing, something that I supported prior to 9/11, but Laura Bush's no Afghan School left behind occupation was idiotic. Obama used the excuse of ISIS to placate his Neo Con Zionist masters, to send troops back into Iraq. I totally opposed this.

But the key thing about Afghanistan is that our real enemies were Pakistan and Saudi, both of whom were responsible for 9/11. Osama was nothing without the backing of these states. We should repeatedly mock the pathetic cowardice of the American people and their leaders in refusing to stand up to Pakistan and Saudi after 9/11. Why is the Bagram so important. If Pakistan was a real ally then our great advantage would have been the land border with Pakistan. Withdrawing through any airport /airbase courts disaster.

A war in Afghanistan is quite sustainable. It needs to be done from the north with the cooperation of Putin. The first step to sorting our Afghanistan is to recognise Crimea as part of Russia and to recognise Russia's right to a land bridge to Crimea. We should also green light Putin to be able to intervene in southern Serbia aka Northern Kosovo to protect the rights of the Serbian people.

[ckaihatsu]

The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was a wonderful thing. The mission was quickly accomplished, the irreversible transfer of power from Sunni Arab terrorists to the Shia majority and the Sunni Kurds. I said before the 2003 invasion that America would invade, transfer power to the Iran friendly Shia and leave. That's basically what happened.

Obama campaigned on the lie that Afghanistan was the right war and Iraq was the wrong war. I said at the time he was completely wrong. Supporting the Northern Alliance was a good thing, something that I supported prior to 9/11, but Laura Bush's no Afghan School left behind occupation was idiotic.

Geopolitics.

And here's the human cost:

Estimated deaths:

Lancet survey** (March 2003 – July 2006): 654,965 (95% CI: 392,979–942,636)[46][47]
Iraq Family Health Survey*** (March 2003 – July 2006): 151,000 (95% CI: 104,000–223,000)[48]
Opinion Research Business**: (March 2003 – August 2007): 1,033,000 (95% CI: 946,258–1,120,000)[49]
PLOS Medicine Study**: (March 2003 – June 2011): 405,000 (60% violent) (95% CI: 48,000–751,000)[50]

Documented deaths from violence:

Iraq Body Count (2003 – 14 December 2011): 103,160–113,728 civilian deaths recorded[51] and 12,438 new deaths added from the Iraq War Logs[52]
Associated Press (March 2003 – April 2009): 110,600[53]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War

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Obama used the excuse of ISIS to placate his Neo Con Zionist masters,

ISIS and Israel have both been anti-Assad / anti-Syria. The Obama Administration initially *supported* the FSA / Islamists:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_Sycamore


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[Obama] [...] to send troops back into Iraq. I totally opposed this.

No, he didn't:

President Obama's speech on 27 February 2009

On 27 February 2009, at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, President Barack Obama announced his revision to the original date of withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq. The revision was to extend the original date of 30 June 2009 for an additional 10 months, to 31 August 2010. President Obama reaffirmed commitment to the original complete withdrawal date of 31 December 2011, set by the agreement between the Bush Administration and the Iraqi government.[30] President Obama defined the task of the transitional force as "training, equipping, and advising Iraqi Security Forces as long as they remain non-sectarian; conducting targeted counter-terrorism missions; and protecting our ongoing civilian and military efforts within Iraq".[31]

Withdrawal

August 2010 partial withdrawal

On 19 August 2010 the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division was the last American combat brigade to withdraw from Iraq.

In a speech at the Oval Office on 31 August 2010 Obama declared: "the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country."[32][33][34]

About 50,000 American troops remained in the country in an advisory capacity as part of "Operation New Dawn," which ran until the end of 2011. The U.S. military continued to train and advise the Iraqi Forces.[35]

Full withdrawal (2011)

See also: U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement

With the collapse of discussions about extending the stay of U.S. troops,[36][37] President Obama announced the full withdrawal of troops from Iraq, as previously scheduled, on 21 October 2011.[37] The U.S. retained an embassy in Baghdad[37] with some 17,000 personnel,[38] consulates in Basra, Mosul and Kirkuk, which have been allocated more than 1,000 staff each,[38] and between 4,000 and 5,000 defense contractors.[37] President Obama and al-Maliki outlined a broad agenda for post-war cooperation without American troops in Iraq during a joint press conference on 12 December 2011 at the White House. This agenda included cooperation on energy, trade and education as well as cooperation in security, counter-terrorism, economic development and strengthening Iraq's institutions. Both leaders said their countries would maintain strong security, diplomatic and economic ties after the last U.S. combat forces withdraw.[39][40]

President Barack Obama paid tribute to the troops who served in Iraq on 14 December 2011, at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina. As the last of the American troops prepared to exit Iraq, he said the United States was leaving behind a "sovereign, stable and self-reliant" Iraq.[41] On 15 December, an American military ceremony was held in Baghdad putting a formal end to the U.S. mission in Iraq.[42][43][44] The last 500 soldiers left Iraq on the morning of 18 December 2011.[1][2][3][4][5][6] At the time of withdrawal, the United States had one remaining soldier, Staff Sergeant Ahmed K. Altaie, still missing in Iraq since 23 October 2006, and had offered a $50,000 reward for his recovery.[45] On 26 February 2012, his death was confirmed.[46][47][48]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_of_United_States_troops_from_Iraq_(2007%E2%80%932011)#President_Obama's_speech_on_27_February_2009

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But the key thing about Afghanistan is that our real enemies were Pakistan and Saudi, both of whom were responsible for 9/11. Osama was nothing without the backing of these states. We should repeatedly mock the pathetic cowardice of the American people and their leaders in refusing to stand up to Pakistan and Saudi after 9/11. Why is the Bagram so important. If Pakistan was a real ally then our great advantage would have been the land border with Pakistan. Withdrawing through any airport /airbase courts disaster.

A war in Afghanistan is quite sustainable.

Not so far, it hasn't been -- I think you're on the wrong side of history.

It needs to be done from the north with the cooperation of Putin. The first step to sorting our Afghanistan is to recognise Crimea as part of Russia and to recognise Russia's right to a land bridge to Crimea. We should also green light Putin to be able to intervene in southern Serbia aka Northern Kosovo to protect the rights of the Serbian people.