Many people have wondered how the Biden administration could get the collapse of Afghanistan so horribly wrong and botched completely the withdrawal of U.S. forces. To that point there is a little known Question and Answer session by Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO, CD05) that deserves some attention.
Approximately 7 weeks ago, June 23rd, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley testified in front of the House Armed Services Committee about their budget requests. Rep Doug Lamborn took this opportunity, he only had 4 minutes, to ask some very specific questions about Afghanistan and his concerns for early reports of the Taliban surging back into control.
Lamborn asked about the hazard of closing Bagrham AFB given the tenuous nature of reliance on one airport in Kabul. Lamborn also asked about the evacuation of U.S-Afghan allies and the risk to women and girls if the Taliban were successful. What Def Sec Austin and General Milley said in response totally explains why the White House was blind-sided by the Taliban in the past week. [WATCH Video at 01:06:56, Prompted]
Given the nature of what has happened in Afghanistan, those totally wrong estimations of the situation in the region should be enough to see both Secretary Austin and General Milley fired. At the very least reliance on this inept and totally wrong outlook explains why the Biden administration had no idea what was about to happen.
Congressman Doug Lamborn’s questioning was directly on point and in hindsight, stunningly prescient. Great job by Lamborn!
Hopefully Austin was wrong when he said that any defense of women and girls in Afghanistan will be contingent upon the U.S. embassy in Kabul. The U.S. embassy in Kabul is no longer there, the Taliban have it.
On Bagram [Air Base], Bagram is not necessary tactically or operationally for what we’re going to try to do here with Afghanistan. We’re consolidating on Kabul in support of their government.
The Taliban will take all the sensitive equipment and smash the rest of our embassy into tiny bits no bigger than a quarter.
I’m ok with smashing objects., really should have just left a crater.
Just pissed that the Obamunists created another massive hostage situation for fun and profit.
Yes – immdiatement!
Doubtful Milley will ever be fired by JoeBama as he was and is a crucial cog in the election steal. Both Milley and Austin are in charge of weaponizing the joebama’s gubmint to go after any political enemies. Joebama will protect those two traitors no matter what.
He wasn’t fired by P Trump, why would Biden fire him?
Because they didn’t close the air base when Trump was in office!
So you missed the part where the entire government was out to get President Trump. He was busy trying to dismantle the corrupt intelligence community. In his second term milley would be toast.
Please dear God, no. Trump’s personnel choices in his first term were abysmal. Sundance chronicled it here for the entire four years and we repeatedly yelled, to no one in particular, “fire them!” What makes you think he will change his methods in the future? I am grateful for Trump turning on the spotlight. It’s time for someone else to point it properly.
President DeSantis is very smart to to surround himself so far with bright and loyal people. Trump never did that.
He did that in trade and economics. When it came to DoJ he got very bad advice, and all other things, especially re IC, he was blocked by the Senate (small “s”?).
There is a very important factor so often overlooked.
At the very outset of his term, he was not at all coy about dismissing his subordinates. However, the Deep State operation targeting Trump and that leaked stories, innuendo, and smear to the media was also leaking reports to specific, chosen congressional committee members (Deep State Darlings who made sure others knew as well) telling them that the President would likely end up charged with a crime, impeached and removed.
It was this selective leaking that led the Republican Senate to distance itself from the President and to adopt a combative posture (shame!), to view him as ‘dead man walking,’ and to warn him against further personnel changes. If not for this, Sessions would have been gone before Comey, along with many others.
No other American president has ever achieved so many astounding beneficial, far-reaching policy goals with so little support from his own Party (an understatement because Congressional Republicans vehemently opposed him!), and a historically intense, acute, militant opposition from Democrats.
No one else could have salvaged such a presidency and garnered so many laurels.
DeSantis is not going to run.
Florida will stay red.
We had no idea how many Republicans were Liz Cheney Republicans either until Trump was elected. Any
MAGA presidemt will have this problem but because of President Trump — Maybe a little less so. He had the
Republican Congress working against him with Ryan and Senators like McCain. He did not appoint them. Like
one of my Senators– they lie to get elected.
It’s up to Trump to decide if he wants to run again or if he wants to be a kingmaker. If he runs he will win a third time.
You seem to labor under misapprehension that PDJT could hire anyone he wanted.
He had to choose from a list of predetermined Turkeyhead options for all key positions.
Those not on the list.
A. Do not get confirmed.
B. Some PDJT proposed candidates couldn’t even get an interview with ANY Senator sitting on the relevant Committee, to convince them that they should be on the list.
Ditto re firing anyone.
Comeys firing is a good example.
Dingbat Wray was slotted into Stoolworm Comeys seat.
He only got Ratcliffe(not on the list), because Grenell gave them monstrous acid reflux.
As for other appointments, he will be much the wiser next time around.
I have a distinct feeling we are going to get less off Trump the magnanimous, and more of Trump the terminator.
Fire en masse is more important at this point.
What our Prez learned too late was appointing “Acting” individuals to key positions. Then if their confirmations were blocked or the clock ran out, play “musical chairs” by moving the effective ones around.
Milley’s treason didn’t boil over until the Coup was full tilt in January.
Trump never really had the fine instrumentalities of power, DS DC too compromised at every turn.
His primary weapon was his supporters, nothing in DC.
Total incompetence!
It’s not incompetent when it’s the plan
Planning and incompetance are not mutually exclusive.
In this case they go hand in hand.
It seems everyday I wonder what is going on with the top Brass at the Pentagon and the military. I find it hard to believe there is not some disagreement an even resistance to what is going on over there. But then again Joebama began the take over of the upper brass starting back in 2009. We all saw the effects of the early changes in military leadership by what they did to President Trump when Trump was Commander in Chief. Still I find it hard to believe that there are not any real patriots that still exist in the upper levels of the Military. But then again much has happened in the last 10 years that I would have found “hard to believe”.
The same issue, total, silent complicity, throughout the organization, exists in the FBI, CIA, DoJ and most other govt agencies. Seems extremely unlikely in populations of this size that no one pushes back, objects, leaks information or acts/ behaves in any way to subvert the efforts of the corrupt leadership but it happens.
There very well may be pushback, but you’ll never hear about it unless the person resigns and then goes to a free news outlet.
Then the FBI will show up and charge the individual with leaking classified information.
We are in Matrix Movie-like Potemkin village where the “current truth “ changes as needed to support the regime.
What is going on? Three words: Military Industrial Complex.
THE FOOL OF KABUL
In light of this most recent testimony, Gen. Milley should have stepped down as soon as Kabul fell. The credibility of leaders depends on the public perception of their integrity. Milley is either a fool or a liar, neither can be tolerated.
Gen. Miley has almost certainly been investigated for Treason already. TimeWillTell.
That investigation should extend to the oval office.
Consolidating ? On Kabul Airport? Ohhhhhh … so that’s why your vaunted military couldn’t even hold the perimeter from swarming civilians. Got it. Nice job General.
BTW … all those weapons are really kewl jewelry on our boys uniforms. Taxpayer jewelery
It would be way too much to hope he would be fired in the manner that Kim Jong Un would fire a failed general. Plasuable change occurs if the House is taken over by conservatives in 2022. Maybe charges of lying to congress. Otherwise he will reap the rewards on retirement with the corruption network in play. Then there would be the hope for a reserve seat next to the departed Senator from AZ.
Not fired – Court-Martial!
I haven’t yet seen the explanation of why Bagram air base was literally abandoned by U.S. forces in the dead of night – no hand over to the Afghan military. People are saying this is why the Afghan military gave up – they knew America had just abandoned them.
I believe malevolent acts by the U.S. military leadership occurred – there should be a full investigation.
Because this what the CCP wanted and told Biden to do.
My opinion has always been that exiting Afghanistan is something the Permanent War Party resents. So they’ve done this in a way that is petulant and “I’m taking my ball and going home”.
A huge part of the problem, however, is that the Government Party writ large really does drink their own bath water. They really did think that the Afghan army could stop the Taliban despite the obvious problems. They really do believe all that stuff about “women and girls” and empowerment despite the fact that the Taliban are ruthless murderers who couldn’t care less about Miller’s wokeness.
That’s how you get that bizarre speech by Biden defending something absolutely nobody disputes (leaving Afghanistan) while blamestorming pretty much everyone for the fact that their insular, incestuous, policies and plans folded like a cheap lawn chair in the face of reality.
I thought that too, but I really think the military knew the truth, reported it, but it t didn’t fit the regime’s policy goals and was ignored.
I include the top military leadership as part of the regime.
Classic pompous propaganda word salad. As if words are all that is needed to make something true. They are all in and committed to narratives as reality. They should be fired but they won’t be, and will continue their lies and woke narrative.
Since general officers require congressional approval for promotion why can’t they withdraw that approval? Or censure Milley? Or defund his position? As for Austin why can’t they impeach him?
The answer to the Austin question is that his qualifications are obvious. And it is extremely important for the young black males of the US to see a black man in charge and holding a highly responsible position even if he is a gibberish fountain or Gilbert and Sullivan character.
Does anyone see the parallels and incredible poor judgement by these guys and virtually every agency head in this administration?
Look at the Military’s judgement
Look at the CDC’s Judgement
Look at Homeland’s Judgement
All policies coming from these groups may actually harm Americans more than help them.
May harm?
Exactly! I am still waiting for a Prog to name one policy implemented by BHO and this installed regime that benefited middle class Americans.
Obamacare is a disaster and doesn’t count as beneficial.
Remember when Reagan said the worst thing you could hear was,”I’m from the government, I’m here to help you.”
Absolutely! But the constant display of incompetence and poor judgment increasingly leads me to believe that the whole Trump-Russia saga was more the result of the FBI and CIA being incompetent and not treacherous. I predict that Durham will “conclude”that Brennan, Comey and McCabe were essentially no better at their jobs and no more capable of critical thinking than Austin and Milley.
In Washington, failure isn’t punished, while a$$kissing is about the only thing that is rewarded. These Obama dance hall girls should have been clinging to the landing gear of the C130 bugging out of Afghanistan. I am totally disgusted with this administration and the Obama rump swabs in the pentagon.
Just guessing, but I don’t think they will be fired. And I am certain you can’t fire Austin.
None of that is good, but such is the cabal.
This is the Obiden/JoeBama Administration.
Maybe they should post pictures of themselves holding signs, #PleaseKeepOurGirls
#Jobs4Jihadis2.0
Delusional…you cannot bargain with people who are cutting off the heads of their opponents. They understand just one thing, force!
Administration’s usually select the best qualified for their key leadership positions. This illegitimate administration, did the exact opposite. From the idiot in the Oval Office on down, every key position was filled with the most inept, unqualified frauds ever put together. This entire corrupt administration is a pathetic joke. A world class embarrassment. The results of voter fraud are obvious, how else could the most stupid of society be in charge.
Note carefully that the bench from which they drew was whatever the Obama/Swamp vetted between 2008-16 (and that Trump failed to clean out).
Got my torch & pitchfork ri’heah!
This is the military that will turn their arms on American citizens
Was this the same hearing where Milley said the military needs to understand white supremacy and rolled out his new required reading list and book club?
Fallen Angel
Call Sign: Extortion 17
Movie Trailer
https://watch.salemnow.com/packages/fallen-angel-call-sign-extortion-17/videos/fallen-angel-call-sign-extortion-17-1
About
On a moonless night in Afghanistan, on August 6, 2011, at approximately 2:22 AM local time, Gold Squadron of SEAL Team Six boarded a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, and lifted off for their mission. Flying just above the treetops, the helicopter rapidly entered the Tangi valley, headed for a small village. The team readied themselves as the pilot gave the signal to prepare the troops to exit the bird, “One minute… one minute.”
But Extortion 17 and the personnel aboard would never reach their destination. Thirty Americans and one American military working dog were shot out of the sky – no survivors. This was the greatest single-incident loss of life in the history of the Navy SEALs, U. S. Special Operations, and in the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
Immediately following the military’s investigative report of the shootdown, questions were raised. Why did it take 17 minutes to fly a 10-minute mission? Why was the black box missing from the crash site? Why was the Fire Control Officer of the AC-130 Gunship flying above denied permission to engage the enemy preparing to mount an attack against the helicopter? Ten years later, these same questions are still being asked, but now as military personnel come forward, so do long awaited answers.
The plan relied entirely upon the Afghan military and police forces holding off the Taliban, after the Biden administration pulled the rug out from under them by withdrawing US for air support, maintenance, and logistics.
I’m sure all the Afghan allies of the US are comforted by the fact they’re only a small minority, most of the translators and fighters came from the Gulf countries.
A case could be made that closing Bagrham AFB was giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
When you’re playing chess do you ever voluntarily take your queen off the board?
Those clowns, especially Miss Milley, should be charged with treason. There is no statute of limitations on treason.
Everyone says Biden isn’t really in charge … but this incoherent and completely chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan seems like his style all the way. Just pick up and leave Bagram Air Base, in the middle of the night, without so much as a goodbye? I can picture the befuddled old man snapping to Gen. Milley “Just go! Just make them gone! It’s airplanes, just get on and fly away!”
And Milley clicks his heels, and with a hearty JA WOHL! makes it happen.
I’m sure the Taliban will get right on that.
Good luck, bud!
A US C-17 Packed With 640 Afghans Trying to Escape the Taliban
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/08/inside-reach-871-us-c-17-packed-640-people-trying-escape-taliban/184563/
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III safely evacuated some 640 Afghans from Kabul late Sunday, according to U.S. defense officials and photos obtained by Defense One.
That’s believed to be among the most people ever flown in the C-17, a massive military cargo plane that has been operated by the U.S. and its allies for nearly three decades. Flight tracking software shows the plane belongs to the 436th Air Wing, based at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Another crisis. Another wave of third world reinforcements for the enemy within.
Enlarge the photo of the airplane full of Afghanis. Almost all are military aged males. This will not end well my friends. A whole lot of jihadis have gotten on these planes.
Very few women and children.
The article didn’t mention where it landed. Wonder why?
Problem is that there were 87,000 who cooperated with the Americans and other forces. There are reports of many murders.
They would not have been blind-sided if they had listened to, and respected, the insights that were no doubt left behind by the duly-elected President of the United States. No, PDJT is not “a military professional,” and maybe that’s exactly why he’s “so right,” so much of the time.
Obviously, our mistakes began in Afghanistan twenty years ago, as we right in where Russia was getting out. Perhaps China will now be the next one to go into “the Graveyard of Empires.”
Yes, we had to get out. But we had to get out the right way, instead of leaving people clinging to the outside of our airplanes. This is infinitely worse than what happened in Saigon, and it’s got
Biden’s…the puppeteer’s… Barack Obama’s name written all over it.Those 2 are a disgrace to this country and should be placed in Gitmo ASAP.
So does this line of questioning make Congressman Lamborn a domestic terrorist? How dare he question the Biden administration.
What’s left to say, other than we have morons running our government and military. With both of them on the fritz, we are sunk as a nation unless we take it back at gun point. It’s not that we have different opinions, it’s that our opinions matter because the government works for us, not the other way around. “When the government fears its people there is freedom and liberty, but when the people fear their government there it will always end up in tyranny.
So, my friends, do we fight tyranny or do we become slaves of the state whose only purpose is to fund and support the a tyrannical government’s bloated budged and lack of understanding of just who runs this country. We have elected officials to help us do that but apparently they have forgotten that.
Those morons running the military are more worried about woke nonsense and LGBTQ doubletalk and 57 genders and men having babies all coming from the Biden regime which is really run by Odumbo and his pals. When will people start to realize that Odumbo and his radical pals will do and have tried to weaken this country every way they can. What else do they have to do to make people realize this is all done purposely? They are flooding the US with 3rd world low IQ morons giving them taxpayer money to stay in hotels while stealing our rights in the name of the kung flu while the illegals are spread throughout the US with no vaccine no test. The military may as well be run by 5 year old girls playing house. Gas prices going through the roof, inflation out of control, landlords getting hosed which means contract law is under assault, 500 people sitting in the DC jail for months with no charges, the rule of law is dead, governors killing 50,000 senior citizens on purpose because they no longer reliably vote for their own abuse, big tech censoring citizens through government coercion, trillions being pissed away on communist radical nonsense that winds up in the hands of crooks and on and on and on. This has to be stopped and soon and don’t look for Republicans to do much of anything they are in on it.
This was not an accident and it has been in the works for some time now.
The radical knee bending Secretary of defense and one of the many members of the CFR in the DOD Milley have been doing everything possible their whole career to degrade and destroy our military.
They all are marionettes with scripts. Has Obama lost control of the strings?
On a cruise together? Just the guys?
Austin is the clown that sold Obamboozler on the idea that ISIS is the JV. However, by the look of his head gear, he learned his lesson and isn’t making the same mistake with covid.
They weren’t wrong.
They didn’t say anything coherent, just platitudes.
Can’t be wrong if you don’t have a plan.
WTF is “our retrograde”? sounds like deep state subterfuge. There was no orderly withdrawal. Military left without taking our equipment and weapons. So, no surprise that the our equipment and weapons are in the possession of the Taliban.
Wow-
Milley makes General Westmoreland of Vietnam fame look like Alexander the Great!!
Jesus….H Christ. This is OUR military leadership? Climate surveys and screening incoming applicates, WTF? I predict that our military will steadily degrade to the point that they are totally ineffective as a force to defend this country. People like Austin and Milley are precisely the result of the military standard of promoting incompetence to get them out of the operational, field level positions……Good GRIEF. Their testimony was beyond scary….as were most of the questions.
Instaed, they’ll both get medals.
No worries…the LGBQTPedo Flag was flown to the last possible moment at the US Embassy and then evacuated to Washington, DC for use in Military Gender Studies and CRT Hate YT Sessions
Allowing Afghanistan to be taken by the Taliban was probably all planned and done on purpose. All our military equipment will now be sent to China and Russia for examination and they will steal our technology.
All the records and computers in our embassy are either now destroyed or sent to China and Russia for examination and possible blackmail material.
How many American generals, politicians and contractors took money we spent in Afghanistan and it wound up in their pockets?
Who is importing drugs from this country and who is making money from it?
Who is arming the Taliban with weapons and ammo? From where are they getting their supplies?
After 20 years of fighting these people you’d think they’d be all killed. From where are they getting all these reinforcements? Were we really fighting and killing them or just putting on a phony war show?
As to “Who is arming the Taliban with weapons and ammo?”
Biden had Bagram abandoned. Weapons and ammo were left. Go to my blog post today and see tweets showing humvees, guns, and ammunition left at the base. I have read that there helicopters on base. Additionally, I am reading other sources that say we gave the Afghans an Air Force.
It’s Summer break for CIA. Most personnel will be back at their offices in late September, early October (it’s the cruise season).
The whole world can now see, that the once greatest military on earth, lacks qualified leadership. Austin and Milley have no business being in charge of anything, they are in over their heads. They look as befuddled all of the time as the drooling plant pretending to be president in the Oval Office.
Fired? These two bozo’s should be put in jail for sheer incompetence.
I always wondered why Trump didn’t fire Milley after his statement regarding his presence with Trump going to the church in DC during the riots. He made some kind of comment that he shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I would have fired him, stripped him of his rank and denied him his pension.
President Trump likely didn’t know what Milley said. President Trump was being yelled at by Lawyers and other “executive services” people the entire time he was in office. Harassed by the press and the Communist Sympathizers around the world.
Doesn’t it just give you a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that these two are in charge of our military?
In the end, they will be the toast of the Establishment & get multimillion dollar book deals.
Just imagine how it will be the next time the Muslims attack us.
First of all, nobody will see it coming because all the intelligence agencies are too busy looking for white supremacists ghosts to care about the real threats to the country.
Our military will be pathetically unprepared to srtike back because they have been too busy worrying about which soldiers use which pronouns and using tax payer dollars to make sure they get the elective sex change surgery they so desire.
And even if they do strike back, no other country is gonna trust us enough to help us with things like intel, the use of any facilities, and fly over rights.
In short, we’re boned.
My advice is to not let your children or grandchildren join the military while these idiots are in charge.
Our country will be less safe after JoBama floods it with refugees from the cult of islam.
What else is new?
Gee I hope they don’t forget to bring our pride parade flag back from our embassy. Lol
Just like Tim Geithner and James Clapper, these two seem to be uniquely skilled in being idiots.
I think it belongs on every resume of every senor gov. official in D.C.
Miley is a liberal snake, Austin has an IQ that is at least 30 points below what is required for the job.
The real problem is that there is a Soros/Obama cabal behind an unelected president, and they are “driving it like they stole it”.
I want to know why humvees, guns of all sorts, ammunition, helicopters, and other materials that can be used against us were left for the Taliban.
I have tweets in today’s blog post of the guns and equipment taken over by the Taliban.
I am even finding some references to having left an Air Force.
We should all contact our Senators and Congressmen and demand a dollar figure accounting of what the Biden Blunder has cost the taxpayers.
The infuriating thing is that congressional Republicans, apparently, are stumped (perplexed?) as to what their position should be on this outrageous and ignominious withdrawal! Can anyone imagine something more absurd?
Would their policy position be any easier for them if a Republican president had been at the helm? Looks that way!
Poor fools! They always think that Mommy will give them brownie points for not piling on while others are doing so because it ‘would look bad.’
‘We’re better than this’ they always seem to be thinking just before Dems run them into the ground.
Now we know where slobiden’s misinformation came from. Typical Obama – arm the enemy
The primary mistake was assuming any type of ‘diplomatic’ mission or significant US presence in Afghanistan would be possible among the 11th Century Taliban ‘without’ continuous US military superiority to control them.
A key element of US military superiority is air power, specifically close air support plus continuous supply via aircraft.
Thus shutting down Bagrham AFB while significant US interests foolishly also remained in Afghanistan set up the situation we are in now. Namely trying to effectively support/defend US interests while surrounded by a large civilian population. (ie Kabul Airport)
So the question is, whose idea was it to maintain a significant US presence in Afghanistan ‘after’ we had removed our ability to defend it (ie full US military capability at Bagrham AFB)?
Specifically, was the military just following the orders of the Whitehouse and State Department, with their heads up you know where, or was this the plan the military leaders promoted to the same?
Who cares? This is Biden’s cabinet devising these non-plans. These are academics and children, who believe America is the force for evil in the world, who may have been kids when we arrived in Afghanistan and Iraq, and would not realize the 11th century mentality of these barbarians just waiting for us to get bored and go home.
Biden should know, but he’s been wrong about everything in foreign policy for 40 years, according to Robert Gates. Now he waits for pudding time and a fresh diaper. Obama should know, but he’s one of them, so he’s fine with this. In his eyes, American patriots are the terrorists, not the Taliban.
Congress never should have approved the ridiculous cabinet of ingenues we’re stuck with. Jake Sullivan? Seriously?! Couldn’t even get former Sen Webb? What a cluster.
I don’t think these guys are really generals. Norman Schwarzkopf was a General.
IMO Austin and Milly are powerful political activists with a leftist globalist agenda.
I hear that we’re ramping up our presence in Syria and other places too.
I’ll bet they’re glad to know that democracy is on it’s way.
Exactly obama fired all the fighting Generals, over 200 of them! The Millie types where what was left in the military!