A park in Kabul on Friday afternoon. © Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
New York Times: As Afghanistan Forces Crumble, an Air of Unreality Grips the Capital
KABUL, Afghanistan — With his military crumbling, President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan fired a crucial part of his command structure and brought in a new one. He created a nebulous “supreme state council,” announced months ago, that has hardly met. And as districts fall to the Taliban across the country, he has installed a giant picture of himself outside the airport’s domestic terminal.
On Friday, U.S. officials announced the definitive closure of Bagram Air Base, the nerve center of 20 years of American military operations in Afghanistan, in the functional end of the American war here. As the last troops and equipment trickle out of Afghanistan, an atmosphere of unreality has settled over the government and Kabul, the capital.
Americans have not been a visible presence in the city for years, so the U.S. departure has not affected surface normality: Markets bustle and streets are jammed with homeward-bound civil servants by midafternoon. At night, the corner bakeries continue to be illuminated by a single bulb as vendors sell late into the evening.
But beneath the surface there is unease as the Taliban creep steadily toward Kabul.
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WNU Editor: This article sums up what most Afghans want to do .... Anxious Afghans fear tomorrow; many seeking to leave (AP).
2 comments:
I find it difficult to be more than a wee bit sympathetic for some Afghans.
I feel for the Afghans.. how many times was their country invaded by conquerors trying to rule the planet? At least 3-4 times... and the countries who did this, among them Russia and the USA are some of the most powerful militaries and just decimate civilians and combatants by the hundreds of thousands each time. AND on top these countries never paid a price for it. It's a war crime. Tell me please why was the USA bombing Afghanistan for 20 years? Look at the number of bombs dropped every year.. like tens of thousands, every year. Bombs. 500lbs. Over the 2 decades more than 100,000 bombs dropped. Entire cities flattened. People uprooted. Businesses and families destroyed.
So yeah, I have sympathy.
And just so you know...
Your country may be a target by the powerful at one point. Maybe you're top dog now, but in 200 years maybe your country is targeted for 20 years and you go to bed and suddenly the city block where your friend lives is suddenly gone and the explosion was so strong that you lost your eye sight for a few days not knowing if you get it back.
So yeah.. imagine now having to be slaughtered by fanatics because you maybe were a translator and won't get out in time.. or they come for your family or anyone who was nice to you
We, the free people of this world, no matter if you're American, British, Japanese or Russian or Chinese..we need to hold those that start wars accountable or this will never ever end. The companies that made hundred of billions during this 1 trillion+dollar stunt, they are of course happy and meddle in Washington. But they're psychopathic scum and our enemies. THEY cannot deserve your sympathy. Unless you believe in the world police myth.. I'm sorry but except for maybe 2 wars, the overwhelming number of wars America was and is in are unjustified, cruel, and propagated by psychopaths.
Correct me if I'm wrong. Happy to listen
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