Michael Ramirez for August 29, 2021

Didn’t have much to begin with.

That got lost back in Feb 2020 when the Last Occupant negotiated only with the Taliban our terms of surrender with a promised withdrawal date of 1 May 2021 as long as US troops weren’t fired at. We even released 5000 Taliban prisoners in the deal. the Afghan government, such as it was, knew it was snubbed and deserted and pretty much gave up when it came to fruition.

Patjade seems to have an opinion on everything, not right, but an opinion just the same.

They should have asked the indigenous people of North America, the Kurds, and the list goes one

America’s credibility was pretty near nil anyway.

Losing our credibility is a good thing. Now, maybe the rest of the World will stop asking us for handouts.

We are OUT. M-IC can crash the market.

Iseau, I do not normally respond to commentators like you, because it’s a waste of time trying to explain to you the difference between fact and opinion. You wouldn’t recognize the truth if it bit you on your face.Patjade has been sharing very valuable, factual information along with legitimate sources for a very long time. Your recent little pittance doesn’t hold a candle to the volume of work Patjade has produced in GoComics and especially in Michael Ramirez’ cartoons. It is unimaginable how much time Patjade must put into actual research.I assume, and I am probably right about this; your only sources of information are OAN, Newsmax, Fox, and tons of false, regurgitated crap from Facebook. I suggest you look up the words: fact, truth and opinion in the dictionary and then practice how they are used in the real world, and not in Kelly Ann Conway’s alternate fact’s universe.As a side note, I am posting this twice, because I have learned from past experience that people like you will delete your comments; which also deletes my response to your comments. I want Patjade to know how much I value her well sourced information. Thank you Patjade.

Once again…this has been brewing for decades with the last 4 presidents setting up the stage…..no one had the guts to end this debacle but Biden stepped up! No matter WHO occupied the WH, the same thing would have happened! Isis and Taliban are terrorists and liars and not to be trusted! Period! It’s what they do!

To Zenbran As you may note, I have not removed my comment so your double posting of yours was not only unnecessary but after reading it I would suggest a total wast of time and space. I will not bother to validate your rambling by further comment. Except to say NiceTry, You Loose!

That credibility was lost by actually invading the nation, which had nothing to do with 9/11, followed by invading Iraq for other false claims. A stake was driven through any remaining U.S. credility with the election of Herr Gropingfuror in 2016 and his crowning performances with COVID and the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Thanks to liar and proponent of torture GW Bush.

The whole world knew from the beginning that we’d lose and leave. Russia tried and left. France tried and left. The Romans were smart enough to not even try to modernize that country.

Most expensive gravel pit in the world.

I don’t believe we lost our credibility behind. We said we’d leave and we left.

Sadly, hard to leave behind something that we couldn’t bring in the first place…

I have to say, Ramirez has got to be one of the best, if not the best artist posting on GC. This ‘toons art and message are spot on and very poignant. To be expected of one who’s won two Pulitzer Prizes and numerous other awards. Sad to him so denigrated by the left wing nabobs here. Mike is like a giant surrounded by whinging gnats.

We left that there when we invaded by during the Bush-Cheney tyranny.

@Zenbran – Bwahahahah, research! Heheh. Try left wing talking points, propaganda and disinformation. Too funny. She keeps posting the same lying crap over and over despite the mountains of evidence proving her wrong. Some of her more honest left wing peers will acknowledge they’re wrong when provided links showing their error or at least won’t repost it. Not our Patty, doesn’t matter the evidence against her lies, she keeps vomiting up the same erroneous crap day after day, ‘toon after ‘toon. Sad thing is, by doing so she casts doubt on her credibility when she does post something of value.

George W. Bush should have never gone into Afghanistan. Pretty sure his father told him it was a bad idea.

Rosie lies about Patjade. Patjade told the truth about the 5000 Taliban.

Feb. 29, 2020 — U.S. and Taliban sign an agreement that sets the terms for a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021, but do not release two classified annexes that set the conditions for U.S. withdrawal. At the time of the agreement, the U.S. had about 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, according to a Department of Defense inspector general report.

The withdrawal of U.S. troops is contingent on the “Taliban’s action against al-Qaeda and other terrorists who could threaten us,” Trump says in a speech at the Conservative Political Active Conference. (U.S. withdrawals, however, occurred despite the fact that the Defense Department inspector general’s office repeatedly reported that the Taliban worked with al-Qaeda.)

The pact includes the release of 5,000 Taliban fighters who have been held prisoners by the Afghanistan government, which is not a party to the agreement.

March 1, 2020 — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani objects to a provision in the agreement that would require his country to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners. “Freeing Taliban prisoners is not [under] the authority of America but the authority of the Afghan government,” Ghani says. “There has been no commitment for the release of 5,000 prisoners.”

March 4, 2020 — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley tells the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Taliban pledged in the classified documents not to attack U.S. troops and coalition forces or launch “high-profile attacks,” including in Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals. “[T]he Taliban have signed up to a whole series of conditions … all the Members of the Congress have all the documents associated with this agreement,” Milley says.

Despite the agreement, the Taliban attack Afghan forces in Helmand province, and the U.S. responds with an air strike.

cont’d

March 10, 2020 — Under pressure from the U.S., Ghani orders the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners, but at the rate of 100 per day.

May 19, 2020 — In releasing its quarterly report on Afghanistan, the DOD inspector general’s office says the U.S. cut troop levels in Afghanistan by more than 4,000, even though “the Taliban escalated violence further after signing the agreement.”

“U.S. officials stated the Taliban must reduce violence as a necessary condition for continued U.S. reduction in forces and that remaining high levels of violence could jeopardize the U.S.-Taliban agreement,” according to the report, which covered activity from Jan. 1, 2020, to March 31, 2020. “Even still, the United States began to reduce its forces in Afghanistan from roughly 13,000 to 8,600.”

Aug. 18, 2020 — In releasing a report that covered activity in Afghanistan from April 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020, the Defense Department inspector general’s office says, “The Taliban did not appear to uphold its commitment to distance itself from terrorist organizations in Afghanistan. UN and U.S. officials reported that the Taliban continued to support al-Qaeda, and conducted joint attacks with al-Qaeda members against Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.”

Sept. 3, 2020 — Afghanistan releases the final 400 Taliban prisoners, as required under the U.S.-Taliban agreement, clearing the way for intra-Afghan peace talks to begin.

Sept. 12, 2020 — After seven months of delays, Afghanistan government officials and Taliban representatives meet in Qatar for peace talks. The U.S.-Taliban agreement called for the first peace talks to begin on March 10.

cont’d

Sept. 16, 2020 — The Taliban continued attacks on government forces. The Voice of America reported that “Taliban attacks in three provinces across northern Afghanistan since Tuesday killed at least 17 people, including six civilians, and wounded scores of others even as a Taliban political team was negotiating peace with Afghan government representatives in Doha, Qatar.”

Sept. 18, 2020 — At a press conference, Trump says, “We’re dealing very well with the Taliban. They’re very tough, they’re very smart, they’re very sharp. But, you know, it’s been 19 years, and even they are tired of fighting, in all fairness.”

Nov. 16, 2020 — Congressional Republicans, responding to news reports that the Trump administration will rapidly reduce forces in Afghanistan, warn of what Sen. Marco Rubio calls “a Saigon-type of situation” in Afghanistan. “A rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan now would hurt our allies and delight the people who wish us harm,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says.

Nov. 17, 2020 — Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller formally announces that the U.S. will reduce U.S. forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by Jan. 15, 2021.

On the same day, the Defense Department IG’s office released a report for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2020, that said the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban representatives had stalled and violence increased. “At the same time, the Taliban increased its attacks against Afghan forces, leading to ‘distressingly high’ levels of violence that could threaten the peace agreement,” the report said.

cont’d

Dec. 2, 2020 — After past false starts, Afghan and Taliban negotiators agree on a framework to govern peace negotiations. “At the same time, the Taliban continued its ‘fight and talk’ strategy, increasing violence across the country to increase its leverage with the Afghan government in negotiations,” the Defense Department IG’s office said a quarterly report covering this period.

The IG report also continued to warn that the Taliban was apparently violating the withdrawal agreement. “This withdrawal is contingent on the Taliban abiding by its commitments under the agreement, which include not allowing terrorists to use Afghan soil to threaten the United States and its allies,” the report said. “However, it was unclear whether the Taliban was in compliance with the agreement, as members of al-Qaeda were integrated into the Taliban’s leadership and command structure.”

Jan. 15 — “Today, U.S. force levels in Afghanistan have reached 2,500,” Miller, the acting defense secretary, says in a statement. “[T]his drawdown brings U.S. forces in the country to their lowest levels since 2001.”

Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh tells the BBC that the Trump administration made too many concessions to the Taliban. “I am telling [the United States] as a friend and as an ally that trusting the Taliban without putting in a verification mechanism is going to be a fatal mistake,” Saleh says, adding that Afghanistan leaders warned the U.S. that “violence will spike” as the 5,000 Taliban prisoners were released. “Violence has spiked,” he added.

I am not going to add all the material that relates to Biden’s decisions. The fact is, that he had the choice of bringing back US troops and prolonging the war or of accepting that most of the US public wanted out. He chose the latter.

It is pretty clear that many in the US Government thought the Afghan army would be able to deal with the Taliban.

April 14 — Saying it is “time to end the forever war,” Biden announces that all troops will be removed from Afghanistan by Sept. 11.

In a speech explaining the decision, Biden says he became convinced after trip to Afghanistan in 2008 that “more and endless American military force could not create or sustain a durable Afghan government.” Biden says the U.S. achieved its initial and primary objective, “to ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again” and that “our reasons for remaining in Afghanistan are becoming increasingly unclear.”

Biden says he “inherited a diplomatic agreement” between the U.S. and the Taliban that all U.S. forces would be out by May 1. “It is perhaps not what I would have negotiated myself, but it was an agreement made by the United States government, and that means something,” Biden says, adding that final troop withdrawal would begin on May 1.

“We will not conduct a hasty rush to the exit,” Biden says. “We’ll do it responsibly, deliberately, and safely.” Biden assures Americans that the U.S. has “trained and equipped a standing force of over 300,000 Afghan personnel” and that “they’ll continue to fight valiantly, on behalf of the Afghans, at great cost.”

April 18 — In a released statement, Trump criticizes Biden’s Sept. 11 withdrawal deadline saying, “we can and should get out earlier.” He concludes, “Getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do. I planned to withdraw on May 1st, and we should keep as close to that schedule as possible.”

cont’d

May 18 — The Defense Department IG releases a report for the first three months of 2021 that says the Taliban had increased its attacks against Afghanistan government forces during this period and appears to be preparing with al-Qaeda for “large-scale offensives.”

“The Taliban initiated 37 percent more attacks this quarter than during the same period in 2020,” the report said. “According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Taliban maintained close ties with al-Qaeda and was very likely preparing for large-scale offensives against population centers and Afghan government installations.”

May 18 — In a House hearing on U.S. policy in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, downplays the prospect of a swift Taliban takeover when U.S. forces leave. “If they [Taliban] pursue, in my judgment, a military victory, it will result in a long war, because Afghan security forces will fight, other Afghans will fight, neighbors will come to support different forces,” Khalilzad says.

Later Khalilzad added, “I personally believe that the statements that the [Afghan] forces will disintegrate, and the Talibs will take over in short order are mistaken. The real choices that the Afghans will face is between a long war and negotiated settlement.”

cont’d

June 26 — At a rally in Ohio, his first since leaving office, Trump boasts that Biden can’t stop the process he started to remove troops from Afghanistan, and acknowledges the Afghan government won’t last once U.S. troops leave.

“I started the process,” Trump says. “All the troops are coming back home. They [the Biden administration] couldn’t stop the process. 21 years is enough. Don’t we think? 21 years. They couldn’t stop the process. They wanted to, but it was very tough to stop the process when other things… It’s a shame. 21 years, by a government that wouldn’t last. The only way they last is if we’re there. What are we going to say? We’ll stay for another 21 years, then we’ll stay for another 50. The whole thing is ridiculous. … We’re bringing troops back home from Afghanistan.”

July 24 — At a rally in Phoenix, Trump again boasts, “I started the move out of Afghanistan,” adding “I think it was impossible for him [Biden] to stop it, but it was a much different deal.”

Trump says that when he was president, in a phone conversation with the leader of the Taliban, he warned that after U.S. troops leave if “you decide to do something terrible to our country … we are going to come back and we are going to hit you harder than any country has ever been hit.” Trump says he believes the two “had a real understanding” but that after Trump left office “now they’re going wild over there.”

https://www.factcheck.org/2021/08/timeline-of-u-s-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/

Trump, always the great deal-maker … according to the deluded. How many bankruptcy declarations?

But Biden was also clueless about how bad things could get because he fell for the idea that the Afghan army would fight.

No, that credibility was lost when GW Bush invaded not one, but TWO countries that had nothing to do with 9/11, while letting the one which did slide.

That was only the last of a long series of helicopters taking away American credibility. An entire fleet departed during the blighted administration of The Shame Who Will Not Be Named.

They left the Service Dogs that helped protect them. Do you know what the Taliban does to American working Dog ?

Hey Baslim, you feel better now? But you still didn’t refute what I said. You, Patty and others here said that President Trump just arbitrarily released 5,000 Imprisoned Talibs. That’s not what happened. It was a prisoner exchange and you conveniently omitted that part of the deal was the release of 1,000 Afghan soldiers and security personnel.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/662629/afghan-govt-taliban-complete-prisoner-exchange/

https://time.com/5879018/trump-administration-prisoners-afghanistan/

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/25/821494669/afghanistan-taliban-to-begin-prisoner-releases-at-end-of-month#:~:text=The%20deal%2C%20which%20lays%20a%20framework%20for%20the,held%20by%20Taliban%20were%20also%20to%20be%20released.

Here’s the left leaning Wikipedia’s take on it which clearly lays out the details and timeline of the prisoner exchange:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doha_Agreement_(2020)#:~:text=The%20deal%20requires%20the%20Afghan%20government%20to%20release,for%201%2C000%20government%20soldiers%20held%20by%20the%20Taliban.

“By August 2020, the Afghan government released 5,100 prisoners, and the Taliban released 1,000.” – Wikipedia.

You can post dozens of pages irrelevant to the issue of the prisoner exchange, but that doesn’t change the fact that PatJade and others are incorrect by claiming that President Trump simply waved his hand are released those prisoners. Didn’t happen that way, it was a long drawn out procedure.

We have no credibility with the rest of the world, only with dumbed down corporate media propagandized Americans. It’s called the defense department, not the offense department, which it seems to have become.

No. We’d already left our credibility in other countries. We didn’t bring any into Afghanistan.