Sorry igCorcaigh, my politics are firmly to the Left and unfortunately NullZero is right. In the 90s, it was generally accepted that compulsory hijabs and worse was bad. Following 9/11 there was a fairly swift change of stance, initially with very far left groups suddenly switching and defending items like the hijab. I remember reading online arguments between SWP members about whether or not they should be protesting France's hijab ban in schools in 2004. The party was officially protesting it but many members were uncomfortable at supporting something that's history is in religious repression. And while there were legitimate arguments about the ban leading to girls being removed from schools and ultimately less integrated, ultimately it was just another step on the polarisation of political stances, where if your political opponent opposes something, you must defend it regardless of how it actually fits with your beliefs or not.
It has led to the point where in 2017, Swedish Finance minister Magdalena Andersson posted a photo of her and two colleagues wearing hats implying their choice to wear hats in Sweden was the exact same as women being forced to wear hijabs (realistically the niqāb is enforced on most Iranian women) in Iran. Following the New Zealand mosque attacks, hijab wearing was temporarily taken up by western women as a show of solidarity with muslim people. A well-intentioned gesture sure, but one that completely ignores the many, many women of muslim backgrounds who have been fighting hard against being compelled to wear the hijab. With many women from these backgrounds saying in the months after that it lead to increased pressures from their families to go back to wearing headscarves. The first panels of the first issue of Ms Marvel, Kamala Khan, from 2013, features as friend of the main character explaining why her hijab is a feminist choice and gives her the power of remaining unseen. Not a literal power in a world of superheroes, it's genuinely a running theme through the comic series that hijab wearing is a choice made by women because of the metaphorical power it gives them. This was written by muslim convert G. Willow Wilson a white American with a non-religious upbringing who converted to Islam apparently because she had a bad reaction to a contraceptive hormone that made her seek out god. She is now lauded in many circles as a modern voice of Islam.
The liberal left has, collectively at it's leadership levels, and among many in it's grassroots, decided that hijabs are empowering. I have spoken with many, many 'leftwing' people who refuse to or can not acknowledge that it is for the majority of women a tool of oppression. Because it is. I support anyone's free choice to wear it, in any situation where it is acceptable to wear a head covering. However I do not believe that the majority of women who wear it are making a genuinely free choice to wear it. It represses women and frankly, it insults men. But among my political peers, it's rarely ok to say that anymore.
There will either be a brutal tyrannical dictatorship, or a civil war, or one following the other
I can’t imagine being a young woman in Afghanistan today, especially one who holds western liberal values. It must be terrifying
The US and the UK and the rest of the ‘coalition of the willing’ have an obligation to accept these people as refugees if they manage to escape, even if it does include a risk that a small number will be wolves in sheep’s clothing
To turn their backs as they are murdered tortured, mutilated and humiliated would be utterly shameful
I'm avoiding watching them. Poor people.
Reports and footage of 2 falling to their deaths as the plane took off with them ,shocking
Incredible 😯
They took off with people still holding on absolute madness.
https://www.rt.com/news/532143-kabul-fall-death-plane-airport-afghanistan/
Hardly. He puled out a lot of troops last October allowing the Taliban to fill the vacuum. He also signed a peace deal with the Taliban which specifically didn't include the actual Afghan government. This revisionism that Trump would have done better is just utter tosh.
Or wipe out the opposition, take full control and then reshape and rebuild it like the Americans did with Japan? That would require commitment and indifference to international whinging, which the US now lacks. Not sure that even that would have worked in Afghanistan
Its not some weird twist of fate that the place is way it is. Direct result of its culture.
To be fair, the most outrageous poster here is American.
She probably felt she had to say something to keep her base of supporters happy. Completely pointless though, the Taliban don't give a flying fiddlers what she thinks. If anything it would annoy them more with a woman talking up.
It's not down to any one president tho. Bush went in but then allowed Afghanistan become secondary to Iraq. Obama didn't do much either imo, Trump made agreements and gave the Taliban the opportunity to wait the Americans out and Biden was the final nail in the coffin.
Not sure why everyone is so surprised at the collapse of the Afghan army. Almost every book about the conflict highlighted it's inadequacy and reliance on NATO for support and to do the heavy fighting.
For sure there were elements of the army or police who were good and could be relied on. But when everything else around you has packed it in and run away why should they sacrifice themselves for what would be a lost cause?
Jesus what is with Irish posters being so fcuking partisan regarding American politicians. Its like a bunch of 12yo fanatics fawning over the latest boy band.
Pathetic bunch of so called grown men. Get a grip of yourselves you sad acts.
Pretty shocking footage!
It's not about Trump v Biden, IMO... that stuff is for halfwits. But I would like all the Dem Party apologists in the Irish politicial and media establishment publically humiliated for throwing their weight behind Biden and the MIC. Bootlickers is all they are.. the New West Brits.
Biden would want to hurry up already get back in and smash them!
We are so worried about the western people stuck there, what about the millions that live there.
It is a failure on Biden's part, Trump made the deal but would of executed it much better.
UK Defence secretary admitting some British passport holders won't be evacuated.
They don't seem to have much control of the airport at all, they are videos of afghans holding onto landing gear of US military planes as they take off and then footage of people falling from planes in the sky.
Its a monumental clusterfuck, not a controlled withdrawl/evacuation by any means.
What was Ghani supposed to do? If he tried to stand in the way of the Taliban he would have ended up like the last Afghan president to face the full onslaught of the Taliban, swinging from a traffic light. And how would that have benefited the Afghan people, if the government and the army had 'gone down fighting'? Likely many of them would have ended up as 'collateral damage'.
Its not enough to arm them, you have to look after them, pay them, motivate them and most important, provide leadership. Except that in the cesspit of corruption that existed, these last two were non existent .
Say what you want about Trump, Ill say I think he would of handled this much better.
Even with "only" 3'000 troops in a perimeter defence ring around the airpoort, and attack helicopters overhead in support, there's not much going to get through that they don't let trough, bearing in mind that their defence positions will be carefully chosen, and they will not be short weapons, ammunition or determination, unlike the poor ANA Commandos who were not even supplied with enough bullets.
Another US success story, I think we can put the myth to bed that they just want to spread democracy and care about humanity, I'm sure they've achieved or attained whatever it was they wanted in Afghanistan, now time to flee
If only someone had armed them...oh wait
Afghanistan is always going to be this way, you'd imagine the wests priority would be to keep that tribalistic religious lunacy inside their own borders. I see the Queen of performative empathy in New Zealand is asking the Taliban not to treat women like donkeys, pretty please. Goes down well in certain circles I suppose.
yes exactly. we are so privileged to live in a place where you have opportunity and freedom. we can open the door every day and walk into the fresh air and decide what we want to do that day or at least ENVISION what we want to do and work towards it. and if we make mistakes and dont succeed we can try again. These poor people dont even have the luxury of envisioning a different way of live. They have lived through a nightmare and will now continue to live in that nightmare and people on here are lessening their plight by admonishing their resolve.
They are decidedly unhappy about it. for sure. But when the gun is held to your head, not much you can do about it.
Someone suggested this was due to they are still tribal. I don't know if thats the reason, but they've never been able to form a nation for long. Going back over history its not solely been tribal conflicts.
where did i say the afhan army had popular support. i said the Afghan people were afraid of the Taliban. I dont think we can even begin to imagine how fear has damaged resolve can we. How you are so afraid to say or do anything because of the consequences to yourself and to your family. and yes they deserve empathy and I'm giving my energy towards the Afghan people right now and contemplating the situation they are in. so feel free to quip your cynical one liners but i wont respond to them.
Biden is doing a fantastic job in fairness.
Its much easier to secure the Airport than the city itself,,,,,,for a long time now, with Kabul under massive protection from both the US and ANA forces, the Talban attacked it successfully, using suicide bombers, VIEDS etc. And this time, they simply walked in with weapons hidden, and when it suited them, they put on the black caps, produced the Talib flags and their weapons. But by then, it was effectively over. I'm sure that they could attack the Airport, but now it will be strongly defended, and they will lose a lot of men. The soldiers there will fight, and they won't be fighting with one hand tied either....fire coming from buildings will result in the whole building being demolished. The Taliban are not so good when it comes to fighting equal or superior forces.
Imagine looking at a country after two decades of war and bitching about the resolve of the people. Some people really were lucky enough to not be born in the country they deserved to be born in.
Afghan government has been funded, trained and equipped by the largest military on the planet for the last 20 years. According to you, they have popular support and yet the Taliban went through them like a dose of salts.
Doesn't say much for the resolve of the Afghan people does it?
Undoubtely we'll be asked to rehouse them once the NGOs start shipping them over. More Islamic colonies and some headless teachers a small price to pay for another chance to show empathy.
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w5.vanillicon.com/v2/537bbc265950b8cc21b8f6f0fc11686b.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w8.vanillicon.com/v2/8078e6b81295c08b3df3e770f66e931c.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wb.vanillicon.com/v2/bed6f1d088326d5eb21c0139847332c7.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wd.vanillicon.com/v2/df05300f57fe28ddd3330602c0adbfdb.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wa.vanillicon.com/v2/a08d55691d6f78a042612a7aa18ff3ab.svg)
