Trump's Interesting Interview with Hannity.

[JLW]

Trump said some interesting things in last night's interview with Sean Hannity.

Specifically, it has to do with the Afghan military and the Taliban.

Trump recounted:

“I knew they [Afghan security forces] weren’t going to fight … I said, ‘Why are they fighting? Why are these Afghan soldiers fighting against the Taliban?’” Trump recounted to host Sean Hannity. “And I was told some very bad information by a lot of different people.


“The fact is, they’re among the highest-paid soldiers in the world. They were doing it for a paycheck, because once we stopped, once we left, they stopped fighting … The fact is, our country was paying the Afghan soldiers a fortune. So we were sort of bribing them to fight, and that’s not what it’s all about.”

I have no reason to doubt Trump. If true, which I suspect it is, then he is absolutely right. If you are bribing your allies to fight, then they are nothing more than mercenaries. They have no loyalty to the cause and will flee as soon as the paychecks stop coming in.

It explains in some part the sudden collapse of the Afghan military.

Trump went on about the Taliban leadership:

"....Trump repeatedly praised the Taliban as “good fighters” — at one point telling Hannity that “you have to give them credit for that” — and claimed he got along better with the Islamic fundamentalists than recently deposed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country as Taliban forces closed in.


“I never had a lot of confidence, frankly, in Ghani,” the former president recalled. “I said that openly and plainly. I thought he was a total crook. I thought he got away with murder. He spent all his time wining and dining our senators. The senators were in his pocket. That was one of the problems that we had, but I never liked him, and I guess based on his escape with cash, I don’t know, maybe that’s a true story. I would suspect it is. All you have to do is look at his lifestyle, study his houses where he lives. He got away with murder in many different ways.”

Interesting that Trump admitted he got along better with the Taliban than our Afghans allies. Kind of reminds me how Trump got along better with Putin than Merkel for instance. However, I don't disagree that the Afghan leadership was corrupt. The question is why didn't he deal with that corruption, but by that point there was little, Trump or any president for that matter, could do about it anyway.

Trump went on:

“There was only the cold reality of either following through on the agreement to withdraw our forces or escalating the conflict and sending thousands more American troops back into combat in Afghanistan, lurching into the third decade of conflict.”

So, Trump himself is acknowledging the reality of Afghanistan and the poor choices we faced there.

From the NY Post:

"Trump said Tuesday that the agreement was forged after what he called a “strong conversation” with a Taliban leader he identified as Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a contender to become the new supreme leader of the new government.


“I told him up front, I said, “Look, up front, before we start, let me just tell you right now that if anything bad happens to Americans or anybody else or if you ever come over to our land, we will hit you with a force that no country has ever been hit with before, a force so great you won’t even believe it,'” he recounted."

So in other words, here is a tacit acknowledgement that a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was inevitable after the US withdraws. If not, why would Trump threaten them with massive retaliation if our country was hit by a terrorist attack. I don't disagree with Trump there, I agree with him that he should have warned the Taliban of the ramifications of any attack on the US.

I am not bashing Trump in this thread because many of the points, not all, he makes I agree with.

Trump calls Afghanistan collapse ‘most humiliating’ moment for US

Former President Donald Trump described the ongoing mayhem in Afghanistan as the worst humiliation in American history Tuesday, while defending the agreement his administration struck with the Tali…

nypost.com

 

[Moonglow]

Afghanistan like Vietnam was a thorn that had to be pluck and discarded.

 

[Mac1958]

Trump said some interesting things in last nights interview with Sean Hannity.

Specifically, it has to do with the Afghan military and the Taliban.

Trump recounted:

“I knew they [Afghan security forces] weren’t going to fight … I said, ‘Why are they fighting? Why are these Afghan soldiers fighting against the Taliban?’” Trump recounted to host Sean Hannity. “And I was told some very bad information by a lot of different people.


“The fact is, they’re among the highest-paid soldiers in the world. They were doing it for a paycheck, because once we stopped, once we left, they stopped fighting … The fact is, our country was paying the Afghan soldiers a fortune. So we were sort of bribing them to fight, and that’s not what it’s all about.”

I have no reason to doubt Trump. If true, which I suspect it is, then he is absolutely right. If you are bribing your allies to fight, then they are nothing more than mercenaries. They have no loyalty to the cause and will flee as soon as the paychecks stop coming in.

It explains in some part the sudden collapse of the Afghan military.

Trump went on about the Taliban leadership:

"....Trump repeatedly praised the Taliban as “good fighters” — at one point telling Hannity that “you have to give them credit for that” — and claimed he got along better with the Islamic fundamentalists than recently deposed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country as Taliban forces closed in.


“I never had a lot of confidence, frankly, in Ghani,” the former president recalled. “I said that openly and plainly. I thought he was a total crook. I thought he got away with murder. He spent all his time wining and dining our senators. The senators were in his pocket. That was one of the problems that we had, but I never liked him, and I guess based on his escape with cash, I don’t know, maybe that’s a true story. I would suspect it is. All you have to do is look at his lifestyle, study his houses where he lives. He got away with murder in many different ways.”

Interesting that Trump admitted he got along better with the Taliban than our Afghans allies. Kind of reminds me how Trump got along better with Putin than Merkel for instance. However, I don't disagree that the Afghan leadership was corrupt. The question is why didn't he deal with that corruption.

Trump went on"

“There was only the cold reality of either following through on the agreement to withdraw our forces or escalating the conflict and sending thousands more American troops back into combat in Afghanistan, lurching into the third decade of conflict.”

So, Trump is himself is acknowledging the reality of Afghanistan and the poor choices we faced there.

From the NY Post:

"Trump said Tuesday that the agreement was forged after what he called a “strong conversation” with a Taliban leader he identified as Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a contender to become the new supreme leader of the new government.


“I told him up front, I said, “Look, up front, before we start, let me just tell you right now that if anything bad happens to Americans or anybody else or if you ever come over to our land, we will hit you with a force that no country has ever been hit with before, a force so great you won’t even believe it,'” he recounted."

So in other words, the US will withdraw and there is a tacit acknowledgement that Taliban control of the control was inevitable. If not, why would Trump threaten them with massive retaliation if out country was hit. I don't disagree with Trump there, I agree with him that he should have warned the Taliban of the ramifications of any attack on the US.

I am not bashing Trump in this thread because many of the points, not all, he makes I agree with.

Trump calls Afghanistan collapse ‘most humiliating’ moment for US

Former President Donald Trump described the ongoing mayhem in Afghanistan as the worst humiliation in American history Tuesday, while defending the agreement his administration struck with the Tali…

nypost.com

As simple/simplistic as many want to make this story, it just isn't.

I agree with Trump on most of what you posted as well. This is 20 fucking years of dealing with an impossible situation, trying to convince a 17th Century civilization to modernize to the 21st Century. It was never going to happen.

Biden is in the driver's seat now, and while I fully agree with getting the fuck out of there, he's ultimately responsible for the mess that we're currently seeing. But it's also true that there are many fingers in it, and we need the whole story.

Sadly, the ends of the spectrum will make this more difficult with their standard bullshit, transparent finger-pointing and cowardly ass-covering.

 

[theHawk]

Trump said some interesting things in last night's interview with Sean Hannity.

Specifically, it has to do with the Afghan military and the Taliban.

Trump recounted:



I have no reason to doubt Trump. If true, which I suspect it is, then he is absolutely right. If you are bribing your allies to fight, then they are nothing more than mercenaries. They have no loyalty to the cause and will flee as soon as the paychecks stop coming in.

It explains in some part the sudden collapse of the Afghan military.

Trump went on about the Taliban leadership:



Interesting that Trump admitted he got along better with the Taliban than our Afghans allies. Kind of reminds me how Trump got along better with Putin than Merkel for instance. However, I don't disagree that the Afghan leadership was corrupt. The question is why didn't he deal with that corruption.

Trump went on"



So, Trump is himself is acknowledging the reality of Afghanistan and the poor choices we faced there.

From the NY Post:



So in other words, here is a tacit acknowledgement that a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was inevitable after the US withdraws. If not, why would Trump threaten them with massive retaliation if out country was hit by a terrorist attack. I don't disagree with Trump there, I agree with him that he should have warned the Taliban of the ramifications of any attack on the US.

I am not bashing Trump in this thread because many of the points, not all, he makes I agree with.

Trump calls Afghanistan collapse ‘most humiliating’ moment for US

Former President Donald Trump described the ongoing mayhem in Afghanistan as the worst humiliation in American history Tuesday, while defending the agreement his administration struck with the Tali…

nypost.com

What’s the matter? Surprised to hear an honest and accurate assessment of what is really going on in Afghanistan? A stark contrast to the brain dead idiot in office who can only read a TelePrompTer then run away to go back on vacation while thousands of Americans are stranded in Afghanistan but chooses to prioritize non-citizens.

 

[Canon Shooter]

Trump said some interesting things in last night's interview with Sean Hannity.

"....Trump repeatedly praised the Taliban as “good fighters” — at one point telling Hannity that “you have to give them credit for that”

Is there a problem with him saying that? I have to ask, because it's absolutely true. They are good fighters. They're no different from the Mujahideen...

— and claimed he got along better with the Islamic fundamentalists than recently deposed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country as Taliban forces closed in.

Obviously, with Ghani there was always distrust, and rightly so. With the Taliban, you pretty much always knew where you stood...

So in other words, the US will withdraw and there is a tacit acknowledgement that Taliban control of the control was inevitable.

Huh?

If not, why would Trump threaten them with massive retaliation if out country was hit. I don't disagree with Trump there, I agree with him that he should have warned the Taliban of the ramifications of any attack on the US.

Trump was smart enough to know that, with the way the war was being waged, that we couldn't win...

 

[22lcidw]

Trump said some interesting things in last night's interview with Sean Hannity.

Specifically, it has to do with the Afghan military and the Taliban.

Trump recounted:



I have no reason to doubt Trump. If true, which I suspect it is, then he is absolutely right. If you are bribing your allies to fight, then they are nothing more than mercenaries. They have no loyalty to the cause and will flee as soon as the paychecks stop coming in.

It explains in some part the sudden collapse of the Afghan military.

Trump went on about the Taliban leadership:



Interesting that Trump admitted he got along better with the Taliban than our Afghans allies. Kind of reminds me how Trump got along better with Putin than Merkel for instance. However, I don't disagree that the Afghan leadership was corrupt. The question is why didn't he deal with that corruption.

Trump went on"



So, Trump is himself is acknowledging the reality of Afghanistan and the poor choices we faced there.

From the NY Post:



So in other words, the US will withdraw and there is a tacit acknowledgement that Taliban control of the control was inevitable. If not, why would Trump threaten them with massive retaliation if out country was hit. I don't disagree with Trump there, I agree with him that he should have warned the Taliban of the ramifications of any attack on the US.

I am not bashing Trump in this thread because many of the points, not all, he makes I agree with.

Trump calls Afghanistan collapse ‘most humiliating’ moment for US

Former President Donald Trump described the ongoing mayhem in Afghanistan as the worst humiliation in American history Tuesday, while defending the agreement his administration struck with the Tali…

nypost.com

Trump can bloviate and be loud and arrogant. That is built in. I saw that last night. For a half hour I saw a President. He spoke more in a half hour then what that piece of aborted protoplasm that is legal today and is in office now the last 7 months. Trump is conscious. Trump is cognizant. Trump is presidential despite his flaws. We never get the behind the real scenes of administrations besides the propaganda attacks.

 

[kyzr]

Trump's assessment went against the Pentagon's that the AFG army could defeat the Taliban. Trump is a realist that said the AFG government was corrupt to the core. The Taliban were good fighters and kept their word. Trump understood them.

I'm pleasantly surprised that JohnLaw and the OP were honestly written and non-partisan.
We need more honesty like that instead of partisan bullshit.
In that regard I won't say I miss Trump's interviews, compared to Xiden's teleprompter readings.

 

[shockedcanadian]

Trump said some interesting things in last night's interview with Sean Hannity.

Specifically, it has to do with the Afghan military and the Taliban.

Trump recounted:



I have no reason to doubt Trump. If true, which I suspect it is, then he is absolutely right. If you are bribing your allies to fight, then they are nothing more than mercenaries. They have no loyalty to the cause and will flee as soon as the paychecks stop coming in.

It explains in some part the sudden collapse of the Afghan military.

Trump went on about the Taliban leadership:



Interesting that Trump admitted he got along better with the Taliban than our Afghans allies. Kind of reminds me how Trump got along better with Putin than Merkel for instance. However, I don't disagree that the Afghan leadership was corrupt. The question is why didn't he deal with that corruption.

Trump went on:



So, Trump is himself is acknowledging the reality of Afghanistan and the poor choices we faced there.

From the NY Post:



So in other words, here is a tacit acknowledgement that a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was inevitable after the US withdraws. If not, why would Trump threaten them with massive retaliation if our country was hit by a terrorist attack. I don't disagree with Trump there, I agree with him that he should have warned the Taliban of the ramifications of any attack on the US.

I am not bashing Trump in this thread because many of the points, not all, he makes I agree with.

Trump calls Afghanistan collapse ‘most humiliating’ moment for US

Former President Donald Trump described the ongoing mayhem in Afghanistan as the worst humiliation in American history Tuesday, while defending the agreement his administration struck with the Tali…

nypost.com

Just as an aside to your overall post, why would getting along with Merkel be a positive for America?

I can't name any policies or positions that Merkel had that were beneficial to the U.S or global liberty, can you? How about policies that ensured Chinas rise was going to be blunted?

Western leaders had earned their disdain from Trump. Maybe more American politicians should do the same to ensure that only capitalism, freedom loving leaders are admired. I know that Canada would be forced to walk away from their police state if the U.S demanded it.

 

[kyzr]

Is there a problem with him saying that? I have to ask, because it's absolutely true. They are good fighters. They're no different from the Mujahideen...



Obviously, with Ghani there was always distrust, and rightly so. With the Taliban, you pretty much always knew where you stood...



Huh?



Trump was smart enough to know that, with the way the war was being waged, that we couldn't win...

No matter how you waged the AFG war there was no winning. If you think otherwise, you are simply wrong.

 

[gipper]

As simple/simplistic as many want to make this story, it just isn't.

I agree with Trump on most of what you posted as well. This is 20 fucking years of dealing with an impossible situation, trying to convince a 17th Century civilization to modernize to the 21st Century. It was never going to happen.

Biden is in the driver's seat now, and while I fully agree with getting the fuck out of there, he's ultimately responsible for the mess that we're currently seeing. But it's also true that there are many fingers in it, and we need the whole story.

Sadly, the ends of the spectrum will make this more difficult with their standard bullshit, transparent finger-pointing and cowardly ass-covering.

Has the secretary’s of war and state resigned yet? Have the joint chiefs of staff been removed? Once again an American debacle will go unpunished leading to more debacles.

 

[Canon Shooter]

No matter how you waged the AFG war there was no winning. If you think otherwise, you are simply wrong.

We won World War II, and pretty fucking decisively.

We could've done the same in Afghanistan. The world would not have approved, but the means is there to take a country like Afghanistan and start over from scratch...

 

[gipper]

No matter how you waged the AFG war there was no winning. If you think otherwise, you are simply wrong.

Agreed which further proves how corrupt our government is, by waging a war for 20 years they knew was unwinnable.

The moral of this story is the war was about enriching the war profiteers, but don’t expect this to ever be exposed.

 

[Canon Shooter]

Has the secretary’s of war and state resigned yet? Have the joint chiefs of staff been removed? Once again an American debacle will go unpunished leading to more debacles.

We haven't had a Secretary of War since 1947...

 

[gipper]

We won World War II, and pretty fucking decisively.

We could've done the same in Afghanistan. The world would not have approved, but the means is there to take a country like Afghanistan and start over from scratch...

Hilarious. You’ve got to back 80 years to find a war we won. Wake the fuck up. This isn’t 1945.

 

[Devils_Advocate]

As much as I dislike Trump the fact is the Government and Military of Afghanistan was nothing but corrupt people that only wanted the money and once the U.S. left you saw collapse in days of the entire nation.

So now what?

Simple, the U.S. must include nations like Iran, Pakistan and Turkey into the conversation when dealing with Afghanistan and instead fighting the Taliban maybe for once work with them and get them to realize that we don’t have to be enemies at all.

Also for those crying over the abuse women will endure in Afghanistan, well where is your outrage when it come to countries like Saudi Arabia?

If you condone or turn a blind eye to Saudi abuse against the women in it nation then you have nothing to complain about when it come to the Taliban!

Also let be clear Saudi Arabia has sponsored terrorism in the past and is no better than the Taliban, so let cut the nonsense and let work to get the Taliban to be something more than a brutal leadership that it has been for decades and learn we can’t force them to change overnight but over time we can erode many of their cave dwelling ways and bring them into the 21st century without using war as the answer.

 

[gipper]

We haven't had a Secretary of War since 1947...

But isn’t the old name much more appropriate?

 

[Canon Shooter]

Hilarious. You’ve got to back 80 years to find a war we won. Wake the fuck up. This isn’t 1945.

No I don't, so don't be fucking stupid. We won the Gulf War. I know. I was there.

I do, however, have to go back that far to find a war which we won in that manner that we won World War II. We obliterated our enemies to the point where their only option was unconditional surrender...

 

[Canon Shooter]

But isn’t the old name much more appropriate?

No.

 

[theHawk]

Has the secretary’s of war and state resigned yet? Have the joint chiefs of staff been removed? Once again an American debacle will go unpunished leading to more debacles.

Yea, where are those “500 generals and admirals” that backed Biden at this week? Our entire military leadership and intel agencies got exposed for the buffoons they are when it comes to basic human understanding and the will to fight.

 

[gipper]

Yea, where are those “500 generals and admirals” that backed Biden at this week? Our entire military leadership and intel agencies got exposed for the buffoons they are when it comes to basic human understanding and the will to fight.

Now they’re trying to cover their asses by claiming they warned of this debacle. They know they can count on the corporate media to protect them.