Afghanistan -is leaving the right thing?
- Thread starter Notch7
- Start date
Sponsored Links
- Joined
- 31 Aug 2005
- Messages
- 4,075
- Reaction score
- 372
- Country
Let's ignore the children wanting attention
History repeating
- Joined
- 1 Apr 2016
- Messages
- 13,510
- Reaction score
- 543
- Country
The problem we are facing right now is that we have a Government that plays to populism. However what makes good policy is playing the patient long game that takes resources but this pushes up squarely against populism which tends to be inward looking and non interventionist.
Part of this long game was using soft power of Foreign aid. Look how the posters on here were creaming their pants that foreign aid was cut - its a good populist policy win but for long term foreign policy and global security as well as our influence abroad it is not.
Listen to this powerful speech by Tom Tugenhadt. It's why I always reject the premise all politicians are bad - that just gives cover for the bad ones by lumping the goods ones with the bad.
Sponsored Links
- Joined
- 1 Apr 2016
- Messages
- 13,510
- Reaction score
- 543
- Country
Are you saying the catastrophe in Afghanistan is due to the recent 'slight' reduction in foreign aid?
- Joined
- 1 Apr 2016
- Messages
- 13,510
- Reaction score
- 543
- Country
You know full well I am not saying that. We need to use soft power and influence more than military intervention as we don't have the resources to continue such interventions. We need to work collectively - our days of unilateralism are dwindling.
Vaping at this time of night makng you think all loopy.
Last edited:
C
Captain Nemesis
But the country voted 5 years ago for us to become a global power, as apparently the EU were forbidding us to be one.
Hasnt it worked out?
Hasnt it worked out?
- Joined
- 1 Apr 2016
- Messages
- 13,510
- Reaction score
- 543
- Country
Look at our role in the world. There are many like yourself who are adamant that we should not leave Afghanistan but we cannot do it on our own anymore. We need to create coalitions and group resources, which requires good relations with our partners. Who will join us? EU? The way we left and continue to have friction is not helping us.
Slogans like "Global Britain", "Levelling Up", "Punching above our weight", etc are brilliant at winning attention and elections but are hollow when it matters in the world stage where action and resources speak loudest.
Our Foreign office has been gutted and under resourced, who need pen pushers?
C
Captain Nemesis
Interesting POV in a letter in the paper today
Do you really think the suffering in Afghanistan would be less if the process had taken longer (Editorial, 16 August)? While the Taliban fought their way to Kabul and then besieged it? How many dead, starved, made homeless, orphaned, then?
In my view, Biden and his close advisers knew that if the handover was to be done then it could only be done quickly. If the Taliban inherit a relatively undamaged state, there is a much better chance that they will be able to make it work and keep at least some of their moderate pledges.
As Biden said, there was never going to be a good time to withdraw from Afghanistan. He deserves credit for taking the first reasonable opportunity he could, and doing it in a way that is minimising suffering – while being, inevitably, still far from eliminating it completely.
In my view, Biden and his close advisers knew that if the handover was to be done then it could only be done quickly. If the Taliban inherit a relatively undamaged state, there is a much better chance that they will be able to make it work and keep at least some of their moderate pledges.
As Biden said, there was never going to be a good time to withdraw from Afghanistan. He deserves credit for taking the first reasonable opportunity he could, and doing it in a way that is minimising suffering – while being, inevitably, still far from eliminating it completely.
Looking at the EU reaction to Afghanistan and their reluctance to any direct action with a NATO coalition, the EU are looking a lot less of a global power than the UK.
In fact while the UK is busy garnering international support to take in refugees, Macron is pandering to the far right by talking of ways to block refugees.
Yeah, I'd say the UK as a global power is working out well, not that we were not ever a global power, that was only ever a remainer fantasy, a fantasy that has been washed away like 'tears in the rain'.
You're a sad loser who hates this country himmy, how's the civil disorder in France going?
C
Captain Nemesis
At least Im not so unbelievably stupid that I get peoples names wrong, fillyboy.
And IHNI how civil disorder in France is going.
Ask your carer if they would google it for you.
Last edited by a moderator:
- Joined
- 1 Apr 2016
- Messages
- 13,510
- Reaction score
- 543
- Country
- Joined
- 1 Apr 2016
- Messages
- 13,510
- Reaction score
- 543
- Country
So, as I said, who in your beloved EU is looking more of a global power than the UK, which EU country whose Ambassadors were all on the first flight out trying to conceal the p1ss stain on their pants while the UK Ambassador stayed on to help with the evacuation and assist Afghans, which EU country had more troops in Afghanistan than the UK, it wasn't Luxemburg, they had 9 troops there. We had 9000, the highest number of troops after the US, the next largest was Germany who had less than half our number.
And which countries in Europe are scheming on how to keep Afghan refugees out while UK does the opposite, I'll give you a clue, it's the one's in the EU.
Yep, leaving that pathetic shower of sh1te and maintaining our reputation as a global power becomes more justified by the day.
Last edited:
Sponsored Links
Similar threads
