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I would disagree. I briefly worked for a major US Insurance company and went to their Claims Handling school just outside of Chicago and the unstated message was always: Find a way to deny and if we have to pay “low ball them”. This was never on paper but everyday these two things were drilled into our heads.

All insurance policies have two basic sections: 1) Perils, what is covered 2) Exclusions, what is not covered. Guess which part is bigger? Yes, Exclusions. The general rules for insurance coverage are: 1) It has to be an accident or an accidental occurrence 2) The policy holder must take all precautions to prevent the accident *This means nothing that can be interpreted as being risky or dangerous such as bungee jumping, riding an elephant or even riding on a motorcycle without a helmet, driving under the influence or the infamous “catchall clause” which means any insurance company can deem any activity as risky or dangerous. In essence all insurance companies can find a way out of paying on claims or minimize the amount they pay. On that note enjoy your holiday.

I was being Sarcastic because of the horrendous air quality. You understand sarcasm?

So the request will be only until April 13? Because how can one got out and celebrate Songkran while working from home?

That's almost $10,000 per day. Even in the US that would be difficult to achieve. I mean even with an Emergency Room visit with the remaining time in an ICU might come to that in a major US Hospital but in the Land of Smiles?

Bush left office in 2009. The actual government of Afghanistan was toppled in August 2021. For Bush and Rusmfeld (the real power in that White House) it was about 3 things in terms of foreign policy: Iraq, Iraq, and Iraq). So what was accomplished from 2009 to 2021 in Afghanistan?

After the government collapsed there is nothing that can be done. I meant what they did or they failed to do during the 20 years of rebuilding that was not done. State was tasked withe rebuilding the Afghan Police? How did that go? Tasked with setting local governmental institutions? How did that go? Rebuilding the Afghan Ministry of Interior? How did that go? State Department personnel rarely left the embassy compound.

No I did not miss that. I had a TS SCI for years.

Ok. Just my thoughts based upon my experience. Of course I was not privy to all information or intelligence. In terms of the experience of those who are in charge? The higher one goes, the more they hear from subordinates what they want to hear. Any soldier will understand what I mean by this. A Lieutenant wants a promotion to Captain, the Captain want to be a Major, the Major wants to be Lt Colonel and so and so on. Who wants to rock the boat to his next promotion?

To provide security for an orderly withdrawal. I have been to Abbey gate at Kabul Airport and it is tight. It looked like a “Charlie Foxtrot”.

It is called making tough choices. Having been deployed to Afghanistan twice (2005-2006 and 2010-2011) it was obvious to me the only part that ever was going to be defended to the end was Kabul. Specifically the part of Kabul from Masoud Circle where the US Embassy was located to Kahir Kana where Kabul Airport was. The Embassy and the ISAF HQ, Camp Eggers, are located close to the airport. The additional military personnel would only have been deployed long enough to secure this part of the city. It could have been done differently than how it was executed. Of course I never rose to the rank of Gen Miley so what do I know except for what I saw on the ground during my years in Afghanistan.

At the time no.

The Taliban was not in power so there was no other way to withdrawal that many without adequate security. What’s the worst that could have happened? The Taliban reneges and goes back to their caves. But withdrawal the way it was done still leaves me wilt a bitter taste. A rapid deployment is something that the 101st Air Assault Division and the 82nd Airborne Division trains for constantly. Getting beans and bullets anywhere in the world rapidly is something that USAF brags about constantly. So where was all this military capability during June, July and August of 2021? Also, then what is the purpose of spending 700 to 800 Billion for defense when the withdrawal after 20 years turns into such a “Charlie Foxtrot”? As far as I know military planners have had and refined withdrawal plans form Afghanistan for years. It also referred to a full retrograde operations. All I call it full “SNAFU” which leads to full “FUBAR”. As a veteran I am ashamed of everyone that was in office August 2021. The includes Biden, Austin, and of course Miley. Miley should retire and fade away.

For the sake of argument let’s say Trump screwed Biden. So how does Biden deal with the raw deal he got? Did you deploy additional military force to Afghanistan to ensure an orderly withdrawal? Based upon my limited military experience at 10,000 to 20,000 additional would have been required to at least provide a security cordon around at least from the Embassy located at Mosoud Circle to the Khalid Kana neighborhood just north of the Kabul Airport. What actually happened was a in a word a debacle. There were two failures: Trump’s agreement and How Biden and his administration executed the withdrawal.

The Marshall Plan was executed by the military. I did not see C-47's with DOS flying over Berlin? Have you ever worked for the State Department? Have you been inside the Kabul embassy? I can say yes to both and what I saw from inside was disappointing and at times shocking. Just imagine being in a room full of Ivy League school graduates who are tasked to rebuild Afghanistan. The theoretical discussions went on and on but when it came time to go out into the field to engage the locals getting the State Department personnel to accompany military members was like pulling teeth. Most did not want to leave the comforts of working and living in the secure Embassy compound that had great food, great gym and a store where you can buy all the adult beverages you could desire. You can't rebuild a nation sitting in a cubicle while typing away on a laptop. Many of the civil and diplomatic missions were carried out by soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors who knew nothing about these two functions. Today's State Department.

It does state non diplomatic personnel must leave as well. So the agreement was to keep the diplomatic mission on going?

"non diplomatic" personnel? So the US agreed to keep the diplomatic mission on going. So why was the Embassy closed and what about the 8600 military personnel?

i don't rely upon wikipeidis for accurate information. Again did the agreement call for the complete withdrawal of all US Government personnel from Afghanistan and the closure of the Embassy by August 31, 2021? Cannot seem to find a reliable source for the true answer.

So is China now going to hold military drills to protest this as well? China just sanctioned the Ronald Reagan Library because Taiwanese President Tsai Ing Wen spoke their.

A picture is worth a 1000 words. I can think of chaos, poor planning and poor execution. Military operates in three phases: 1) Attack 2) Hold 3) Withdrawal. This withdrawal appeared to be like it either was rushed or the plan was improvised. I can also think of other terms like SNAFU, FUBAR AND BOHICA(for those who do not know this acronym it is Bend Over Here It Comes Again).

Military Intelligence = OXYMORON. I know from my time in the Army.

So the Trump Administration agreed to completely pull out all US Governmental institutions and personnel from Afghanistan by August 31, 2021?

So the agreement required the withdrawal of all US Government personnel by August 31, 2021? The closure of the US Embassy, all diplomats, aid workers and all military personnel and equipment must leave. So this agreement required the US to cu toff all diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. Also, if the August 31, 2021 was such a hard deadline then what did the Biden Administration do from Feb to early August 2021 to plan for the complete withdrawal from Afghanistan? It seems to me the withdrawal was chaotic, lacked coordination with allies and poorly planned. I am not saying Donald Trump and his people would have done any better or worse.

The Biden Administration had from Feb to Aug of 2021 to plan this withdrawal if the August 31 was a hard deadline for the complete withdrawal of all US Government presence in Afghanistan. So what was done for 6 months by Anthony Blinken, Lloyd Austin and Mark Miley?

Again you stated the Pentagon blames the Trump Administration? The entire report has not been released and probably never will due to security reasons. However I believe reporters were given today a summary and this is why news reports have been circulating today.