5 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

That was the total amount spent since about 2001. It was not the current value of the hardware. The same thing happened in Vietnam and across the world  after WW2

"The U.S. provided an estimated $83 billion worth of training and equipment to Afghan security forces since 2001. This year, alone, the U.S. military aid to Afghan forces was $3 billion.

 

Putting price tags on American military equipment still in Afghanistan isn’t an easy task. Not helping transparency, the Biden Administration is now hiding key audits on Afghan military equipment."

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/08/23/staggering-costs--us-military-equipment-left-behind-in-afghanistan/?sh=756eabb841db

3 minutes ago, Tanomazu said:

This year, alone, the U.S. military aid to Afghan forces was $3 billion.

 

Putting price tags on American military equipment still in Afghanistan isn’t an easy task. Not helping transparency, the Biden Administration is now hiding key audits on Afghan military equipment."

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/08/23/staggering-costs--us-military-equipment-left-behind-in-afghanistan/?sh=756eabb841db

None of that was provided by Trump of course. Aid <> equipment. Like I said, the figure bandied about by the Russian propaganda relates to total expenditure over 20 years. You can also be assured that the good stuff was not left behind.

1 hour ago, ozimoron said:

Yeah, it's all over the right wing media sites.

Exactly.

 

https://politizoom.com/putins-work-is-done-russian-propaganda-and-republican-talking-points-are-the-same/

 

If you were an American citizen, cryogenically frozen in the early 60’s, back in the day when Nikita Khrushchev was banging his loafer on the podium and announcing his funeral arrangements for us, you would not believe, waking up in 2021, that a news network would be touting the prowess of the Russian president over the American one. You simply would not believe it. However, that is exactly what has come to pass. 

3 hours ago, club said:

A typical Liberal response to a disastrous Afghanistan exit policy. Leaves Americans stranded there, Hands over 85 BILLION dollars in military equipment to a terrorist organization , Lets the Taliban be in charge of securing the airport , the Taliban lets through suicide bombers to blow up 13 Marines and 140 incident Afghan people . No wonder liberals want everyone to forget about this.

You missed the part about some of the Gold Star moms rejecting biden's condolences as scripted and his going on about his son Beau as a comparison to their loss!

I believe the above occurred after his wrist watch blunder !

20 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

None of that was provided by Trump of course. Aid <> equipment. Like I said, the figure bandied about by the Russian propaganda relates to total expenditure over 20 years. You can also be assured that the good stuff was not left behind.

That's not the point is, it Trump was not the one who left it behind, that was Biden.

 

None of the "good stuff" was left behind? Lol. Yes, only Blackhawk helicopters, transport planes, light attack planes, surveillance planes:

 

"This month, the Taliban seized Black Hawk helicopters and A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft. As late as last month, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense posted photos on social media of seven newly arrived helicopters from the U.S., Reuters reported.

Black Hawk helicopters can cost up to $21 million. In 2013, the U.S. placed an order for 20 A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft for $427 million – that’s $21.3 million for each plane. Other specialized helicopters can cost up to $37 million each.

The Afghan air force contracted for C-208 light attack airplanes in March 2018: seven planes for $84.6 million, or $12.1 million each. The airplanes are very sophisticated and carry HELLFIRE missiles, anti-tank missiles and other weaponry.

The PC-12 intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance airplanes use the latest in technology. Having these planes fall into Taliban control is disconcerting. Civilian models sell new for approximately $5 million each and the military planes could sell for many times that price."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/08/23/staggering-costs--us-military-equipment-left-behind-in-afghanistan/?sh=756eabb841db

Yes, clearly Biden left none of the good stuff behind, lol.

 

 

2 hours ago, Phoenix Rising said:

Incorrect, but either way it clearly shows that trump, syphilis and donkey are three words that really belong together in a sentence!

You missed the word not (before Trump) out on porpoise, dint ya?

4 minutes ago, Tanomazu said:

The PC-12 intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance airplanes use the latest in technology. Having these planes fall into Taliban control is disconcerting.

Most of them were rendered permanently inoperable

 

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

We all do.

I don't. I'm not allowed to.

10 minutes ago, nauseus said:

I don't. I'm not allowed to.

Fox news is a good source of Russian propaganda. Just tune in to carlson to get the talking points.

2 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Fox news is a good source of Russian propaganda. Just tune in to carlson to get the talking points.

Yeah even more unfiltered than Kremlin propaganda organ Russia Today.

1 hour ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

If you look at the minutiae of what he does then you see he is a bit old, and can be a bit slow to respond, and his stutter from childhood makes him hesitate sometimes, and he can say some silly things from time to time.

Each time though you fox news loving guys says he has dementia I see him then give a good, sincere, well thought out comment or speech where he is clearly not reading. Then you all go quiet and go to a different talking point.

Just for a minute admire the man for going against the Trump lies and nonsense, with a simple message keeping to  the middle political ground, and leaving Trump crying on the floor about stolen elections. 

If we look at policies and ideas and getting stuff done, and not focus on personal shortcomings, then I think he's doing pretty good. 

 

 

I can't remeber any "well thought out comment or speech" where he was reading, or not. He's against Trump so much as pushing himself along on his final personal political mission. He's certainly not anywhere near the middle ground and seems happy and determined to damage his own country and people with his poorly advised actions, accompainied by frequent inaction, where action and strength are required. That's why his approval ratings are going down. 

I saw a video from last year when he called Trump "George" and looked totally confused. 

I heard recently he called his  daughter or granddaughter by his dead son's name. 

How many real press conferences has he had since being in office?

 

He has said nothing without being prompted, very scary. 

1 hour ago, LarrySR said:

It's pretty common knowledge the Trump base are the undereducated...and it shows.

Ah common knowledge! Only common people identify that.

And some here were criticizing Trump! 

He reminds me of visiting my grandfather in his nursing home. 

 

 

 

4 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

He reminds me of visiting my grandfather in his nursing home.

kinda like having toilet paper on your shoe.

2 hours ago, club said:

Its called Demetra with a speech impediment 

Not unless there’s a diagnosis it’s not.

1 hour ago, LarrySR said:

Harvard and MIT professors used artificial intelligence & analyzed millions of political articles and data points.

They published the findings in a book, "Network Propaganda"- "Misinformation and how the beliefs spread,"

available on Amazon and the usual places.

 

SUMMARY:

Words of the authors, "the right-wing media ecosystem differs categorically from the rest of the media environment," and has been much more susceptible to "disinformation, lies and half-truths."

Liberals want facts; conservatives want their biases reinforced.

Liberals embrace journalism; conservatives believe propaganda.

 

The book is not a work of media criticism but, rather, of data analysis--a study of millions of online stories, tweets, and Facebook-sharing data points.

The authors' conclusion is that "something very different was happening in right-wing media than in centrist, center-left and left-wing media."  it was the feedback loop of right-wing quasi-journalism that had the most impact--and that hypothesis has profound implications not only for the study of the recent past but also for predictions about the not-so-distant future.

 

A majority of conservatives are dwelling in an alternative reality of fake news and conspiracy theories.

 

The book makes clear it has been the decades long growth of far right media in the form of Fox News which is the rampaging Gorilla destroying U.S. democracy.

 

 

The three authors do have certain affiliations and connections that could suggest some misinformation of their own.

 

This seems to be a widespread problem in western universities. So not today, thankyou.

1 hour ago, Phoenix Rising said:

Demetra?? Come on, if you're gonna slag someone off then at least make sure you've got your big words right!

 

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Demetra

"A female given name from Ancient Greek"

Nice name - he was was being nice! 

.

 

As usual, he misread the teleprompter, which actually said, "I plan to have the runs in 2024."

 

.

1 hour ago, ozimoron said:

None of that was provided by Trump of course. Aid <> equipment. Like I said, the figure bandied about by the Russian propaganda relates to total expenditure over 20 years. You can also be assured that the good stuff was not left behind.

Assured? Great!

59 minutes ago, Tanomazu said:

That's not the point is, it Trump was not the one who left it behind, that was Biden.

 

None of the "good stuff" was left behind? Lol. Yes, only Blackhawk helicopters, transport planes, light attack planes, surveillance planes:

 

"This month, the Taliban seized Black Hawk helicopters and A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft. As late as last month, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense posted photos on social media of seven newly arrived helicopters from the U.S., Reuters reported.

Black Hawk helicopters can cost up to $21 million. In 2013, the U.S. placed an order for 20 A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft for $427 million – that’s $21.3 million for each plane. Other specialized helicopters can cost up to $37 million each.

The Afghan air force contracted for C-208 light attack airplanes in March 2018: seven planes for $84.6 million, or $12.1 million each. The airplanes are very sophisticated and carry HELLFIRE missiles, anti-tank missiles and other weaponry.

The PC-12 intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance airplanes use the latest in technology. Having these planes fall into Taliban control is disconcerting. Civilian models sell new for approximately $5 million each and the military planes could sell for many times that price."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/08/23/staggering-costs--us-military-equipment-left-behind-in-afghanistan/?sh=756eabb841db

Yes, clearly Biden left none of the good stuff behind, lol.

 

 

Well it was only a small AIR FORCE after all..

40 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Fox news is a good source of Russian propaganda. Just tune in to carlson to get the talking points.

Carlson. He Danish?

One of the U.S. officials said that between 40 and 50 aircraft had been flown to Uzbekistan by Afghan pilots seeking refuge.

 

Current and former officials say that while they are concerned about the Taliban having access to the helicopters, the aircraft require frequent maintenance and many are complicated to fly without extensive training.

"Ironically, the fact that our equipment breaks down so often is a life-saver here," a third official said.

Retired U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, who oversaw U.S. military operations in Afghanistan as head of U.S. Central Command from 2016 to 2019, said most of the high-end hardware captured by the Taliban, including the aircraft, was not equipped with sensitive U.S. technology.

"In some cases, some of these will be more like trophies," Votel said.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/planes-guns-night-vision-goggles-talibans-new-us-made-war-chest-2021-08-19/

 

1 hour ago, riclag said:

You missed the part about some of the Gold Star moms rejecting biden's condolences as scripted and his going on about his son Beau as a comparison to their loss!

I believe the above occurred after his wrist watch blunder !

Here he is introducing his dead son. Oh, wait a minute, this is his granddaughter, Finnegan, and he called her Natalie. Must be his speech impediment.

 

 

2 hours ago, Tanomazu said:

That's if they could get hold of him, for the longest time he was AWOL and sitting it out, like Bambi caught in the headlights doing nothing. Until he was told he better get out there and look like he's doing something. Then he gamely read out the words penned by someone else and continued to do nothing very much.

 

He basically left billions of US dollars worth of military supplies in Taleban hands, got some poor Afghans killed as they realised America was pulling the plug hastily and in one fell swoop destroyed America's name in foreign policy abroad. What country now would co-operate with the US the way the Afghans did? They would know America will not just not stand by you but run faster than an Impala in the face of difficulty. Who would trust America now after what Biden did to his Afghan allies?

in Biden defense, it was a stupid war from day 1, and in 2011 when the Obama administration had a chance to leave things in good conditions sans Taliban, they didn't take it.

 

Biden claims he was against Obama idea of staying, yet didn't say anything publicly or didn't resign for round 2 and went along with the ill-conceived plan. Not really someone who has real convictions on anything.

31 minutes ago, nauseus said:

Well it was only a small AIR FORCE after all..

What Biden did was basically to gift one of the largest technologically advanced accumulation of weapons that was ever gifted, to none other than stone age religious fanatics. I mean you can't make it up, can you? But back home he's big on strict control of handguns, ...????

3 minutes ago, GrandPapillon said:

in Biden defense, it was a stupid war from day 1, and in 2011 when the Obama administration had a chance to leave things in good conditions sans Taliban, they didn't take it.

 

Biden claims he was against Obama idea of staying, yet didn't say anything publicly or didn't resign for round 2 and went along with the ill-conceived plan. Not really someone who has real convictions on anything.

Well that's exactly right, he's a drift where the wind blows kinda guy, that's why he supported Trumps decision to get out of Afghanistan, because he looked at the voters and most Americans don't want soldiers to be there. Pure election tactics.

35 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

One of the U.S. officials said that between 40 and 50 aircraft had been flown to Uzbekistan by Afghan pilots seeking refuge.

 

Current and former officials say that while they are concerned about the Taliban having access to the helicopters, the aircraft require frequent maintenance and many are complicated to fly without extensive training.

"Ironically, the fact that our equipment breaks down so often is a life-saver here," a third official said.

Retired U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, who oversaw U.S. military operations in Afghanistan as head of U.S. Central Command from 2016 to 2019, said most of the high-end hardware captured by the Taliban, including the aircraft, was not equipped with sensitive U.S. technology.

"In some cases, some of these will be more like trophies," Votel said.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/planes-guns-night-vision-goggles-talibans-new-us-made-war-chest-2021-08-19/

 

Mere trophies you say? Trophies that are being flown by the Taleban as we speak..

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/south-asia/taliban-black-hawk-helicopter-video-b1911264.html

12 minutes ago, Tanomazu said:

What Biden did was basically to gift one of the largest technologically advanced accumulation of weapons that was ever gifted, to none other than stone age religious fanatics. I mean you can't make it up, can you? But back home he's big on strict control of handguns, ...????

imagine if Trump had done that, Congress would be already opening an impeachment investigation and the press and CNN would be crying out loud about Trump miserable and cowardly actions for abandoning the Afghans,

 

Biden = cricket ????