Changes

As the impending crisis escalated, White House chief propagandists Jen Psaki said "The [[Taliban]] has to make an assessment about what they want their role to be in the international community."  Her comments came as reports flowed in of Taliban fighters going door-to-door and forcibly selecting girls as young as 12 to reward as brides for the victorious jihadis.<ref>https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghans-tell-of-executions-forced-marriages-in-taliban-held-areas-11628780820</ref>

As the impending crisis escalated, White House chief propagandists Jen Psaki said "The [[Taliban]] has to make an assessment about what they want their role to be in the international community."  Her comments came as reports flowed in of Taliban fighters going door-to-door and forcibly selecting girls as young as 12 to reward as brides for the victorious jihadis.<ref>https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghans-tell-of-executions-forced-marriages-in-taliban-held-areas-11628780820</ref>

 

Former Obama Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said,<ref>The Atlantic (2011). [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/panetta-will-run-pentagon-petraeus-to-lead-cia/237927/ Panetta Will Run Pentagon; Petraeus to Lead CIA].</ref> the Islamist group cares less about diplomatic relations than it does about the idea that it has defeated the world’s strongest military, a narrative that will embolden other Islamist militants around the world.

Former Obama Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said,<ref>The Atlantic (2011). [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/panetta-will-run-pentagon-petraeus-to-lead-cia/237927/ Panetta Will Run Pentagon; Petraeus to Lead CIA].</ref> the Islamist group cares less about diplomatic relations than it does about the idea that it has defeated the world’s strongest military, a narrative that will embolden other Islamist militants around the world.

{{quotebox-float|“We’re going to pay for that for a long time to come, and that’s why it is insane – just idiotic – to think that we can tell the Taliban that if they don’t stop taking over territory and play nice, the international community will withhold recognition and support.  The Taliban really doesn’t care, because they’ve got something far more valuable.”

{{quotebox-float|“We’re going to pay for that for a long time to come, and that’s why it is insane – just idiotic – to think that we can tell the Taliban that if they don’t stop taking over territory and play nice, the international community will withhold recognition and support.  The Taliban really doesn’t care, because they’ve got something far more valuable.”

[…] Labour MP Chris Bryant called Mr Biden’s remarks about Afghan soldiers “some of the most shameful comments ever from an American president”.  Khalid Mahmood, a Labour MP and former defence minister, said: “The Biden government have just come in and, without looking at what is happening on the ground, have taken a unilateral decision, throwing us and everybody else to the fire.” <ref>[https://archive.is/YkOPb#selection-517.0-535.24 Parliament holds Joe Biden in contempt over Afghanistan], By Ben Riley-Smith, ''The Telegraph'', 18 August 2021.</ref>}}

[…] Labour MP Chris Bryant called Mr Biden’s remarks about Afghan soldiers “some of the most shameful comments ever from an American president”.  Khalid Mahmood, a Labour MP and former defence minister, said: “The Biden government have just come in and, without looking at what is happening on the ground, have taken a unilateral decision, throwing us and everybody else to the fire.” <ref>[https://archive.is/YkOPb#selection-517.0-535.24 Parliament holds Joe Biden in contempt over Afghanistan], By Ben Riley-Smith, ''The Telegraph'', 18 August 2021.</ref>}}

Former [[Labour Party]] [[Prime Minister]] [[Tony Blair]] slammed Biden's "imbecilic" retreat.<ref>https://archive.is/2D8am#selection-491.1-491.56</ref>

Former [[Labour Party]] [[Prime Minister]] [[Tony Blair]] slammed Biden's "imbecilic" retreat.<ref>https://archive.is/2D8am#selection-491.1-491.56</ref>

 

=====Chaos=====

=====Chaos=====

Panic ensued as the Kabul airport was flooded with people fleeing the Taliban terror. Some people were stampeded to death.<ref>https://www.the-sun.com/news/3479109/taliban-jalalabad-afghanistan-kabul-uk-troops-2-2/</ref>  ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported about the dangerous road thousands of people face trying to get to the Kabul airport: “There were volleys of rifle fire, along with pushing, pulling and beating with wooden sticks, Kalashnikovs and hoses.”<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/18/world/asia/kabul-airport-afghanistan-maps.html</ref>  At the airport, “in desperate scenes, babies were passed to U.S. soldiers in the hope of giving them a life outside the country,” ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2021/aug/19/children-passed-over-the-walls-of-kabul-airport-amid-evacuation-chaos-video</ref>  Tens of thousands of Afghans lined up outside the airport in the hopes of finding a way out.<ref>https://www.businessinsider.com/video-people-crushed-to-death-at-kabul-airport-thousands-flee-taliban-2021-8?op=1</ref>  Three young men clung to the tires of an airplane, only to fall on top of people's houses once the plane was airborne.<ref>https://twitter.com/AsvakaNews/status/1427172720446373892</ref>  Remains of a fourth body were found crushed inside the wheel well upon landing.<ref>https://notthebee.com/article/shockingly-awful-video-shows-afghan-mans-body-dangling-from-wheel-well-of-c-17</ref>  People died after being crushed or succumbing to sweltering temperatures in the crowds outside the airport gate as individuals and families sought refuge from the Taliban.<ref>https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/matt-frei/women-at-kabul-airport-crushed-fleeing-taliban/</ref> [[UK]] ''Independent'' journalist Kim Sengupta saw "four people crushed to death in the space of about an hour," in the crush as Afghans scrambled to leave the Taliban-controlled country.<ref>https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/matt-frei/women-at-kabul-airport-crushed-fleeing-taliban/</ref>  ''[[Sky News]]'' chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay saw people crushed to death, medics check their vital signs and then cover the bodies in white sheets.<reef>https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15927269/afghanistan-kabul-airport-crush-taliban/</ref>  A heartbroken mother found her 2-year-old daughter trampled to death.<ref>https://nypost.com/2021/08/22/fatal-stampede-outside-kabul-airport-takes-place-as-people-attempt-to-flee/</ref>

Panic ensued as the Kabul airport was flooded with people fleeing the Taliban terror. Some people were stampeded to death.<ref>https://www.the-sun.com/news/3479109/taliban-jalalabad-afghanistan-kabul-uk-troops-2-2/</ref>  ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported about the dangerous road thousands of people face trying to get to the Kabul airport: “There were volleys of rifle fire, along with pushing, pulling and beating with wooden sticks, Kalashnikovs and hoses.”<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/18/world/asia/kabul-airport-afghanistan-maps.html</ref>  At the airport, “in desperate scenes, babies were passed to U.S. soldiers in the hope of giving them a life outside the country,” ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2021/aug/19/children-passed-over-the-walls-of-kabul-airport-amid-evacuation-chaos-video</ref>  Tens of thousands of Afghans lined up outside the airport in the hopes of finding a way out.<ref>https://www.businessinsider.com/video-people-crushed-to-death-at-kabul-airport-thousands-flee-taliban-2021-8?op=1</ref>  Three young men clung to the tires of an airplane, only to fall on top of people's houses once the plane was airborne.<ref>https://twitter.com/AsvakaNews/status/1427172720446373892</ref>  Remains of a fourth body were found crushed inside the wheel well upon landing.<ref>https://notthebee.com/article/shockingly-awful-video-shows-afghan-mans-body-dangling-from-wheel-well-of-c-17</ref>  People died after being crushed or succumbing to sweltering temperatures in the crowds outside the airport gate as individuals and families sought refuge from the Taliban.<ref>https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/matt-frei/women-at-kabul-airport-crushed-fleeing-taliban/</ref> [[UK]] ''Independent'' journalist Kim Sengupta saw "four people crushed to death in the space of about an hour," in the crush as Afghans scrambled to leave the Taliban-controlled country.<ref>https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/matt-frei/women-at-kabul-airport-crushed-fleeing-taliban/</ref>  ''[[Sky News]]'' chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay saw people crushed to death, medics check their vital signs and then cover the bodies in white sheets.<reef>https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15927269/afghanistan-kabul-airport-crush-taliban/</ref>  A heartbroken mother found her 2-year-old daughter trampled to death.<ref>https://nypost.com/2021/08/22/fatal-stampede-outside-kabul-airport-takes-place-as-people-attempt-to-flee/</ref>