Swathes of Afghanistan fall to the Taliban

[-:Undertaker:-]

Swathes of Afghanistan fall to the Taliban

As American and British troops leave Afghanistan before September, the Taliban have taken around 70% of the country already

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57773120

The Taliban have captured major border crossings with Iran and Turkmenistan in a sweeping offensive across northern Afghanistan, officials say.

The militants say they seized two key border towns - Islam Qala near Iran, and Torghundi bordering Turkmenistan.

Video footage appeared to show Taliban forces taking down the Afghan flag from the roof of a border customs office.

The Taliban are rapidly retaking land across Afghanistan as the US-led mission removes the last of its troops.

Taliban officials say their fighters have taken control of 85% of territory in Afghanistan - a claim impossible to independently verify and disputed by the government.

Other estimates have put the amount of territory the Taliban controls at more than a third of the country's 400 districts, including an arc of land from the Iranian border in the west to the frontier with China on the other side of the country.

The Americans earlier this week quietly departed from Bagram airfield, a sprawling base that was the centre of US operations in Afghanistan and once held tens of thousands of troops.

Entirely predictable.

Unless you're willing to properly colonise a country like this for 70 to more than 100 years, you'll never make a jot of difference. As the Americans profess they are against imperial adventures and Empires, they go in for a decade or two then fail at the job. See also Vietnam and Iraq.

The central government in Kabul has about a month or two left before they start boarding planes and fleeing the capital.

[craig1831]

A war that was only fought as the U.S. needed someone to blame, and now Afghanistan is right back where it was pre 9/11. Imagine if the UK had invoked NATO Article 5 after the IRA bombed the Brighton Hotel and inavded Ireland. It would be stupid but that's exactly what the U.S. done in Afghanistan.

[-:Undertaker:-]

A war that was only fought as the U.S. needed someone to blame, and now Afghanistan is right back where it was pre 9/11. Imagine if the UK had invoked NATO Article 5 after the IRA bombed the Brighton Hotel and inavded Ireland. It would be stupid but that's exactly what the U.S. done in Afghanistan.

A bit different though - the IRA was not in control of the Republic of Ireland as the Taliban were in control of most of Afghanistan pre-2001.

I'm not sure what the solution is really to this. It's a difficult one.

[Zak]

Unsurprising to say the least

[-:Undertaker:-]

What I said is now happening.

Here's a map of the current situation.

Five of the six cities taken by the Taliban in recent days are in northern Afghanistan, long the home of resistance to the movement. If government forces can’t stop the insurgents there, experts fear that the capital Kabul may be more vulnerable than ever. https://t.co/VfEIRoXolv

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 9, 2021

Taliban reportedly have entered Ghazni city. If it falls, it will be the first provincial capital in the Southeastern part of Afghanistan to be taken over by the Taliban. Ghazni connects Kabul & Kandahar. It also hosts a significant Sikh & Hindu population.

— Ashok (@ashoswai) August 10, 2021

[-:Undertaker:-]

Intelligence community saying the same.

What's most worrying for Kabul is the fact the north is falling so quickly, when in the 1990s it was the home of the Northern Alliance which managed to hold off the Taliban.

❓The Taliban's rapid gains have prompted US officials to revise their estimates for how long it might take for the group to take Kabul, according to the Washington Post.

One official said it could occur within a month - others suggested it would take 90 days or perhaps longer

— Telegraph World News (@TelegraphWorld) August 11, 2021

[-:Undertaker:-]

Taliban continuing to make sweeping advances towards Kabul.

Most worrying, Marshal Dostum - a tough as f*ck military general who fought the Taliban in the 1990s, has reportedly fled across the Uzbek border.

The Afghan army, of over a hundred thousands soldiers, equipped with modern weaponary, is collapsing against a group of armed religious peasants.

The city of Mazar-e-Sharif, an important trade hub in the north fell to the Taliban. Atta Mohammad Noor and Marshal Dostum reportedly fled to Uzbekistan.

— Ehsanullah Amiri (@euamiri) August 14, 2021

Lots of disinformation on twitter, bear that in mind, but some videos seem to show Mazar has fallen. Unless the US steps in or Ghani resigns, Taliban could enter Kabul in just 24 hours

— Bruno Maçães (@MacaesBruno) August 14, 2021