 Well, this is gonna be a very long but hopefully informative video as you all know by now Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban Now this brings an end to a nearly 20 year long war 20 years We were there for almost two decades and the outcome is disastrous it was all for nothing and I think that this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the United States military is Incapable of competently spreading democracy or building other nations So let this serve as a reminder to you the next time you see Government officials or mainstream media beating the war drums against another country be at Venezuela or Bolivia Remember that this is always the outcome. We do not help we make matters worse But before I share my opinion on the situation and some takeaways that I think are the most important here I do want to give you a general overview of what's taking place. So here's a quick clip from democracy now With a very, you know, broad rundown of what's happening over the past 10 days The Taliban has captured 26 out of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals Some fell without a fight after the Taliban reached deals with local warlords The Taliban offensive came as the United States is withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war and occupation The Biden administration is now rushing to send an additional 1,000 troops to Afghanistan to help evacuate us citizens and allies the total size of the US force will soon be 6,000 us troops have taken control of the international airport in Kabul While thousands of Afghan civilians are hoping to flee Taliban rule the US has canceled all commercial flights video went viral this morning of Hundreds of Afghans running alongside and trying to grab onto a US Air Force jet as it attempted to take off At least three people died after falling to their deaths while clinging on to a US plane Another died on the tarmac Over 60 nations including the United States have joined together to urge the Taliban to protect foreign nationals and Afghans who want to leave Afghanistan out of fear the Taliban will again brutally control the country like it did between 1996 and 2001 before the US invasion Now I'm not gonna play the video clips of people falling from the airplanes because that's that's just too much You know, you don't need to see that to acknowledge that the situation is really really terrible It's got wrenching enough to see these types of videos of people fleeing to get to the airport to run away from Taliban rule But I do want to give you some additional details This is from Brett Wilkins of common dreams who explains the stunning but predictable Taliban reconquest of Afghanistan marks the end of the nearly 20-year US-led war that cost the lives of more than 200,000 Afghans displaced over five million more and diverted at least two trillion in American taxpayer funds that progressive Critics said could have been better spent on programs of domestic and international social uplift and well-being and That paragraph is important because essentially in a nutshell it really paints this picture that we spent all of this money all of this time and effort and It was all basically for nothing the second we leave the Taliban takes over now If you're wondering what Afghanistan is going to look like under Taliban rule where what well They actually they did control Afghanistan prior to our invasion But if you want, you know a more clear picture I would say it's probably going to resemble the most conservative regions of Saudi Arabia Not that Saudi Arabia isn't you know entirely a very dictatorial Totalitarian theocracy But there are some areas in Saudi Arabia such as Riyadh for example where women don't cover their entire face Like they just cover their hair, but their faces show But you know in more conservative regions, they're forced to wear burqas They're not allowed to leave without a male companion and I think that most of Afghanistan is going to resemble the most conservative regions of Saudi Arabia, you know women's rights will not be respected LGBTQ people will essentially be Wiped out of existence if they don't go back into the closet if they were already out They will be likely killed it is gut-wrenching to see the situation But in terms of what it looks like right now CNN reporter on the ground in Kabul right now Clarissa Ward kind of paints a picture and you know right now not much has changed as of yet, but it's fairly ominous Mainly on the street. I would say it's Taliban and it's it's hard to show you but they're literally everywhere They're over there. They're over there. They're over there. They're everywhere And that's how they're able to implement force and implement security because people are so scared of them No one is going to fight the Taliban then you also have some men on the streets. You have some kids I have seen a few women But I will say I have seen far fewer women then I would ordinarily see walking down the streets of Kabul and the Woman that you do see walking down the streets of Kabul tend to be dressed more Conservatively than they were when they were walking down the streets of Kabul yesterday I've seen more burkas today than I had seen in a while Obviously, I am dressed in a very different way to how I would normally dress to walk down the streets of Kabul So there's a lot of children as well I think they're more curious than anything else and you know It's important to remember as well the Taliban does have to many people this bizarre sort of mystique John People are intrigued by them some people here genuinely see them as heroes And so it's a very odd cocktail that you find on the streets of Kabul with so many people hiding and Other people peeking out to see what comes next and nobody really knowing what on earth to expect Now prior to the Taliban season control This is what Biden said when he was asked about the likelihood that something like this would transpire Needless to say his response did not age very well No, it is not Because you have the Afghan troops have three hundred thousand Well equipped as well as equipped as any army in the world and an air force against something like 75,000 Taliban It is not inevitable, but the likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly Unlikely now maybe he got bad intelligence. Maybe he's just you know a little bit too optimistic or naive I think that that answer right there was awful because now he looks terrible. He looks incompetent and To a degree. I think that there is a lot of blame to be attributed to the Biden administration I think that right there when he was asked that he should have acknowledged the reality that this could happen But still made the case nonetheless for withdrawal because a lot of people saw this coming I mean veterans on the ground who served in Afghanistan knew that the second they left This was going to happen. So Biden should never had you know had tried to paint this overly rosy picture He should have just been realistic now after some time of silence after the Taliban retook Kabul He gave a different response. This is as of today and this is what he's saying now I'm now the fourth American president To preside over war in Afghanistan to Democrats and to Republicans I will not pass this responsibly on Responsibility on to a fifth president. I will not mislead the American people By claiming that just a little more time in Afghanistan will make all the difference Nor will I shrink from my share of responsibly for where we are today and how we must move forward from here. I Am president of the United States of America and the buck stops with me I'm deeply saddened by the facts we now face But I do not regret my decision to end America's warfighting in Afghanistan and maintain a laser focus on our counterterrorism Emissions there and other parts of the world Now I actually think that was a very solid response from Joe Biden He took responsibility for what's happening as he should because he's the president and the buck does stop with him But additionally he remained committed to withdrawing because here's the thing staying there indefinitely was never something that was feasible We can't occupy Afghanistan until the end of time but having said that Regardless if we withdrew in 2015 if we withdraw, you know right now or in 2030 This was inevitable. It was always going to happen It was always going to happen. So even though this is a really hard decision ultimately I do think that Biden made the right decision in withdrawing and I'm glad that he is remaining remaining firm in His his decision because the media is going to say hey, look, this is this is horrible all this bloodshed is on you We shouldn't have withdrawn, but that's the wrong take away ultimately. Yes It is very sad to see what is happening It's gut-wrenching to see the people of Afghanistan flee But what do we do? What's the alternative? And that's what we really don't get from the mainstream media We don't hear an alternative perspective There is no alternative either you Stay there forever or you acknowledge the reality that the Taliban would ultimately take over Afghanistan The best that you can do ultimately is get the people out who assisted us there Any interpreters who are promised, you know asylum Anyone who contracted with the United States government make sure that they're out So that way they won't be vulnerable under the Taliban rule who will view them as traitors now currently the Taliban is saying You know what? We're not going to prosecute anyone who worked with the US government But obviously I don't necessarily think that their word is very valuable So we have to make sure that we get people out. We'll talk about that in a second But Barbara Lee also agrees here that withdrawing is the option The only option because unfortunately, there's there's just no military solution to Afghanistan. This is the inevitable outcome Unfortunately, and it's horrible. We don't have to feel numb to the pain and suffering that we're witnessing right now But this was something that was always going to happen. It's just a matter of whether or not it's going to happen now Or later on down the line. This is what Barbara Lee had to say in an interview with an MSNBC host Congressman Lee, as you know, the war in Afghanistan is the longest war in US history Today from your point of view, is it safe to say America has lost that war? What I'm going to say is this first of all nice being with you is that our policy is to First of all nice being with you is that our focus and priority has got to be now the safety and security of the American citizens Our diplomats the Afghans our allies so many people who supported the American operation there And so we have to focus on the visas we have to focus on women and children the safety and security of everyone at this moment And I think it's a very dire situation This has got to be and it is an all hands-on deck operation a whole government operation and This is an example though that there is no military solution. Unfortunately in Afghanistan. We've been there 20 years We have spent over a trillion dollars and we have trained over 300,000 of the Afghan forces I think the president is absolutely correct Secretary of State Secretary Austin have laid this out and it's very difficult is very hard This is a tragedy and so we have to make sure that we focus and make a top priority getting people to safety And she's correct. There is no military solution Unfortunately in Afghanistan, which is why she was very adamant about us not going in there to begin with Because what's the goal? What are we going to do there? We're not feasibly going to construct a government that's going to last We're not going to be able to build a democracy. It's just not going to happen. So why are we there? Well, I mean we're there because This is profitable staying in Afghanistan as long as we possibly can is very profitable to the military industrial complex on top of that You know, we were raiding Afghanistan of their mineral resources So, you know, I think that ultimately it is correct that withdrawn is the right decision But even having said that though, even if I agree with Biden's decision ultimately and overall I do think that he absolutely is bungling the Situation as it relates to refugees Because he should have had some system in place, you know The US military generals should have anticipated a Taliban takeover and had, you know Well a plan B a plan C in the event this happened But it seemed as if there really wasn't any plan in place as Clarissa Ward of CNN reports The problem you have now There's definitely no plan in place to try to evacuate these people safely Okay, the US is really barely able to keep a hold on the situation at the airport right now Let alone trying to extend some kind of Corridor for people to leave through so that is simply out of the question The other problem you have is that there's this crush of humanity descending on the airport Vehicles clogging both lanes of traffic scenes of people firing in the air to stop a sort of Stampede almost people have been shot by stray bullets. It's it's absolute Pandemonium at the airport and if you don't have your visa ready If you don't have your passport ready because a lot of people were trying to prepare for this moment Brianna We saw it yesterday long lines outside the passport office, but no one Imagine that it would happen this quickly that they would have a matter of hours to pack up their lives Get together their paperwork book a ticket get to the airport I mean, it's completely unfeasible for the vast majority of Afghans And so they are now left in this desperate situation Petrified for their lives. They are being assured officially by the Taliban that there is a blanket amnesty Even for people who worked with the government even for people who worked with security forces But it doesn't take a genius to realize that for a lot of people. They're too scared to believe that they have huge reservations And so they are now hunkered down Waiting for more clarity Waiting for more guidance from the US as to how their paperwork will be expedited How they can get safely out of the country and in this moment There is not a huge amount of information coming through to them So it's a desperate situation so I mean this speaks to the incompetence of the United States government and Right now priority number one which everyone should be focused on is getting as many people out as possible We need to accept lots and lots of refugees anyone who wants to apply for asylum should be allowed to do that Because this is our fault any other country any western country that intervened in Afghanistan They should be opening up their doors to Afghanistan refugees and especially we have to make sure that US allies in Afghanistan get out because they are the most vulnerable and we also have to make sure that we prioritize Modernized groups as Dave New World points out There are 250 female judges in Afghanistan who will be killed if we don't grant them a special visa to get them out This should be bigger news the last time the Taliban took control They targeted judges because a female judge is everything that goes against Taliban philosophy And now because we went in there the Taliban is stronger than ever We trained hundreds of thousands of Afghani fighters Which now are likely going to be part of the Taliban like it or not and all those weapons that we gave to Afghan fighters That's all gonna go to the Taliban So because of our intervention the Taliban is stronger than ever So I think we are absolutely morally obligated To get as many people out as possible and for the individuals who don't want to come to the United States if they want to Flee to a neighboring country. I think we have to give them reparations pay money to every single individual whose lives We ruined and it's a big population But I mean this is this is what happens when you intervene you ruin lives and you have to right that wrong You have to fix what you fucked up. You have to make sure that you Offer them a home in the United States Because we did this so now currently neocons and warmongers were profiteers, you know members of the military industrial complex They are currently patting themselves on the back as if you know, they were proven corrects that you know Staying indefinitely was the better option Certainly we should have not pulled out because if we didn't pull out then none of this would have been happening But again, I want people to push back on that narrative by saying no, no, no, it's not the neocons who are right It's the anti-war leftists who are correct because they're the ones who from the get-go said this was never a good idea to intervene Barbara Lee for example who in 2001 as Kumar Roshir Said we must be careful to not embark on an open-ended war with neither an exit strategy nor a focused target We cannot repeat past mistakes, and that's correct The bottom line is that our presence there made matters worse us being there is a net negative and If we stayed in longer, that's not going to change the situation whenever we leave The Taliban is going to take control But let this serve as a reminder to us that war is never the option because we may think That we know it's best for a country We might think that there's a humane reason for intervening but that it's never the case a humanitarian war is Never the case because understand that you know the United States government our media establishment They never focus on humanitarian issues unless it serves their war profiteering purposes I mean we can focus on North Korea and Saudi Arabia and all the human rights abuses there But intervening in those countries is never an option because of course Saudi Arabia is our ally and it would just be too big of a disaster if we intervened in North Korea But we focus on these humanitarian crises where the military industrial complex sees an opportunity an Opportunity to act to try to you know cultivate sympathy for the suffering people of these countries And I think it's absolutely important that we do feel sympathy for these individuals it is natural and human to feel terrible and sad for the people of Afghanistan who are fleeing currently but don't let war Profiteers use your sympathy as a justification for more wars that only lines their pockets because the Americans who served in Afghanistan They saw firsthand that this was never a winnable war So this is from Jolly good ginger who says as a veteran of the Afghanistan war and as a citizen of the United States I feel physically sick to my stomach watching the Taliban take over I feel sadness for the people fleeing to avoid the terror that brings but one thing I don't feel I don't feel Shock not a solitary ounce of shock. We all knew we were spinning our wheels over there It was a giant ploy by rich men to get richer while me and other poor men and women pay the price of capitalism with our lives Our minds and our bodies so my message to America as we watch the Taliban take Afghanistan back is this feel shame We deserve it feel angry not at the Taliban No at the oligarchy that controls this country that willingly sends off our sons and daughters to pay in blood for their capitalist dreams exactly we should all feel sad and ashamed because of what's happening Our government did this so when you hear, you know, these neocon warmongers gone mainstream media and try to convince you that It was a bad idea to leave and you know try to build up the case for more never-ending wars Acknowledge that they never care about the human suffering. They never care about the death toll They don't they don't ever acknowledge The cost in human lives and the monetary cost that these wars have They have one goal and one goal only Propagate this military industrial complex By doing never-ending wars that is the most profitable solution and another veteran echoed that same sentiment from Jollygood ginger So this is from Lord Jude who explains boy, howdy am I having a lot of feelings about Afghanistan today? I deployed there twice once in 2008 and once in 2009 to 10 It was already obvious that the Taliban would sweep through the very instant we left and here we are today I know how bad the Taliban is. I know what they do to women and little boys I know what they're going to do to the interpreters and the people who cooperated with us. It's awful It's bad, but we are leaving and all I feel is grim relief I am team get the fuck out of Afghanistan, which as a friend pointed out to me today has always been a team Taliban It's team Taliban or team stay forever. There is no third team So I'm sitting here reading these sad fucking tweets about the suffering in Afghanistan and the horror of the encroaching Taliban and how awful it is that this is happening, but I can't stop feeling the scrim happiness like finally you fuck is finally You have to see it too. No more blown-up soldiers. No more Bollywood videos on phones whose owners are getting shipped God knows where no more hypocrisy. No more pretending it meant anything. It didn't it didn't mean a fucking thing and that's just that all of this money all of the suffering Deaths of Afghanistan civilians and what is it led to? We're back to where we started except the Taliban now is stronger than they were before we invaded it's just What a disgusting situation and really this shouldn't make anyone Think instinctively. Well, man, it just looks like the United States government. We need to expand our presence No, that should not be the takeaway the takeaway should be we need to stay away from other countries We cannot be the world's police Even if we wanted to be the world's police We don't know what we're doing and when we have actors from the military industrial complex not necessarily motivated by Compassion and empathy but instead motivated by money This is always going to be the outcome of our wars now finally I'll leave you with this tweet from Rana Abdel Hamid who tweets I was nine years old when I watched my congresswoman wear a burqa in Congress to justify the invasion of Afghanistan for the rest of my life I knew that as a Muslim woman my identity would be weaponized to justify American wars 20 years of war later What did we accomplish? What did we accomplish? If we stood there for five years more ten years more another 20 years would that change the outcome? No So the takeaway of this video isn't just that I think that Biden made the necessary I'll be it really difficult decision to withdraw knowing what would happen But it's that we should never allow our government to do this again you know years are gonna pass and There's gonna be a new administration that may beat the war drums for Iran Biden for example is very hawkish as it relates to Venezuela Most of the Democratic parties in lockstep with the military industrial complex when it comes to Venezuela They also have a lot of oil wealth, but again remember the minute that our establishment The political establishment government media starts beating the war drums against in another country This is always going to be the outcome. We're always going to make matters worse And if we don't it's the exception It's the exception World War two for example, but overall going to war with another country We're not we're not needed We're going to make matters worse because we don't care about human lives. We care about money That's why these never-ending wars happen because it's profitable So I'm glad that Joe Biden did the right thing and decided to withdraw But I want people to learn the right lessons from Afghanistan and understand What's going on and why things like this are happening