USA is finally out of Afghanistan

[khansaheeb]

Turkish forces will be coming in i heard. is it true ?

Yep belly dancing troops:-

US State Dept. Live Press Conference coming up. But White House's spokeswoman Jane Psaki just said that right now 'the Taliban are the best and only option' for the evacuation. She also said there will be 'continued engagements' with the Taliban after the evacuation.

Yes, Al jazeera live just confimed Turkish Leadership has over 3 hour chat with with Taliban and that a 'small contingent' of Turkish technocrats are staying behind to run the airport while Taliban secure the airport. But troops will leave as part of evacuation. Taliban don't issue idle demands!

What happened to "we do not talk to terrorists"?

 

[Path-Finder]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1431683374981263360

 

[PakFactor]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1431683374981263360

Lol. Well I’d like to tell Muslims around the world that this is your self worth right there. Enjoy, unless you break the colonial bangles and have some respect for yourself don’t go crying to get some.

 

[aziqbal]

flight radar24 is showing 2 x C17 over Gulf of Oman inbound

they still have 3 hours flight time to Kabul

so maybe we still have few hours

although I count a total of 6 x USAF outbound

 

[FuturePAF]

The only thing of value in that list is the UH-60s BlackHawks, Scout Attack Helo's - the rest of it is junk or the Taliban can use themselves - so it has value to them.

The Afghan Airforce collapsed when all of the contractors left - the Americans never trained the Afghan Airforce to be self - sufficient. The Iraqi airforce had the same problem - it is more about making lots of money for private contractors - rather than leaving real capability behind ...

Now, the UH-60 Blackhawks, Scout attack helos have no 2nd hand value as they need direct support from the USA to support and maintain - they are - as of now - complete junk to the talibunnies or anyone else unless the USA agrees to the sale of that equipment.

If the Turks or Jordan or any other ME country with USA friendly ties that also operate the same equipment(or any other country other than Pakistan !!! ) then they should make them a bargin basement offer and the Americans will agree to the sale to get the "equipment out of the talibunny hands, etc ". The talibunnies get some cash or exchange for help to bootstrap what ever "vision" they have for Afganistan...

That is the only future for the equipment of the Afghan airforce that is of American origin - The talibunny can operate and maintain the Mi17s for some time as they are designed to be operated by semi-illterate peasants( russian war philosphy !! )

The comms gear, night vision, and Thermal scoped rifles are valuable equipment. Buying them and giving them to the FC would really boost there capabilities.

If possible, Pakistan should try to buy the Blackhawks and use them for the Navy, after adding ASW equipment.

If they want to sell the scout helicopters those might be good to give to the FC or the SSG.

 

[ghazi52]

Turkey, Taliban close to reaching deal on operating Kabul airport

Ankara will be required to recognise Taliban as legitimate government of Afghanistan, as per draft agreement


News Desk
August 28, 2021

Afghans crowd at the tarmac of the Kabul airport to flee the country as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and conceded the insurgents had won the 20-year war. PHOTO: AFP
Turkey and Qatar will jointly operate the Kabul international airport with the former providing security through a private firm, Middle East Eye (MEE) reported on Saturday citing sources.

The MEE report said the draft deal in this regard will be finalised after the US troops withdrawal from the airport is completed by the next week.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s, who is expected to hold consultations on the matter with his Nato allies mainly the US, will give the final approval to the deal with the Taliban.

However, both sides have now cut a draft deal that could resolve the issue.

According to the main points of the draft agreement, Turkey will recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Moreover, Turkey and Qatar will operate the airport in a consortium and Ankara providing security through a private firm, whose staff will consist of former Turkish soldiers and police.
Turkish special forces, operating in plainclothes to secure Turkish technical staff but cannot leave the airport perimeter.

One outstanding issue in the way of the deal is that the former Afghan government had already awarded a contract for the airport last October to a United Arab Emirates-based consortium.
The Taliban will need to cut a separate deal with them.

Earlier, an official told Reuters that Turkey will not help run Kabul airport after Nato's withdrawal unless the Taliban agree to a Turkish security presence as deadly attacks outside the airport highlighted the perils of any such mission.

The Taliban have asked Turkey for technical help to run the airport after next Tuesday's deadline for all foreign military forces to pull out of Afghanistan, an ultimatum they say applies equally to Turkish troops.
Turkey, which is part of the Nato mission, has been responsible for security at the airport for the last six years.

Keeping the airport open after foreign forces hand over control is vital not just for Afghanistan to stay connected to the world but also to maintain aid supplies and operations.

On Thursday, just days before the military withdrawal deadline and as countries were still racing to evacuate civilians, at least one Islamic State suicide bomber killed 85 people, including 13 US soldiers, outside the airport gates.

One senior Turkish official said the attack raised doubts about the Taliban's ability to secure the airport or to keep any Turkish operational staff safe.

"The operation can be done by Turkey technically ... but our demand is that security should be ensured by Turkey too, through an extensive security team made up of former soldiers, former police, or a fully private firm," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We have not been keen on Turkey operating the airport in an atmosphere where security is provided by the Taliban, and the attacks yesterday showed this was correct."

 

[ghazi52]

US troops have begun leaving Kabul airport: Pentagon


WASHINGTON: US troops have begun their withdrawal from Kabul airport, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Saturday.

At the briefing, US Army Major General William Taylor said two ISIS-K planners were killed and another wounded in Friday's drone strike in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan.

Western forces running the Afghan airlift braced on Saturday for more attacks after the United States launched a drone strike two days after the group claimed a deadly bombing outside Kabul airport.

Among the 92 killed in Thursday's suicide blast, claimed by Afghanistan's Islamic State affiliate, were 13 US service members, the most lethal incident for US troops in Afghanistan in a decade.

"Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties," the US military said in a statement earlier in the day, referring to the overnight drone strike.

The White House said the next few days are likely to be the most dangerous of the US evacuation operation that the Pentagon said has taken about 111,000 people out of Afghanistan in the past two weeks

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the United States believes there are still "specific, credible" threats against the airport after the bombing at one of its gates.

 

[PAKISTANFOREVER]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1431683374981263360

In all honesty and political correction aside, on a base level, the life of a dog is more important to a White Western European person than the life of a non-White. That is a fact. Might not be a nice thing to say but that's the truth.

PS I don't blame White Western European people for this. They can think and feel how they like. It's their prerogative and culture to do so. I blame non-white leaders who treat their people as worthless sub-humans.

 

[ghazi52]

Taliban deployed additional forces around Kabul airport


by The Frontier Post

KABUL (AP): The Taliban deployed extra forces around Kabul’s airport on Saturday to prevent large crowds from gathering after a devastating suicide attack two days earlier, as the massive United States-led airlift wound down ahead of an August 31 deadline.

New layers of checkpoints sprang up on roads leading to the airport, some manned by uniformed Tali-ban fighters with Humvees and night-vision goggles captured from Afghan security forces. Areas where large crowds of people have gathered over the past two weeks, in hopes of fleeing the country following the Taliban takeover, were largely empty.

On Saturday, the Taliban fired warning shots and deployed some kind of colored smoke on a road leading to the airport, sending dozens of people scattering, according to a video circulating online that was consistent with AP reporting.

An Afghan who had worked as a translator for the US military said that he was with a group of people with permission to leave who tried to reach the airport late Friday. After passing through three checkpoints they were stopped at a fourth.

An argument ensued, and the Taliban said that they had been told by the Americans to only let United States passport-holders through.

“I am so hopeless for my future,” the man told The AP after returning to Kabul, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. “If the evacuation is over, what will happen to us?”

 

[MultaniGuy]

Law and order.... The legal system in Pakistan is a joke.

Agreed with you.

 

[Whitefalcon90]

I bet in your fantasies it was a replay of jang e badr.

What do you have against Islam? You think Jang e Badr is a fantasy? Shame on you.

@LeGenD please someone ban this guy. I've seen on multiple occasions he makes fun of Islam.

 

[ghazi52]

The final UK troops, diplomats and officials have left Kabul, Downing Street has confirmed.

The departure of the RAF flight brings to an end the UK's 20-year military involvement in Afghanistan.

More than 15,000 people have been evacuated by the UK since 14 August.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the moment was a chance to reflect on the achievements of recent weeks - and the last two decades, such as girls' education and weakening al-Qaeda.

In a letter to the armed forces community, Mr Johnson acknowledged the fall of Kabul to the Taliban will have been hard for them to watch.

He added it would be "an especially difficult time for the friends and loved ones of the 457 service personnel who laid down their lives" during the war.

 

[gambit]

So, the arrogant Superpower has been defeated.

No, we were not. We just tired of the mess.

It will be good to see peace and prosperity in Muslim lands. I think we deserve it now.

Peace? Maybe, and I said 'maybe' kindly. Prosperity? No, also said that kindly. You had many chances to do both and somehow you refused.

 

[LeGenD]

What do you have against Islam? You think Jang e Badr is a fantasy? Shame on you.

@LeGenD please someone ban this guy. I've seen on multiple occasions he makes fun of Islam.

I have removed his post.

WE encourage respect of all religions on PDF for good reason. Some of the conflicts have religio-political contexts which can motivate Figure-of-Speech references like that at times. Depends upon the member though; some are more tempted than others.

 

[ghazi52]

BRITAIN

British troops will end their evacuation of civilians on Saturday, armed forces chief General Nick Carter said, adding that after this, Britain would be bringing out its troops on the remaining aircraft.

The defence ministry said late on Friday that it had evacuated more than 14,500 Afghan and British nationals in the two weeks since the Taliban took control of the country.

CANADA

Canadian forces in Kabul ended evacuation efforts for their citizens and Afghans on Thursday, acting chief of the defence staff General Wayne Eyre said. He said Canada had evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of about 3,700 Canadian and Afghan citizens.

GERMANY

Germany ended evacuation flights on Thursday. The German military has evacuated 5,347 people, including more than 4,100 Afghans.

Germany previously said it had identified 10,000 people who needed to be evacuated, including Afghan local staff, journalists and human rights activists. About 300 German citizens remain in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the foreign office in Berlin said on Friday.

FRANCE

The French Defence Ministry said that, as of Thursday evening, more than 100 French nationals and more than 2,500 Afghans had reached French soil after being evacuated from Kabul.

ITALY

Italy said that by Aug. 26, 4,832 Afghans had been brought out of Afghanistan. Some 4,575 have arrived so far in Italy. The Italian government expects its last evacuation flight to leave Afghanistan later on Friday, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told reporters.

SWEDEN

Sweden has ended its evacuation mission in Kabul, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Friday. She said that a total of 1,100 people had been evacuated, including all locally employed embassy staff and their families.

BELGIUM

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday Belgium had ended its evacuation operations. Just over 1,400 people were evacuated, with the last flight arriving in the Pakistan capital of Islamabad on Wednesday night, he said.

IRELAND

Ireland's foreign ministry said that it had evacuated 36 Irish citizens after the completion of an emergency consular mission on Thursday.

It said it was now aware of approximately 60 Irish citizens and family members plus a further 15 Afghan citizens with Irish residency who are still in the country and have requested assistance, far more than they had initially estimated.

POLAND

Poland has evacuated about 900 people from Afghanistan, including about 300 women and 300 children, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday.

HUNGARY

Hungary has ended evacuations in Afghanistan after airlifting 540 people, including Hungarian citizens and Afghans and their families who worked for Hungarian forces previously, Defence Minister Tibor Benko said on Thursday.

DENMARK

Denmark made its last evacuation flight out of Kabul on Wednesday with the remaining diplomatic staff and military personnel, according to its defence ministry.

Denmark has airlifted about 1,000 people from Afghanistan since Aug. 14, including diplomatic staff, their families, former interpreters, Danish citizens as well as people from allied countries, the ministry said.

UKRAINE

Ukraine has evacuated of all of its citizens who wanted to leave, the president's chief of staff said on Saturday.

In all, it has flown out more than 600 people including foreign journalists, rights activists, women and children, Andriy Yermak said.

AUSTRIA

Austria is not operating its own flights and is relying on Germany and other countries to help with its evacuation. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told national broadcaster ORF on Wednesday 89 people with Austrian citizenship or residency had been airlifted out, while another two to three dozen people were still in Afghanistan.

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland, which is relying on Germany and the United States to help with its evacuation efforts via Tashkent, has got 292 people out of Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Tuesday. There were still 15 Swiss citizens in Afghanistan, but no more Swiss evacuation flights were planned.

THE NETHERLANDS

The Dutch government said on Thursday it had evacuated 2,500 people from Afghanistan since Aug. 15, with about 1,600 of them brought to the Netherlands. The Dutch ambassador left on the final flight on Thursday. The Dutch have no diplomatic presence left in the country.

SPAIN

Spain has concluded its evacuation of personnel from Afghanistan, the government said.

Two military planes carrying the last 81 Spaniards out of Kabul arrived in Dubai early on Friday, a government statement said. The planes were also carrying four Portuguese soldiers and 83 Afghans who had worked with NATO countries.

Over the course of its rescue mission Spain evacuated 1,898 Afghans who had worked with Western countries, the United Nations or the European Union.

TURKEY

Turkey has evacuated at least 1,400 people from Afghanistan, including about 1,000 Turkish citizens, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said this week.

QATAR

Qatar said on Thursday it had helped evacuate more than 40,000 people to Doha and "evacuation efforts will continue in the coming days in consultation with international partners".

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The UAE said on Thursday it had helped evacuate 36,500 people to date, including 8,500 coming to the UAE via its national carriers or airports.

INDIA

India has airlifted 565 people from Afghanistan, most of them embassy personnel and citizens living there but also dozens of Afghans including Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, a government official said.

AUSTRALIA

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday that Australia had evacuated 4,100 people, including over 3,200 citizens and Afghans with Australian visas, over nine days, with the last planned flight leaving before the airport attack. The other evacuees were from coalition partners.

Morrison acknowledged some Australian visa holders remained in Afghanistan though he did not know exact numbers.

Australia is committed to bringing at least 3,000 more people out over coming months as part of a humanitarian programme, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said.

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand's Defence Force ran three flights out of Kabul, and the last planned flight had left before the attack, a government statement said.

No NZDF personnel were in Kabul at the time of the explosions and no New Zealand evacuees were left within Kabul airport. According to preliminary numbers, at least 276 New Zealand nationals and permanent residents, their families and other visa holders were evacuated, it said.