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| Iran Gains Ground in Afghanistan as U.S. Presence Wanes | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 5 2017, 09:48 AM (586 Views) | |
| George Aligator | Aug 5 2017, 09:48 AM Post #1 |
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FARAH, Afghanistan — A police officer guarding the outskirts of this city remembers the call from his commander, warning that hundreds of Taliban fighters were headed his way. “Within half an hour, they attacked,” recalled Officer Najibullah Amiri, 35. The Taliban swarmed the farmlands surrounding his post and seized the western riverbank here in Farah, the capital of the province by the same name. It was the start of a three-week siege in October, and only after American air support was called in to end it and the smoke cleared did Afghan security officials realize who was behind the lightning strike: Iran. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/05/world/asia/iran-afghanistan-taliban.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news |
| Conservatism is a social disease | |
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| Robert Stout | Aug 5 2017, 10:35 AM Post #2 |
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Our Generals should have realized that the puppet Afghan government would collapse and American forces would eventually be driven out of Afghanistan....This is what happened to the Persians., British, and Russians before us....Never promote Generals who can't win a war........... :oyvey |
| Jesus can raise the dead, but he can't fix stupid | |
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| George Aligator | Aug 5 2017, 11:08 AM Post #3 |
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An excellent observation ^^^ as a number of posters have pointed out for years. However, it would be a grave injustice to blame the Afghanistan mess on the military. It was George W Bush who decided when the Northern Alliance collapsed, to use US ground forces to get bin Laden and it was the Decider who pulled those forces back when they surrounded him a Tora Bora, allowing his escape into Pakistan. The generals weren't the ones who decided to do nation building in Afghanistan, it was POTUS. |
| Conservatism is a social disease | |
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| Siberian | Aug 5 2017, 06:35 PM Post #4 |
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lol, what a loosers.... Whatever they fail in - Americans blame someone else but not themselves. And better to blame those , whose fault would please Americans.... Besides, whatever nonsense you say it would work with such an ignorant people, who don't know that Taliban is a Sunni/Pushtun movement and an ally of Al-Qaida, which are Sunni extremists, for whom Shia muslims (headed by Iran) are maybe more an enemy than the US itself, and who fight Shia in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. Besides, in Afghanustan Iran is backing Shia Hazaras, who are traditionally the most snubbed and degraded ones in Afghan hyerarchy and certainly oppose Taliban (who represent Pushtu, who are number one). What a bulls**t you Americans are daily fed with - Russiagate, Iran, North Korea, Venesuela - and the whole world commits agression against you, poor ones, and simultaneously the strongest military power and "the leader of the World". ![]() George, aren't you ashamed to post it? American propaganda is primitive and targets absolutely brainless and ignorant people... Edited by Siberian, Aug 5 2017, 06:44 PM.
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| Goood morning GULAG!!! | |
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| George Aligator | Aug 5 2017, 07:52 PM Post #5 |
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I am not ashamed to post this ^^^ account of Iran's growing success. I have been warning of Iran's skill and regional influence since 2001. I am saddened at the many thousands of lives, included American lives, needlessly wasted in our futile attempt to succeed where every invader has failed for over 2,000 years. |
| Conservatism is a social disease | |
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| Siberian | Aug 6 2017, 09:06 AM Post #6 |
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Your care of American interests is absolutely creditable and Iran really takes pains to get more influence in Afghanistan (though with natural limits of Hazara etnic group's strength, i.e. very, very limited, maybe 1/10 of virtual all "Afghan" influence. But both are another issue, I was pointing at the fact of very low quality of American propaganda which takes a well established threat for Americans, like Al-Qaida (represented in this article by Taliban) and ties it with a country (Iran) which has nothing at all with Al-Qaida and is a deadly enemy to Al-Qaida - to justify American agressiveness to Iran. Like hostility to Russia is imprinted into your brains since 1950s and it is successfuly used against Trump (however he is bad or good). I don't advocate Trump, I don't care of him, but however much he deserves impeachment (or not) - I point at the fact how stupid American people are to readilly consume propaganda of such low quality. And if you repost it - you must either absulutely disrespect your compatriots if you understand what a primitive lie and shameless manipulation this article is, or are in the same zombied mob.... ![]() Edited by Siberian, Aug 6 2017, 09:15 AM.
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| Goood morning GULAG!!! | |
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| Siberian | Aug 7 2017, 01:19 AM Post #7 |
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George, I just thought - am I too tough with you (not you personally but with Americans?) I presume nobody wants or likes to realise he's a zombie, to feel it and to see it's true.. Maybe my destructive activity contributes to depopulaton of this forum? Maybe it's me who makes some Stef or Zon just read this forum from time to time instead of pleasantly posting some anti-Russian nonsense and fully enjoying further discisson of this nonsense, not being cought and made convinced it's just a Western press'es lie and "indeed, how stupid I am to post it"... I mean nobody likes this feeling, except Jake maybe.... ![]() Maybe I should react, let'say, only on 1/10 of bs your press says, giving a break to the most vulnerable ones? Edited by Siberian, Aug 7 2017, 01:25 AM.
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| Goood morning GULAG!!! | |
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| Robert Stout | Aug 7 2017, 01:57 AM Post #8 |
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Siberian is not a patriotic American............
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| Jesus can raise the dead, but he can't fix stupid | |
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| George Aligator | Aug 7 2017, 04:45 PM Post #9 |
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I wouldn't worry about being too tough on Americans here. The liberals are sophisticated enough to separate the ideas from the emotions and the conservatives don't care about the ideas anyway. They just want to fight. Personally, I find your Russian perspective quite interesting. The name calling is psychologically revealing and culturally significant -- your English is very, very good. And, I must say, the quality of your criticisms of US policy are among the highest on the board. Like Russia, we have our intelligentsia here and a big gap separating them from the little trolls whose information is a garbled rehash of talk radio propaganda. Those who come here for intelligent debate are often turned away in disgust. Social scientists like myself find the vagaries of our booboisie curious rather than alarming. |
| Conservatism is a social disease | |
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| jake58 | Aug 7 2017, 08:19 PM Post #10 |
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Russians suck |
| That which can be asserted without evidence; can be dismissed without evidence- Christopher Hitchens | |
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| Robert Stout | Aug 8 2017, 01:47 AM Post #11 |
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After a lifetime as a dairy farmer, when did you start a career as a social scientist ???...............
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| Jesus can raise the dead, but he can't fix stupid | |
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| Siberian | Aug 8 2017, 03:34 AM Post #12 |
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Thanks, I appreciate your compliments very much, especially taking in account that it's from a person who completely disagrees with me mostly. Though, you are too kind, my English makes me feel like I'm writing with my foot :). But, by the way, you're one of those who makes me open dictionary several times per a sentence sometimes, it's a good training ![]() As for this forum - I'm not convinced it's rude idiots but not being a quiet swamp which killed it. All of us have been here for quite a time and most opinions are well known, you know what I'll post on some issue and vise versa... If not fun of training some Jakes or having a little fun with Drudge (who seems to have been broken for some time by Trump's victory ) there would be little sense in wasting time repeating the same opinions again and again. I think we need more fight, more trolls, more violence and fresh blood here... I liked this forum in the very beginning, when there were almost no limitations.Watch this, Jake, voice!!!! (or how this comand sounds in Enlish?) Edited by Siberian, Aug 8 2017, 03:42 AM.
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| Goood morning GULAG!!! | |
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| Siberian | Aug 8 2017, 03:39 AM Post #13 |
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I suppose your reaction must be rewarded, to be consolidated... ![]() feel free to choose ![]() |
| Goood morning GULAG!!! | |
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| George Aligator | Aug 8 2017, 09:15 AM Post #14 |
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Like the USA, Russia has had a long and stormy relationship with Iran. Until the overthrow of the last Shah, Iran was a strong US partner in a vital region. Thanks to our ill-considered attack, Russia now has a useful ally whose influence stretches from Mosul to Beirut. It makes one wonder if Trump is Moscow's second stooge with Dubbya working for the Kremlin as his predecessor. |
| Conservatism is a social disease | |
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| W A Mozart | Aug 8 2017, 11:59 AM Post #15 |
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This so funny..... Georgie thinks that the "rise" of Iranian influence took place over the past, oh, let's say, ...two months? The rise of Iran took place over 9 years ago by having the liberal media help elect a loopy twit with no background to speak of, a dubious education with no one remembering seeing him in classrooms, becoming a so-called "teaching Professor" whose class hardly anyone remembers at having been taught and having waltzed through life with virtually NO accomplishments to his name. None. A community organizer. Completely broke when he reached 40 years of age, and then he found, ....politics. Wow. That's why Iran is in the ascendancy today, a douchebag at the helm for 8 years. Mozart |
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| George Aligator | Aug 8 2017, 03:55 PM Post #16 |
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This ^^^ is a painfully stupid mish-mash not only of my posts but history itself. America's alliance with Iran dates to the backing of the Pahlalvi coup in WWII. It's fall dates precisely to the revolution following son's demise. Russia has also alternated between ally and enemy. Iran's global prominence follows from the establishment of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company by Winston Churchill. I've lost confidence in you. |
| Conservatism is a social disease | |
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| Siberian | Aug 9 2017, 10:42 AM Post #17 |
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George, Iran is not an ally with Russia. If our goals coinside is a couple of aspects in Syria and a couple in other issues - it doesn't make us allies. |
| Goood morning GULAG!!! | |
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| George Aligator | Aug 19 2017, 02:45 PM Post #18 |
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Well, you are correct that Iran is not an across-the-board ally of Russia although they both support Assad for somewhat different reasons. "Neither east nor west" was the motto of the Iranian Revolution. Certainly Iran is not going off to fight for Russia outside its borders, but Russian Iran both have real benefits to their cooperation. Russia's huge southern border and millions of Russian Muslims have already produced bloody tragedies. Iran's capability to make trouble for Russia is real. Russia's ability to help Iran in the Middle East is very real. It's a marriage made in Purgatory. |
| Conservatism is a social disease | |
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| Siberian | Aug 20 2017, 03:03 AM Post #19 |
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No, Iran in absolutely no way connected to Russian muslims since they are Sunni, while Iran is Shia and radical Russian muslims rather side with Iran's rival Saudia. In this aspect Iran is not a trouble for us at all. The only problem Iran can make for us if it supports former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan in invasion to Armenia with which Azerbaijan has a teritorial didpute. We have a military base in Armenia and Armenia is landlocked, separated from us by pro-US Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. Iran can be the only route of supply if war happens there. As well some political influence in Iran in Caucasus and Central Asia may be of certain problem in some conditions. And Iran's nuclear ambitins are a little disturbing, but not much. So, generally Iran is neutral and rather a partner than a threat. I think it may and will become a big card in US-Russia game
Edited by Siberian, Aug 20 2017, 03:05 AM.
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| Goood morning GULAG!!! | |
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| George Aligator | Aug 20 2017, 04:38 PM Post #20 |
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I'm glad to see we agree on the crucial importance and potential for trouble represented by Iran. When I mentioned the potential for trouble in the Muslim areas of Russia posed by the Mullahs, I wasn't speaking about the Sunni-Shia conflict, which is largely internal to the Arab world. Iran is not an Arab country and Shia's are not the fanatics that Wahhabi Shia are. Barring outside interference, both Sunnis and Jews have a long history of toleration in Iran. Your well-informed post mentions some of the support both real and potential which Iran has to offer Muslim dissidents in Russia and surrounding areas. This is not a goal of Iran, which is one of the most stable and least aggressive nations in the Middle East, but it is a potential defensive response. |
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