George W. Bush calls withdrawal of U.S. and other NATO troops from Afghanistan "a mistake"

[SouthBayDem]

Source: CBS News

Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday criticized the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan and said civilians were being left to be "slaughtered" by the Taliban.

"I think the consequences are going to be unbelievably bad," he told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

"Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm. This is a mistake. ... They're just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart," Mr. Bush said.

The former Republican president, who sent troops to Afghanistan in the autumn of 2001 after the September 11 attacks, said he believed German Chancellor Angela Merkel "feels the same way."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-w-bush-withdrawal-of-us-nato-troops-afghanistan-mistake/

[mrsv]

1. George W

STFU!!!! This man is responsible for thousands of deaths. Fucking mission completed.

[Karma13612]

2. Thank you!

He needs to stick with his painting and stay out of this.

He got us into this mess, along with Rumsfeld.

SOB’s.

[seta1950]

42. Exactly

[Polybius]

75. Way more than that

Several hundred thousand at least.

[DinahMoeHum]

3. Hey, W: Shut up, you stupid fuck.

You got us into this mess to begin with.

[Faygo Kid]

30. Bullsh*t. He got us into Iraq, but he's right here

The Afghani people - and especially the women and children - deserve better. Most don't know about Bush-Cheney, they need help and protection NOW.

[marie999]

56. So should we send troops to every country where women and children are being killed?

[totodeinhere]

59. Yes the Afghan people deserve better. But NATO military involvement will not solve the problem.

If we can't fix it after 20 years we never will.

[Warpy]

63. Unfortunately, that country is going to be a colossal mess for a while

but what Dubya doesn't seem to realize is that 20 years of being a referee between warring tribes is 10 years too long. Once bin Laden was out of the way, we should have begun to withdraw, but neither Obama nor Dumdum wanted to be blamed for the mess that would ensue, and it will. We were only stalling the inevitable.

Afghanistan is deeply tribal and extremely religious. It will take some time for them to find a new equilibrium. We can't do it for them.

So brace yourselves, kiddies, to be blamed for every Taliban crazy coming out of the woodwork, every battle, and every death. We know that's going to happen.

[Mysterian]

4. War criminal AWOL Bush can fuck right off

Bush and his criminal cabal lied to justify an invasion of Iraq, a country that was not a threat to the USA.

A majority of Democrats in Congress voted against the criminal Iraq war. Those who voted for it should be shamed.

[totodeinhere]

60. GWB needs to share a prison cell with Trump. n/t

[Submariner]

5. Big Tony installing a grossly incompetent coke head as prez

Last edited Wed Jul 14, 2021, 09:33 AM - Edit history (1)

on Dec 12, 2000 was the "mistake".

If he was an honorable person he would have slashed his wrists and bled out in his bath tub a decade ago, or sooner. Total pond scum POS who should not be allowed to freely come out in public. I hope when he visits restaurants, the staff spits on his food.

[totodeinhere]

61. The fact that he is still walking freely makes me pessimistic that Trump will ever serve time either

I think you could argue that GWB's crimes were even worse than Trump. Trump broke numerous laws and he needs to pay, but at least he did not get us in an illegal war.

[Botany]

6. w bush needs to STFU .... we were under 1 km from bin Laden @ Tora Bora in Dec. 2001 or Jan, 2002

But Rummy gave a stand down order to let him get away because if we had killed him w & Cheney would
not have had a reason to start their Iraqi war. We could have killed bin Laden, ousted the Taliban, and
walked away but instead we got bogged down into an endless unwinnable nightmare where we could win all
the battles but never win the occupation.



'Breaks my heart': Former President Bush says Afghanistan troop withdrawal is a mistake

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/breaks-my-heart-former-president-bush-says-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-n1273904

[mac2766]

9. The Iraqi oil fields were what they were after all along.

Bin Laden and the Taliban needed to be taken care of. I believe it could have happened fairly rapidly if the oil barons hadn't been in control of the military at the time.

I said it then, and I'll say it again, the war in Iraq was unnecessary and should never have happened.

[Botany]

10. Dick Cheney had these maps of Iraqi oil fields on his desk in March of 2001

[IronLionZion]

35. And that's worked out so well for cheap oil

Cheney should have looked at the shale oil and fracking options here in the US. That actually did lower global oil prices during the Obama years to make the US the biggest oil producer.

[Botany]

39. But it worked out well for Dick Cheney and his buddies in the oil business.

For the first 6 to 9 months after we invaded Iraq they pumped the hell out of those
Iraqi oil fields and all that oil was not metered (measured) so basically it was stolen.

BTW Dick Cheney's portfolio aka Halliburton went up something like 2,900% in one quarter
after we invaded Iraq. Halliburton was billing the US government for their work cost plus
on no bid contracts. God only knows how much was stolen and or grifted in these scams.

[MarcA]

64. Exactly. The amoral types always want $$$ and power over others.

And of course, falsely accusing others of what they themselves do.

[Blue_playwright]

7. Sad thing is...

He's right about the consequences. I just don't know how we can do it differently - I mean, we've been there for 20 damn years, we cannot prop up the government for 20 more.

But I am upset with both Trump and Biden for not having a plan to get our allies in the country out prior to the withdrawal. I think it's unforgivable.

[PatSeg]

12. Yes, he probably is right about the consequences

but he is responsible for putting successive presidents in such an impossible position. George wanted to play soldier and outdo his daddy, so we ended up with twenty years of dire consequences. We can't stay there forever, something he should of thought of before he put boots on the ground in another country. As they say, you don't go in if you don't know how you'll get out.

He should have focused on his painting and kept his foreign policy opinions to himself. Why on earth would anyone care what he thinks? A lot of people were starting to forget what an incompetent disaster of a president he was and he had to go and remind them.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

36. Rachel has been beating the drum about leaving the translators behind.

The French and British have had their translators and families out for months, and last week Biden promised in no uncertain terms to get them out post haste. So why are they still there, and no move has been made to get them out of the country?

It turns out that some yahoos in the State Department and Homeland Security have gummed it up, because once the translators are on U.S. soil (Guarm's governor says they're waiting with open arms) they would "have the same rights as Americans." These guys should be put on a plane and dropped off in Afghanistan with orders to stay there until the last translator leaves. They'd have everyone out of Afghanistan by the end of the week!

The entire Congress -- Dems andQRepugs alike -- should be pressuring Biden to get this done NOW. If even one translator is killed by the Taliban it will be an example to the world that our country's promises aren't worth a damn. "Watch what they do, not what they say," is the world's watchword.

[PatSeg]

40. That is so disturbing

Someone(s) needs to be held accountable for such a major screwup. This is something I would have expected from the Trump administration.

[Rebl2]

18. I believe

what you say is correct. I wish we could have taken the translators out with our troops. I also fear for the women there.

[jaxexpat]

21. This has been inevitable from the first bootstep of the first American soldier in Afghanistan.

Of course, going full Rambo with the CIA from the get-go probably didn't win many hearts and minds. I remember stories of con-ex containers full of dead men and boys, victims of tribal warfare waged with help from their new friends. Some rumors about the complexity of conducting peace in the face of feudal poppy field warlords.

People must understand that nothing good is ever built by weapons. It's just common sense. Even to try is sin.

[Faygo Kid]

31. Agreed. Beautifully said.

Don't let the hatred of Bush stop us from helping the Afghan people.

[inwiththenew]

38. We were there for 20 years and our exit strategy was basically "See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya"

Unfortunately some good people who stuck their neck out for us are probably going to have it cut. Sad all around.

Don't get me wrong, it was time to go but it could have been handled better. We had years to plan the exit.

[chowder66]

46. The United States will begin flights later this month....

July 14, 2021|Updated today at 12:14 p.m. EDT

snip....

The United States will begin flights later this month to evacuate interpreters and other Afghan nationals who assisted the American war effort, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

The announcement comes with an Aug. 31 deadline looming for completion of the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-afghanistan-interpreters/2021/07/14/fb1d5fae-e4b6-11eb-a41e-c8442c213fa8_story.html

[SamKnause]

8. Fuck off and die you warmongering idiot.

You should have to repay the trillions of dollars wasted by your warmongering administration.

You should be in prison.

[IronLionZion]

11. We could have better outcomes in Afghanistan if

he didn't waste so many human lives and resources to invade Iraq.

[Lemon Lyman]

13. Ugh

Go paint your labradoodle and shat up.

[johnthewoodworker]

14. If you want to listen to the most fucked up president since Trumptard, listen to Bush Jr.

[Lonestarblue]

15. Bush learned nothing from Russia's occupation of Afghanistan.

Russia failed to change Afghanistan, just as the US failed. We have propped up the Afghan government for 20 years. It’s time to get out, though I wish the government was doing more to protect those who assisted the military by getting them out of the country.

The Taliban will most likely take over the country and install strict Islamic laws that especially hurt women and girls. We can only hope that the short taste of freedoms they have experienced for the past few years encourages them and the males in their families to continue fighting for their rights.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. Afghan wars spearheaded by outsiders have been going on for a long time

mostly because of the strategic locations of trade routes and access points within the country. For example - https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/first-afghan-war

Outside of complete genocide of the Taliban (and even that would most likely result in a future generation's revenge campaign), involvement there is unwinnable.

[heckles65]

16. Should have done -more- in Afghanistan

instead of being distracted by Iraq. I said so at the time.

[twodogsbarking]

17. And Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with 9/11

eh George.

[BumRushDaShow]

19. "George W. Bush calls withdrawal of U.S. and other NATO troops from Afghanistan 'a mistake'"

Yet 18 years ago, he stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier and declared -

[onetexan]

20. BS. Fool's trying to salvage his legacy.

[christx30]

47. It's going to take a heck of a lot to

do that, at least to anyone that was paying attention from 2001 and after. But that’s reason # 900 why the trump presidency was a bad thing. GWB looks better by comparison to that orange bastard. But he was still an awful person, and a war criminal.

[onetexan]

68. 100%

[FalloutShelter]

22. Stick to your patheticc paintings.

[JohnnyRingo]

24. Most of what he says is true.

The Taliban is extremely strict and brutal. That's how they maintain religious rule, but what are we supposed to do about it? 20 years hasn't persuaded them, nor has it weakened their ideology.

We can't hold the people of Afghanistan's hand forever. If and when they want change, it will happen. Until then, well, what he said.

[twodogsbarking]

29. What you said.

There is no happy ending.

[LittleGirl]

34. I agree with how you put that. Nt

[NH Ethylene]

25. It IS heartbreaking, which is why it was such a hard decision for Biden.

I definitely want us out of there, but it is so sad that the women will suffer. On the other hand, people are suffering from harsh regimes all over the world and the US feels no obligation to intercede.

Really, there is no way that Bush should be commenting on this.

[keithbvadu2]

26. Dubya... What is your answer other than killing more of our troops?

Dubya... What is your answer other than killing more of our troops?

[usaf-vet]

27. We wouldn't be pulling out if the stupid moron GWB hadn't LIED use into war in the Middle East.

So GWB... STFU this is all your fault you AWOL loser.

[Ford_Prefect]

41. An estimate of what it would take to completely defeat the Taliban and Bin Laden in Afghanistan

existed at the time of the invasion. Among other critical points made was that it would take a minimum of 10 years, it would mean destroying and recreating the Afghan economy along with much of its infrastructure, and its culture. It would involve creating what would be seen as a 51st US state by our allies and enemies alike, and it would mean we would of necessity need to overthrow and replace the government of Pakistan along with numerous corrupt officials and their families.
All of these steps meant we would automatically become the new empire to be resisted. A situation ultimately doomed to failure by the cultures of the region along with the behavior and intervention of Saudi, Russian, Chinese, and "other" interested parties.

The same sources argued that there was a probable limit to what could be accomplished due to the hold the local warlords had over the culture and economy of Afghanistan.

As sad a thing as it is to leave people facing the retribution and violent oppression the Taliban will deliver, we never had the ability to prevent it as long as Pakistan and the Saudis supported and assisted them. I do not defend the choices made at any point. It was always a war we could not win and peace we could not guarantee.

I hold the opinion that Cheney, GOP Neo-cons and others in our government with an interest in owning critical oil and pipeline resources of the region used this situation to expand the mission beyond destroying Bin Laden and his local allies, if indeed that was the actual goal.

[usaf-vet]

57. Bullseye correct! What we need is a law that says any time a President & or Congress.....

.... decides to start a war in a foreign country. THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS must be drafted into the military and spend at least one tour in a combat zone.

I know that will never happen but if it did we would have far fewer unnecessary wars.

As to Afghanistan, the Russian couldn't defeat them with clear supply lines, adequate troops, and superior weapons. That should have told us all we need to know.

But add to that the knowledge we should have gained in Vietnam that it isn't possible to win against indigenous populations fighting their type of war on familiar ground.

[Ford_Prefect]

67. There was no doubt that a war could succeed-up to a point, and could displace military forces.

The doubt was that any lasting peace could be built on what remained. As with Vietnam and previous wars ln Afghanistan the goal of ending what was a civil war between factions within one country who were supported and financed by outside interests was dubious and impractical. Consider the results in Iraq as another example.

Another problem was how much of the economy and political interaction was determined by the warlords and the Opium trade they run.

And then there was the diffuse and broadly organized al-Qaeda. Which was specifically built to be hard to find and existing across several borders at once.

The Hubris of the Neo-Cons was that we were the mighty USA and could defeat less complex societies and less powerful armies. They were wrong before a single boot touched ground in Kabul or Kandahar. We had the power to destroy infrastructure and facilities, to disrupt a formal economy, and kill many people. Power doesn't build a community or a country and it cannot eliminate a well financed group which has no single, physical base.

[LT Barclay]

73. Would the Vietnam solution been a good shortcut?

I don't think we ever should have been there. It was a military solution to what was a criminal and intelligence problem. But once it was done, to me, the only solution would have been to offer refuge to those that didn't want to live under Taliban rule, and offer "asylum" in other countries including those in the middle east and the west.

[Ford_Prefect]

74. It seems to me that this is not only reasonable but necessary.

The we obliged them to help us on the trust that they would be given fair treatment. Their situation certainly requires an appropriate resolution. Pragmatically it may prove difficult to accomplish since there seems to have been little prior planning.

On balance the question arises what to do about all the other Afghan citizens who stand at risk from the Taliban? I would have to say that we put them there to some degree. As with Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam citizens were left in harm's way when the US Army, CIA and State Department concluded operations and left.

[Solly Mack]

28. Perhaps he should have spent less time devising torture programs and invading Iraq

and more time on actually ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban?

Maybe? Just maybe?

[maddogesq]

32. George who?

Had he not gone along with the PNAC bunch by diverting resources to that Iraq debacle, we might not have wasted 20 years in Afghanistan. Instead, he was a tool of Cheney and that slimy bunch over at Carlyle.

Sure, there are consequences when there’s a void left after 20 years, but wtf other choice do we have? It’s the same crap as ‘Nam and Iraq: drawn-out quagmires that only benefit the MIC.

Anything W says is irrelevant to today.

Think of the resources we’d have for infrastructure, healthcare, etc. that we’d have had we not gotten into these fuckup up drawn out wars over the past 60 years. It boggles the mind…

[SouthBayDem]

66. What's the name of that "slimy bouncy"?

I'm guessing David Rubenstein: https://www.democracynow.org/2003/7/3/democracy_now_exclusive_why_the_carlyle

[maddogesq]

71. I meant slimy bunch, but yeah...NT

.

[LaMouffette]

33. Where was he when Trump pulled out of Syria and left the Kurds to slaughter?!

Didn't hear a peep out of Shrub when that happened!

Actually, I don't know if he objected to the Syria withdrawal or not, and no time to google it, but I seriously doubt that he raised any objection.

[raccoon]

37. Not as big as your mistake in invading Iraq, W. Nt

[seta1950]

43. Actually

The mistake was starting the war, the price those soldiers pay is too steep , a war started on a lie.

[BlueMTexpat]

44. The mistake was going in

in the first place!

[Stuart G]

45. I Think someone in the Puke Party told him to criticize Biden..."For the Good Of The Party for 2022"

Last edited Wed Jul 14, 2021, 12:53 PM - Edit history (2)

...Bush Jr. has stayed out of politics and kept his mouth shut. But someone very high up urged him to come out
and criticize Biden. By opening his mouth for the..."Good Of The Party" he proves he is a .."Team Member." They even
told him what to say:

..........."Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm..This is a mistake"........................

Bush Jr. doesn't give a s**t about anyone but himself, but if they ask him to do some good for the ..."Good Of The
Party." well he can do it, if it is easy...and making a statement is ....very easy!!!...The last thing this ...clown...
(apologies to all clowns) wants to do is get involved..But one statement .. For The.Good Of The Party.......
is not too difficult, especially if he makes no more statements.....But we will see if Jr. is going to get deeply involved.

If he does he will have to defend himself and his actions. My guess this is a one time statement. Then back to
his outstanding art work...whatever that is... ....

[KPN]

48. Of course he did. He brought us there,and then stayed there beyond the basic immnediate mission.

Leaving is essentially an admission by the US government that staying beyond the initial mission was a mistake. So of course he would say that since this will cement in the history books that his decision to stay in Afghanistan was a major policy mistake.

[Zambero]

49. He of "slam dunk" and WMD fame

I gather by GWB's logic that it's perfectly OK to launch endless wars having non-achievable missions, as long as we never actually withdraw from them.

[Politicub]

50. Republicans always use women as shields when it comes to war. Read

the Terror Dream. It describes how saving women was used as a pretext for invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. It was all bullshit, designed to manipulate peoples’ emotions.

For the first Iraq war, a PR firm, Hill & Knowlton, promulgated the lie that Saddam Hussein’s soldiers were ripping babies from incubators and bashing them on the floor. This was complete fabrication.

If republicans really gave a damn about women and girls, they would pass legislation to make their lives better by providing a safety net that guarantees reproductive freedom.

If America were serious about liberating Afghan women, we would need to take a radical step of extricating all women and girls from Afghanistan, wall it in, and watch as the taliban dies off.

[pfitz59]

51. Bush should be in prison

not spouting BS

[suegeo]

52. I still detest Dubya

The former Republican president, who sent troops to Afghanistan in the autumn of 2001 after the September 11 attacks, said he believed German Chancellor Angela Merkel "feels the same way."

George W. Asshole rubbed the shoulders of Merkel during a meeting. She cringed/tried to throw him off. Unwanted contact with the war criminal who stole the elections in 2000 and 2004

[Evolve Dammit]

53. says the "nation builder". The Brits, Ruskies and Yanks all failed Mr. Endless War against

countries that didn't attack us. 17 of 19 were Saudis, but your family was too in bed with the Royal family and Bin Ladens weren't they? Keep painting.

[orwell]

54. If you wanted to prove you're still an asshole...

...Mission Accomplished!

[uppityperson]

55. There was a chance to actually help that got ignored in the rush to Iraq.

I feel sorry for the Afghani females especially.

[totodeinhere]

58. Well he sure must know about mistakes since he made so many "mistakes" when he was in office,

including getting us in an illegal war on false pretenses. But leaving Afghanistan is no mistake. There is no military solution there.

[marble falls]

62. The mistake was George W. Bush. Poppy should have used a condom.

[7wo7rees]

65. W can eat my shoe.

[czarjak]

69. Remember when you said "Bring it on" and someone else had to do the fighting and the dying? I do.

[Justice matters.]

70. If the Bush Crime Family pays for it... which of course it wouldn't...

The Time George Bush Accidentally Told The Truth

The Life and Crimes of George Herbert Walker Bush (w/ Lamar Waldron)

The Holocaust and the Bush family fortune

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/12/05/intr-d05.html



How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/25/usa.secondworldwar

[Skittles]

72. he is the LAST FUCKING ASSHOLE who should have an opinion on AFGHANISTAN

GO FUCK YOURSELF DUBYA