"Blaming the Contractors" Topic

…When I was in Afghanistan, private military contractors numbered almost 30,000. Some were engaged in protection tasks, but many more were responsible for training and mentoring Afghans who held positions of significant influence. They advised on intelligence, war-fighting, diplomacy, policing, you name it. Some of them were doing their best. Many more didn't give a damn. Many were on six figures and had been for years. Afghanistan for them was a cash cow, a way of putting their kids through college (most were American) or paying off a mortgage. In sum, there were too many poorly qualified people working without accountability, getting paid far too much. If you want an answer to the question of why Afghanistan's military crumbled in weeks, take a long hard look at their so-called mentors…

The Guardian: link

Wether it is contractors or military, they are both ultimately tax payer funded and part of the military industrial complex. I'm sure some were good and some were bad, just like everything else in life.

The blame lies with Biden. Never forget, and never get distracted.

The blame lies with Biden.

Blame for the messed-up withdrawal, yes. Blame for 20 years of messed-up Afghanistan 'development', only partly.

It goes back to the original, Bill Clinton, he could have killed Bin Laden and we wouldn't be in this mess.

The west has to stop nation building. They don't want to live like us.

Bill passed the buck to George. George let Dick and Rummy handle things, and then passed the buck to Barrack. Barrack went "hummina hummina" but at least allowed Osama to be killed. Good for him. But he passed the buck to Donald, who despised George and Barrack. Then he kicked the can down the road to Joe who… Well, not his finest moment.

The answer to all your questions is money.

Yes Wargamer Blue, they do not think like us, nor do they want to,

Tally Ho!

Yes Wargamer Blue, they do not think like us, nor do they want to,

Sadly we have raised a generation who least aspire to something better than a pseudo-medieval theo-kleptocratic state with a side line in public torture. And they've just been thrown under the bus… Anecdotal and probably a self-selecting subset of the population but they are pretty clear in the media that as far the 'west' is concerned 'we broke it, we bought it'.

Bill passed the buck to George. George let Dick and Rummy handle things, and then passed the buck to Barrack. Barrack went "hummina hummina" but at least allowed Osama to be killed. Good for him. But he passed the buck to Donald, who despised George and Barrack. Then he kicked the can down the road to Joe who… Well, not his finest moment

Very succinct.

And British Government on pulling its head out of a succession of Brexit and Covid related cowpats, and needing to do more than make supportive noises because the US is 'in-charge', decided to go on holiday and was left to do its best rabbit-in-headlights look (while the military and civil service try to clean up the mess).

Blame for the messed-up withdrawal, yes. Blame for 20 years of messed-up Afghanistan 'development', only partly.

Yes, I agree totally …