Does this map look familiar?



It reminds me of the battle for the spice melange!



It's a shame that the Taliban are like the Fremen and that there are too few Sardaukar (ANA Special Operations Command: Commandos) to hold them back!

I suppose it doesn't help that the average local Afghan police commander probably resembles a Harkonnen Prince willing to sell out to suit their own ends rather than serve the people!

I feel for the local populace. We've given them a taste of freedom and democracy and then failed them by investing and training an army of disunited tribesman who are 100 times less loyal to Afghanistan than Nicola Sturgeon is to the UK!

Last edited by BigD on 13-Aug-2021 at 12:41 PM.

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@BigD

"He who controls Spice, controls the universe!"

It is a dam shame what's happened, I think Biden is kind of right at what point do we pull out, but I feel they could of done a much better job at it, bit more organising, as it clear they made a mess of it now. shame for the largely peaceful people.

I watch a few of EvazuBeck Youtube videos exploring the world, this video shows how most people are,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOChk-crMQM&ab_channel=EvazuBeck
real shame.

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@BigD

And what your ramblings have to do with Amiga Gaming?

@Rose

Dune 2 is a very good Amiga game. ‘Nuff said. It’s weird you haven’t heard of it and seemingly have no opinion on the state of things in Afghanistan either! Someone will have no problem sleeping tonight

Last edited by BigD on 13-Aug-2021 at 10:24 PM.

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@BigD

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@Cheese

So do you think we've failed Afghanistan then or are you just upset that I've drawn it to your attention and flippantly mentioned a computer game in the process?

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@Thread

In many ways it’s the Command & Conquer generation that have created this mess. Yes, we can drop bombs on the ‘rag heads’ that our Intelligence Officers tell us are the enemy but we can’t see that eventually it comes down to negotiation with War Lords, opium farmers and fundamentalist islamists! If I was faced with such a difficult group of people I would have started peace talks at least 15 years ago not when the US got fed up about a year ago!

_________________
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@BigD

Do the Fremen have a memory limit like the classic Fremen in 8-bit BASIC?

@BigD
I don't see how "we" have failed the Afghan people. The West has propped up an Afghan government and trained the Afghan military, and yes, we have shown them the benefits of "freedom" and of "democracy", and the few Afghan soldiers who haven't subsequently defected to the Taliban have run away from the fighting.
It seems to me that the Afghans have used their freedom to choose to revert to primitive, savage, religion based barbarism. I am only surprised that you do not approve of their choice of "Theocracy" as a government choice in their computer game.

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@BigD

Taliban won the war.

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Quote:

Hammer wrote: @BigD Taliban won the war.

Come on, say it, "and they did because their RISC CPU is 0.5153 microcycles more bla bla bla bla"...

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@Nimrod

Taliban's Islamic religion is the cornerstone idealogy that drives their quest for power.

The historical pattern is similar to the following examples
1. Iran's slide from Shah's secularism to Islamic theocracy.
2. Turkey's slide from Ataturk's secularism towards Islamic theocracy. Still a work in progress.

Based on ideology's historical pattern, I'm not surprised by the Taliban's Islamic theocracy outcome.

Those who do not know history's mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

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@BigD

Quote:

BigD wrote: @Thread In many ways it’s the Command & Conquer generation that have created this mess. Yes, we can drop bombs on the ‘rag heads’ that our Intelligence Officers tell us are the enemy but we can’t see that eventually it comes down to negotiation with War Lords, opium farmers and fundamentalist islamists! If I was faced with such a difficult group of people I would have started peace talks at least 15 years ago not when the US got fed up about a year ago!

China's battle against Islamic ideology is shown with extreme action against Uighurs. Imperial China has been battling against Islamic ideology before the USA's and CCP's appearance. This is the old world's unsolved conflict.

Last edited by Hammer on 16-Aug-2021 at 04:43 PM.

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@Hammer

True, I agree 100%

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@Hammer

Maybe the Taliban were the only organisation to be able to hold together the artificial collection of people groups, tribes and fiefdoms that is Afghanistan?

I guess the choice was either the US gambled $19 billion on training and arming the feckless, corrupt and unmotivated government forces or they could have funded global heroin production by empowering the local warlords and then watched as they ripped into each other and the Taliban when the US left! Actually THAT scenario would have made a good computer game

Instead of spice you harvest opium poppies and instead of a mentat you report straight to your favoured warlord! Lose and your left in a pair of US boxer shorts in Taliban territory. Win and you get 10 Kabul university students to uhhh ... do your washing?!!!

... what too soon?

I guess I surrender like an ANA Commando who has run out of ammunition!

Who knew military logistics was important?

Edit: SORRY IT WAS $83 BILLION THAT THEY SPENT ON TRAINING AND ARMING THESE DAD'S ARMY WANNABIES!!! CLUELESS DOESN'T QUITE SAY IT!!!


So long democracy... so long women's rights... so long $83 billion that America just wasted on training some starving desert rats that just wanted to play soldier, sell a few guns to their 'enemies' and then ran away before they got shot, maimed and tortured while leaving the civilians to face that fate!

Mind you in December 2009 Gordon Brown STILL didn't understand what he was doing or the importance of defeating the Taliban!

Quote:

General Sir Richard Dannatt, 58, said it had taken two years for the PM to finally “get it”.

Maybe we should have just disrupted Al Qaeda rapped the Taliban on the knuckles and left them all to it? Oh yeah and left Saddam Hussein well alone because sanctions were working on Iraq.



I guess you might survive and have a reasonable standard of life if you know how to do an oil change and service on a Humvee?

Last edited by BigD on 17-Aug-2021 at 12:05 AM.
Last edited by BigD on 16-Aug-2021 at 08:39 PM.
Last edited by BigD on 16-Aug-2021 at 08:23 PM.

_________________
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@Thead

Biden to address America losing its second away game shortly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocupl4q7En4

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@Hammer

That's just about right.

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@bison

The Taliban have cleverly fought the battle for hearts and minds at a local and tribal level whereas the US and Afghan Government have tried to build a nation that has never really been a cohesive national identity type nation through faceless corrupt central control! Which reassurances would you listen to? The personal face to face chat with the 'local' man albeit with a Kalashnikov on his back and fingers crossed or the media echo chamber of hollow power ringing out from Kabul? The Taliban played this better and WANT the country. They WILL fill the power vacuum and it is likely to be bad news for global security. Biden SHOULD have taken that into account in his decision making!

...The president is LIVE!

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@Thread

I'm not convinced by this President. This is not a good start to his presidency although it's not completely his fault!

I think allied intel officers/support staff for equipment maintenance and logistics should have remained to aid and inform the young national fighting force to give them a chance. The UK has no problem aiding and supporting Saudi Arabia in pummelling the Yemeni Houthi forces despite NO moral mandate to do so! However, it is seemingly not even considered by Biden in a situation where his nation has invested $88 billion in this project!

This has the potential to be a crucible for Islamic fundamentalism and terrorist training camps within another 20 years! An US/UK intel and logistical support mission to shore up the Afghanistan Military should have replaced full scale US GIs holding ground to at least see if they could stand against the Taliban if properly supplied and if they sensed they could win and had something to fight for!

And the US has just spent $1 billion on refitting the Kabul US Embassy. Enjoy it Mullah Baradar!

Last edited by BigD on 16-Aug-2021 at 09:34 PM.
Last edited by BigD on 16-Aug-2021 at 09:33 PM.

_________________
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@Thread



GAME OVER!



A picture of some of the brave ANA Commandos that fought and died for their country! We're sorry!

Last edited by BigD on 16-Aug-2021 at 09:47 PM.

_________________
"Art challenges technology. Technology inspires the art."
John Lasseter, Co-Founder of Pixar Animation Studios