Taliban claims to control 85% of Afghanistan after rapid gains
www.aljazeera.com
The Taliban have been emboldened by the NATO troop withdrawal and appear to be pressing for a full military victory.

The Afghan government seems to be on the edge of collapse and the US hasn't even left yet. ANA soldiers are deserting and fleeing across the borders to their Central Asian neighbors. Some generals are drafting untrained civilians to plug the gaps, and the Taliban have isolated many provencal capitals so that they can only be supplied from the air.

The empire is fading comrades, the war is almost over.

  • 1267 [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    I can't help but see this as a continuation of the "pivot to Asia" that began under Obama, and that we're (among other things) hoping to create a problem on China's doorstep that keeps them distracted. Idk if this signifies the empire fading.

    • mrbigcheese [he/him]
      ·
      3 years ago

      China isnt going to have a problem imo with Afghanistan or the Taliban, they've already struck some sort of deal it seems to invest in infrastructure and have the Taliban kick out ETIM.

        • mrbigcheese [he/him]
          ·
          3 years ago

          Taliban doesnt really have many options, they desperately have to rebuild asap or else its just gonna spiral into another civil war conflict soon enough. China is already on great terms with Pakistan, and I think everyone is just craving some stability in the region and for the us to fuck off.

    • Frogmanfromlake [none/use name]
      ·
      3 years ago

      A little bit of both. The empire still has some steam left and are probably betting that China gets stuck in the same way they did.

      • DasRav [none/use name]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Why would China attack or occupy Afghanistan in any capacity? What possibly problem could Afghanistan create for them?

            • 1267 [he/him]
              ·
              3 years ago

              China is also becoming increasingly influential in the Central Asian states that border Afghanistan to the north. Aware of Beijing’s sensibilities, all these countries have long steered clear of condemning the mass incarceration of fellow Muslims in Xinjiang and other human-rights abuses there.

              Cope, losers. The narrative isn't sticking.

                  • medium_adult_son [he/him]
                    ·
                    3 years ago

                    Don't forget the gold, platinum, silver, copper, iron, chromite, lithium, uranium, aluminium, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, turquoise, and lapis lazuli.

                    Plus large amounts of rare earth minerals. It sits between two continents so there is some funky geologic stuff going on there.

                    • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]
                      ·
                      3 years ago

                      America has decided it will source its rare earth minerals through a new method: sending a large pumpkin-human hybrid to the homes of various world leaders at 3 am to scream "GIVE ME THE MINERALS" and when they give him the wrong minerals, he will scream "NO! I DON'T WANT THAT!" until they give him all the dysprosium and rhodium they have, and leave them with nothing but nightmares and the wistful longing that he would have just asked for the cheese. This is also a distraction method which will allow the US to steal all the country's oil overnight by way of a fleet of giant, genetically-modified nematodes with drinking straws.

        • Frogmanfromlake [none/use name]
          ·
          3 years ago

          I have no clue and I don’t think they do. Judging by Anglo articles, Americans are hoping the taliban attacks infrastructure and keeps them locked in by attempting to fight them off