DVT

Looks like somebody in a Viper got to launch a Sidewinder today...

I'm surely scratching my head that people focusing on non-workable, affordable, or truly capable, renewable fuel sources somehow believe this strengthens their cause. The current administration CAUSED the dependency on outside nations for fuel. To now show that as your, "see, see, this is what we are trying to show you!" is a joke. We have the ability to be energy independent and an exporter. We actually were that way until the current clown show took office. We have oil, natural gas, coal and plenty of it. We just are not using any of it and smacking those that produce it. Let's get the actual "adults" back in the room and get the domestic fuel sources going again. In other news, the Valkyries out of Lakenheath didn't take long to put the term, "Have Gun, Will Travel" to use. Forward deployed with almost all their toys.

There should not be a second of what's going on that isn't being captured for intel purposes. Interesting that the AF just flew an E-8 to the desert. Meanwhile the Army is flying the wings off their Artemis jet.

At the beginning of your usual self-projecting far left post your forgot to add. "From the viewpoint of a very left leaning US Citizen, who worked with Europeans, I internalized the following without any discussion with others." Honestly, I could have written your post for you after reading your prior enlightening comments over the past several years. Tip of the cap to the guys that served at Snake Island.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/anti-taliban-leader-massoud-says-negotiation-only-way-forward-2021-08-22/ The Afghanistan Governmenr has retaken 3 districts from the Taliban. As others have stated, the, "Forever War" is not over. The landscape has just changed.

The problem has not gone away. We had a lid on it, we had cruise control on and now well, here we sit after not doing anything as morons with mopeds saw an opportunity. Trump, Biden, it doesn't matter. Whether or not +15k Americans are in Afghanistan does not change what the Taliban/ISIS/Al Qaeda want to do. Leaving and giving them un fettered access to the land, with the support of Iran/China/Russia is a big WAVE OFF. The Taliban have been back in some form of control, for less than a week and they killed a women via setting her on fire, for not cooking for them. You want to tell me we are going to obliterate them from the Deid going forward? Um ok, I'll be in the vault waiting for the awesome briefing. These guys and their friends attack us at home when left to their own devices... Hamid Karzai International Airport is what we have ground wise. We have the 82nd, 10th and 24th. Heck of a lot better than 12 guys and some horses. We can start now or we can all turn on the T.V. in the near future and gasp again as these morons pull another savage act and figure out how we get back in with nothing.

The cluster of what has occurred is real, those issues are debatable at best after a six pack. Those focused on the false narratives can't recapture the momentum, when real time events occur that are out of their control. We could discuss the political points or the average attention span for eternity. Fact of the matter is, people in the media are already discussing going back in to Afghanistan and the massive security issues that are evolving, which is outside of putting butts in seats outbound. That reality, of solving the problem, is the only thing that begins a slow climb out of the situation we put ourselves in.

If we step back, getting 15k of Americans and even more Afghans out of hell will be a Herculean or Mooselean effort. What about Americans outside of Kabul? What about Americans elsewhere in the country??? The optic and danger of just waving Bye Bye to the Taliban/ISIS/Al Qaeda/China & Russia on the way out would be catastrophic for the free world and to the political party of the current President of the United States. You have to go back in, you have to secure Kabul and you have to maintain some semblance of control. The situation on the ground is not what it was 2 months ago. You leave now and your political party just turned over Afghanistan to people who when together come up with ideas like flying airliners into civilian buildings and the Pentagon. Ummmm, that's not an option because it is career suicide for every numbskull in the WH right now and they KNOW IT.

Don't post here much but felt the need to now. Your question is a grim one. The response to all that has occured will be, in my opinion, major combat operations again in Afghanistan. The stench of this calamity, is to great for US Citizens, our Allies and even CNN/Reuters. You can't leave +15K US citizens behind enemy lines. No amount of State Dept cajoling is going to free them and the Taliban is not going to let them go. The idea this is a non-combatant situation is about as truthful as the Stephanopoulos interview. The open source reports just get worse and worse. Outright evil/insanity is ongoing against who the enemy desires outside the wire. We are in a tremendous bind. +15k US citizens are now held by a terrorist organization. We can't strong arm our way out. We can't bluff our way out either, as the threat of harming them isn't going to work. Diplomacy will not work. This is going to be an all out street fight by the 82nd Airborne, 10th Mountain and 24th MEU to save US citizens and restore order to the baddest neck of this here globe.

Why do I have a sinking feeling about this? No word on new jets and the AF starts cleaning out the desert of the most recent workhorse that filled the need. Standard AF procedure....give away an aircraft that COULD do the job. Then tell Congress there is no need to field anything new, nor are there any former jets that could be refurbished available to do the job. No refurbished jets pushed back on the service, no new jets for CAS and the AF marches on, not actually growing or doing its job! A win/win for the top brass. Where oh where are the guys that would ravagedly take on this opportunity to field new jets that can get in the fight tomorrow? Actually grow the AF and fill a requested need like a service is supposed to do shouldn't be this hard.

Whose informing the Albino and Raptor pilots? Hopefully not the Turkish Viper pilot who splashed the SU-24! All kidding aside, a long way to go for anyone to top 100+ kills to zip.