tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post3899057561897827038..comments2024-03-28T19:26:56.175+00:00Comments on Yorkshire Pudding: TalibanYorkshire Puddinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-18633982492755529662021-08-21T15:52:27.472+01:002021-08-21T15:52:27.472+01:00Nice to meet you sir. Thanks for calling by.Nice to meet you sir. Thanks for calling by.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-70758743475058430662021-08-21T12:37:41.580+01:002021-08-21T12:37:41.580+01:00I’ve been seeing your comments on other blogs for ...I’ve been seeing your comments on other blogs for ages. Sorry it’s taken me so long to visit yours. You’ve described this all so well. 20 years. At such a cost.Moving with Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12954028272162285597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-82355419664818631232021-08-17T17:48:39.161+01:002021-08-17T17:48:39.161+01:00Yes. Shirley and I thought that too. Leaving their...Yes. Shirley and I thought that too. Leaving their womenfolk behind. Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-10009918427766717922021-08-17T16:42:13.876+01:002021-08-17T16:42:13.876+01:00Thanks for your input, by the way. And I had anoth...Thanks for your input, by the way. And I had another thought - those young men are not going to be nearly as affected by the Taliban's power as their mothers and sisters will be.jenny_ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15475480579733466963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-22120672792910102422021-08-17T14:26:37.240+01:002021-08-17T14:26:37.240+01:00There must have been a better way to leave - invol...There must have been a better way to leave - involving discussions with The Taliban.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-196069918900234582021-08-17T13:04:03.979+01:002021-08-17T13:04:03.979+01:00The same could be said about christianity sadly.The same could be said about christianity sadly.Pixiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01313413260127376288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-19558588639978070172021-08-17T11:18:34.727+01:002021-08-17T11:18:34.727+01:00Afghanistan has war lords. The fighting will conti...Afghanistan has war lords. The fighting will continue with clashes and skirmishes between groups. It just never stops. Debbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09531125606268748793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-27708611072944370532021-08-17T10:26:25.114+01:002021-08-17T10:26:25.114+01:00Another example of western interference. We never ...Another example of western interference. We never learn do we? <br />All those poor people who have been abandoned to either a fate worse than death, or death itself. They have tasted a form of freedom and now it's beyond their grasp - the unimaginable realities of their future lives will be almost impossible for them to bear. The Taliban will delight in taking harsh reprisals. <br />Abandoning these poor people is the most disastrous thing the west has done (so far) this century. Coppa's girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16459503600694841117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-53190816925613588422021-08-17T09:53:52.012+01:002021-08-17T09:53:52.012+01:00Those young men were babies - or younger - when th...Those young men were babies - or younger - when the US went into Afghanistan. I wonder if they even understand it all.jenny_ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15475480579733466963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-67199279611143211602021-08-17T09:16:38.655+01:002021-08-17T09:16:38.655+01:00Duly read.Duly read.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-77677600024886118962021-08-17T09:15:59.988+01:002021-08-17T09:15:59.988+01:00One's head might burst with the sorrow... but ...One's head might burst with the sorrow... but see my next post Kylie! Quite a contrast.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-44844745929976760512021-08-17T09:14:37.588+01:002021-08-17T09:14:37.588+01:00You're right. There should be more wisdom, mor...You're right. There should be more wisdom, more subtlety when dealing with such countries. Bursting in with masses of soldiers, helicopters and sophisticated weapons is not the way to build a better future.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-55795687041423415682021-08-17T09:09:15.940+01:002021-08-17T09:09:15.940+01:00Good question but I can't give an answer. I th...Good question but I can't give an answer. I thought that Islam was meant to be about peace - not about terrorising women and teachers and riding around on motorbikes with powerful stolen rifles.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-25734434594908903852021-08-17T09:06:39.688+01:002021-08-17T09:06:39.688+01:00The monster is fiercer than before - its frustrati...The monster is fiercer than before - its frustration building through the past twenty years.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-16648396982529058142021-08-17T09:04:25.720+01:002021-08-17T09:04:25.720+01:00I read the article by John Allen and sadly, yes, i...I read the article by John Allen and sadly, yes, it surely is now too late to follow his advice. Biden was ill-advised and now that the Taliban have returned, restoring the previous fragile balance is impossible. Those young men running down the runway - why didn't they fight for their country?Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-40732043892588533122021-08-17T08:52:38.476+01:002021-08-17T08:52:38.476+01:00The Afghan puppet government and their pathetic ar...The Afghan puppet government and their pathetic army have also left the ordinary Afghan people to it.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-19904598712237814692021-08-17T05:53:00.482+01:002021-08-17T05:53:00.482+01:00It's an awful story. Of course there are a mil...It's an awful story. Of course there are a million awful stories but we ususally can't focus on more than one or two kyliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08964475783207438103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-2426474709452794082021-08-17T00:28:10.826+01:002021-08-17T00:28:10.826+01:00Despair and great sadness, along with a shot of an...Despair and great sadness, along with a shot of anger are my emotions. Western countries must simple stop trying to change countries, though we should be there to pick up the pieces. We did the first and are failing with the second.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-26879784620766515372021-08-16T23:33:47.522+01:002021-08-16T23:33:47.522+01:00Afghanistan seems to be caught in a cycle of viole...Afghanistan seems to be caught in a cycle of violence, poverty and ignorance. It is an old country with a long history and it's still can find no peace. Why? Pixiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01313413260127376288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-29146945978904781532021-08-16T21:41:44.174+01:002021-08-16T21:41:44.174+01:00The news footage is harrowing and it breaks my hea...The news footage is harrowing and it breaks my heart to watch it. Was it worth all those lives lost over the last 20-years? I fear for the women - in particular those who have been educated at school and University - for they are now in danger of being beaten into submission again. We really have created a monster.ADDYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01018958238940897902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-32388390594130787092021-08-16T21:41:28.977+01:002021-08-16T21:41:28.977+01:00There's a compelling piece written by the pres...There's a compelling piece written by the president of The Brookings Institution (a well-regarded think tank in the USA) you might be interested in reading. If you do, I would be interested to know your thoughts on it. It makes the case for Biden reversing his decision to pull the US out of Afghanistan. Found here: https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2021/08/john-allen-biden-must-reverse-his-decision-quit-afghanistan/184512/<br /><br />It was written before Kabul fell, so I don't know how relevant it still is, even though it's only three days old.jenny_ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15475480579733466963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-383437347341779842021-08-16T19:40:34.937+01:002021-08-16T19:40:34.937+01:00When it looks as if the world is falling to bits i...When it looks as if the world is falling to bits it is essential to learn as much as we can about the crisis. <br />I always think of John Steinbeck's advice: when he was afraid his mind went cold, and he made himself think very clearly and calmly.<br /><br />Today I perused Justin Marozzi's book, *Islamic Empires - Fifteen Cities That Define Civilization* (Penguin).<br />The cities range from Cordoba to Constantinople (Istanbul), Damascus to Dubai, Beirut to Baghdad.<br />Marozzi visited Kabul in 1996, in search of Timur, the 14th Century Turco-Mongol conqueror of Afghanistan and Iran.<br /> <br />In 1996 Marozzi found Kabul a wasteland of bombed factories, ruined houses, parks and palaces laid waste. So much for the green city in the mountains.<br /><br />In his book *The Lion's Grave* John Lee Anderson spoke to a secular Afghan journalist, Idris, who saw Soviet communism as a system every bit as rigid as Islamic fundamentalism.<br />*Islam is a drug,* Idris said. <br />This is one way of getting into the mindset of Taliban, Al Qaeda, ISIL. <br /><br />There is no understanding Afghan's agony without studying Pakistan.<br />Anatol Lieven's book *Pakistan - A Hard Country* (Penguin) is expansive.<br />Christina Lamb pointed out that Pakistan played a double game with the United States when it came to the Taliban in Afghanistan, fooling the superpower.<br /><br />*While few Pakistanis dream seriously dream of a universal caliphate or the conquest of the West, the overwhelming majority believe that territories with Muslim majorities should be ruled by Muslim states,* writes Anatol Lieven.<br />This is 'defensive jihad'.<br /><br />Meanwhile in the Syrian city of Raqqa, Save the Children said there is little clean water, electricity supplies are down, schools are in ruins.<br />Families who fled Aleppo are afraid to let their children play outside in this drought-ridden city.<br />H.<br /><br />Haggertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13428937273804366081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-83737528985967048832021-08-16T19:01:25.993+01:002021-08-16T19:01:25.993+01:00That's a hell of a reading list John. I guess ...That's a hell of a reading list John. I guess there will be more books about Afghanistan to come - both fictional and investigative. This story is endless or so it seems.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-13506137777136482242021-08-16T18:58:15.828+01:002021-08-16T18:58:15.828+01:00Were the west ever clear about what they wanted to...Were the west ever clear about what they wanted to achieve? I don't think so.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13883584.post-14281991588904115042021-08-16T18:57:26.028+01:002021-08-16T18:57:26.028+01:00This is just the end of another chapter. This is just the end of another chapter. Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.com