Pompeo is lying about Afghanistan.
By: William Saletan (Slate Magazine)
watching the roaches scatter when the light comes on ...
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
He laid the groundwork for the Taliban takeover. Now he's blaming Biden.
By William SaletanAug 20, 20211:16 PM 
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February in Orlando.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump's former secretary of state, blames President Joe Biden for the chaos in Afghanistan. "We're letting the Taliban run free and wild," he complained a few days ago on Fox News. Pompeo, who is laying the groundwork for a 2024 presidential campaign, argued that the insurgents were taking over the country "because we have an administration that has refused to adopt a deterrence model, the one that President Trump and I had." He claimed that he and Trump had kept Afghanistan "stable," that they had "never trusted the Taliban," and that thanks to their steely resolve, "the Taliban didn't advance on capitals" in Afghan provinces.
None of this is true. Like many other Republicans who now profess anguish over the Taliban's victory, Pompeo supported the U.S. withdrawal. But he didn't just endorse the pullout; he directed it. He cut a deal with the Taliban to remove all American troops and to release Taliban fighters from Afghan prisons. He vouched for the Taliban's assurances, even as the insurgents staged hundreds of deadly attacks. And he defended the ongoing troop withdrawals, undercutting the Afghan government in its own talks with the Taliban, as the militants besieged provincial capitals.
Two years ago, Pompeo began pushing for a deal with the Taliban. Hawks urged him to stipulate in the agreement that the Taliban had to turn over al-Qaida operatives. They also asked him to reject any demand for a "premature release of Taliban prisoners." He did neither. Under the deal, signed on Feb. 29, 2020, the U.S. government pledged "to withdraw from Afghanistan all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners … within fourteen (14) months." The deal also specified that the Afghan government would release 5,000 prisoners, five times as many as the Taliban had to release. There was no requirement to hand over al-Qaida operatives.
Pompeo promised that the Taliban would rein in their carnage. "We have come to an understanding with the Taliban on a significant reduction in violence," he declared. A day after the signing ceremony, he asserted that "the Taliban have now made the break" from al-Qaida. On Face the Nation , Margaret Brennan asked him whether the Taliban were "terrorists." Pompeo declined to use that word, assuring her that "the [Taliban] gentleman whom I met with agreed that they would break that relationship and that they would work alongside of us to destroy" al-Qaida. On Fox News, Pompeo spoke of a personal connection with the Taliban: "I looked them in the eye. They revalidated to that commitment." The interviewer, Bret Baier, pointed out that immediately after signing the deal, the Taliban had announced a resumption of attacks on the Afghan government. Pompeo brushed aside the announcement. "If the violence levels come down," he told Baier, "then and only then" would the United States draw down its troops.
American forces immediately began to vacate bases and pull out. But the Taliban, contrary to its commitments, escalated its attacks. Pompeo responded by making excuses. "We have seen the senior Taliban leadership working diligently to reduce violence from previous levels," he asserted on March 5, 2020. "We still have confidence that the Taliban leadership is working to deliver on its commitments." He argued that critics were making too much of the latest attacks, since violence in Afghanistan was "common."
When Fox News reporter Pete Hegseth asked whether Pompeo was willing to let Kabul fall—"We're not going to intervene ultimately two, three years from now, if the Afghan government can't defend itself?"—Pompeo replied, "That's right." Three weeks after his deal with the Taliban, he threatened to pull all U.S. forces from Afghanistan and to choke off U.S. aid—which would have brought the country to its knees—if to the government didn't move faster in talks with the Taliban. He also repeatedly pressed for the release of jailed Taliban fighters.
The troop reductions continued, even as the Taliban carried out dozens of attacks per day. On July 1, 2020, the Department of Defense reported that al-Qaida "routinely supports and works with low-level Taliban members" and "assists local Taliban in some attacks." This matched a separate report from United Nations Security Council investigators. Some of the evidence, later published by the Washington Post, indicated that throughout this period, Taliban leaders had collaborated militarily with al-Qaida partners and had pledged not to betray them. When Pompeo was asked about the DOD report, he claimed to have secret evidence that the Taliban was working against al-Qaida. "I can't talk about the things that I have seen," he said.
Critics warned that the ongoing U.S. troop withdrawals, in the face of continued Taliban aggression—including an attempt to assassinate Afghanistan's vice president—signaled American weakness and undermined the Afghan government in its talks with the Taliban. But Pompeo blamed the attacks on rogue insurgents—"spoilers," he called them—and insisted that "the Taliban has every incentive to get this right." When he was asked about the U.N. report and other evidence that the Taliban was still sheltering al-Qaida, he stood by the Taliban. "We have every expectation that they will follow through," he said.
As the United States closed its air bases and stripped its troop presence to a minimum, the Taliban advanced, seizing provincial capitals. In November, Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned that the American retreat was undercutting the Afghan government. Trump responded by firing Esper. The Afghan government asked Pompeo to slow the U.S. withdrawal and press the Taliban for a cease-fire. Pompeo, in reply, offered only to "sit on the side and help where we can." He argued that because terrorist networks were global, the Unites States didn't need troops in Afghanistan.
Pompeo maintained this position after leaving office. Last month, when he was asked about warnings from U.S. military officials "that Kabul could fall within a few months," he scoffed that "President Trump had the same kind of resistance from the military … to reducing our footprint in Afghanistan." He ridiculed Afghan men who talked of fleeing their country instead of "fighting for" it. Then, as the American pullout came under political attack in the United States, Pompeo switched sides. On Aug. 9, he said he was "a little bit surprised at the speed" of the Taliban's advances. Three days later, he accused Biden of "poor leadership." By Sunday, he was calling on American forces to "go crush these Taliban who are surrounding Kabul." He claimed that he and Trump had "deterred" the insurgents and that Biden's "absence of resolve" had caused the Taliban onslaught.
A year ago, in Pompeo's words, the Taliban was represented by a "gentleman," was "working diligently to reduce violence," and was "sincere in wanting what's good for the Afghan people." Now he calls the Taliban "butchers." "We never trusted them," he insists. "We always knew that what they were telling us was almost certainly a lie." He claims, preposterously, that when the insurgents didn't fulfill their promises, "We didn't withdraw. We crushed them."
The return of authoritarianism in Afghanistan is tragic. So are the latest atrocities: retributive executions, brutality against civilians, and the subjugation of women. The Biden administration misjudged how quickly the government would fall, and Biden misled Americans about what could happen. But nobody has lied more about the Afghan collapse than Pompeo. At every stage, he aided the Taliban and sabotaged the Kabul government. And now he dares to blame others.
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looks like the GOP 2024 POTUS campaign has begun...
please remember to help keep christo-fascism and white supremacy off the NT front page by commenting and voting up seeds like this one - thank you
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OH. MY. FUCKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did you even read any of the article????? Pompeo did so many twists and turns on his "positions" I'm surprised his head didn't pop off!
GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Mike Pompeo has been caught lying about all sorts of things over and over in the past few years.
Vic will see this seed. I'd like to hear what he has to say about this. Although I feel I can kind of predict it.
bfd
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allright, let him address Pompeo's lies on one his own seeds.
XX has his own groups where he's protected. Even he's not dumb enough to post in Buttheads or The Reality Show
guess again, ha ha ha...
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I see no need for conservatives to troll this article. They should either speak about Pompeo or say nothing.
I meant a seed. He still posts comments
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William Saletan is a highly respected reporter by the way.
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All you ever show is your ass.
Crushed them???? CRUSHED THEM????????????
If you crushed them then how why were they attacking provincial capitals while trmp was still in office?
Jesus doesn't like liars, Mikey
But republican voters do....
Lol, like he cares what that hippie liberal antifa d bag Jesus thinks.
Still spinning twisting and trying to shift the blame away from Biden?
Biden knew about the deal with the Taliban well before taking office. He had months to either cancel the deal, enforce it, or renegotiate it. He did nothing except:
1) Unilaterally changed the US withdrawal date from 5/1 to 8/31. How did that work out? Seems the Taliban didn't honor Biden's decision because it isn't the 31st yet and Kabul and the country have fallen.
2) Dismantled Trump's Contingency and Crisis Response Bureau (CCR).
3) Removed troops from Afghanistan before getting all of the US civilians, and Afghans that aided us, out. This is definitely Trump's fault. It is his fault he lost the election to such an incompetent POS as Biden. This is basic military tactics. All civilians out first then the military withdraws. The people in the Biden administration who came up with this plan and Biden himself should be removed and never allowed to serve at any capacity in government again.
4) Ignored all warnings from the State Department, CIA, and Pentagon that Kabul was not going to fall in years, or months, but in weeks or days. Speaking of Trump and Pompeo not listening to intelligence reports. The Taliban didn't start their major assault until Trump was out of office. Oh, wait- could it have been that it was winter until May 1; they don't fight during that time period. So when did the major push start- well after Trump was out of office. Why didn't Biden do anything about it? Why did he continue to draw down troops? Why didn't he at least provide the Afghan government forces with logistics and air support? It isn't like the Afghan forces have anything outside of Black Hawk helicopters.
5) Allowed US military bases and hardware to fall into Taliban hands. I guess Trump should have made sure to blow everything up before he left office; even if our troops were still using it.
6) Everyone in the US wanted to get Afghanistan. So getting pissing about Pompeo's comment, When Fox News reporter Pete Hegseth asked whether Pompeo was willing to let Kabul fall—"We're not going to intervene ultimately two, three years from now, if the Afghan government can't defend itself?"—Pompeo replied, "That's right." Biden didn't intervene to prevent Kabul falling with US citizens still in Afghanistan. So really don't want to hear about it! Biden was pulling the US out for good; period.
7) "You are on your own to get to Karzai Airport". Sorry the Biden Administration cannot guarantee your safety getting past the Taliban checkpoints and into the surrounded airport. Britain and France are sending their troops out from Kabul to get their people out. The feckless Biden Administration with the most powerful military in the world; doesn't want to upset the Taliban. But again, that is all on Trump.
No one has a problem with us leaving Afghanistan- it was past time to leave. But the withdrawal was a complete and utter fuck up; and that is all on Biden.
Actually when Bagram was turned over to the Afghan security forces around JULY 02 that was the end of the American folly in Af'stan
By 07/15 all combat troops and civilian support for the Air Force were on their way home.
On 07/15 the official US troop tally was a mixed force of 650 at the airport with 200 USMC at the Embassy.
The "country" of Afghanistan ceased to exist over the next 4 weeks.
US civilians who waited until they saw Taliban in the streets were at least 4 weeks late for leaving
Only things we should have done differently is start getting our allies out over the last 6 months as well as our equipment. Although a lot of it it is actually cheaper to just leave or destroy it than bring it back lol.
Exactly...it was a HUGE strategic mistake!
Anyone who thinks this WASN’T going to happen is either completely retarded or totally dishonest. We all knew it, the Afghans knew it, goddamn Martians knew it. This was inevitable, it was always going to happen.
The only to avoid it would have been to occupy the country for the next 200 years with a large force and a heavy hand in day to day governance to instill our values over generations. obviously that was never an option, so our mission in Afghanistan (whatever exactly it was) was always doomed to fail.