USAF final formation out of Afghanistan 6 x C17 + 6 x KC0135 tankers

[VCheng]

I know you will not believe me as the world is strongly in favour of the US narrative but to this day I personally believe that 9/11 was not the work of OBL/Al Qaeda. This remains my personal view point.
A

I will always respect your right to hold whatever personal opinions you may wish to hold, whether I agree with them or not.

Although your central point above has already been discussed ad nauseum in many threads over the years, not just here on PDF, my counter-point, briefly, would be to turn the supposition around and ask who gained the most from the atrocity of 9/11, to judge whether it was OBL/AQ or some other entity, and just how potently the motivation to help fulfill a deep religious motivation to bring down the Great Satan may play into it. If one contends that it was the financial incentives for the military-industrial complex, then one could plan out far more productive ways to achieve that than the 9/11 attacks. If one's personal beliefs lead one to conclude that it was the Zionists trying to provoke a clash of mighty religions, then that approach seems to have failed too, given the beginnings of rapprochement between some leading Arab nations and Israel.

Please note that none of the above is indicative of my personal views, nor a negation of anyone else's, including yours. It is just a way of trying to evaluate facts in evidence in order to test the likelihood of each causative possibility.


Oh, and to remain on topic, this withdrawal is probably just another milepost in the never ending US journey, and probably not a harbinger of any significant changes in the world order, at least for the foreseeable future.

 

[aziqbal]

Just like after the Vietnam war came the Gulf war after 15 years of rebuilding, everyone anticipates a rebuilding phase to confront China. Definitely not the end of Pax Americana, especially considering the demographic crisis in China.

its a important point

Yes US did too much fighting in Afghanistan and not enough structural work

You cannot fight the Taliban because you can never win so only thing is pay people off, yes bribes

this brings corruption and Afghanistan was full of it

next issue is the leaving part

US has 37,000 troops in South Korea for 69 years
they have over 50,000 troops in Japan home to the 6th fleet at Yokosuka since 1945
over 6,000 in Kuwait since 1st Gulf War
they have had over 100,000 in Germany since 1945

so what was 3,500 soldiers in Afghanistan ? last combat deaths were in 2017 and last UK soldier to die was 2013

so combat missions were over and now it was purely supporting role, logistics, cargo, transport, air cover etc etc

head of the UK defence said we could have cut it to 1,500 troops by 2023

very small price to pay for a place in Chinas back yard and keeping Russia in Check while protecting the 20 years of investment they made in Afghanistan and ensuring no more terrorist attacks are planned from Afghanistan

so why on earth did they leave ?

I think US will come to regret this one

 

[VCheng]

so why on earth did they leave ?

Could it be because they ensured that they will not be attacked from that region again, and all the conspiracy theories about "asal nishana" were just hogwash?

 

[DJ_Viper]

the final aircraft to leave Afghan airspace was KC-135 tanker

12 x USAF aircraft are in close formation leaving

end of a era

View attachment 774433

Which aircraft is the one flying solo on the map by Nok Kundi on the map? Is this a PAF AWACS? It's right by the two last aircraft you put in red circles. Thanks

 

[DJ_Viper]

I will always respect your right to hold whatever personal opinions you may wish to hold, whether I agree with them or not.

Although your central point above has already been discussed ad nauseum in many threads over the years, not just here on PDF, my counter-point, briefly, would be to turn the supposition around and ask who gained the most from the atrocity of 9/11, to judge whether it was OBL/AQ or some other entity, and just how potently the motivation to help fulfill a deep religious motivation to bring down the Great Satan may play into it. If one contends that it was the financial incentives for the military-industrial complex, then one could plan out far more productive ways to achieve that than the 9/11 attacks. If one's personal beliefs lead one to conclude that it was the Zionists trying to provoke a clash of mighty religions, then that approach seems to have failed too, given the beginnings of rapprochement between some leading Arab nations and Israel.

Please note that none of the above is indicative of my personal views, nor a negation of anyone else's, including yours. It is just a way of trying to evaluate facts in evidence in order to test the likelihood of each causative possibility.


Oh, and to remain on topic, this withdrawal is probably just another milepost in the never ending US journey, and probably not a harbinger of any significant changes in the world order, at least for the foreseeable future.

Extremely knowledgeable and sensible post. Respect from me. It's good to see an intelligent narrative vs. conspiracy theories. Just one quick thing, the world order is about to change for the future 50 years (that may also be one of the reason behind the pull out). The QUAD nations are setting up to go and be responsible for their assigned areas I believe. And the US wouldn't want Afghanistan.

 

[Riz]

Taa Taaaa Ex supaaa pawaa America

 

[aziqbal]

Which aircraft is the one flying solo on the map by Nok Kundi on the map? Is this a PAF AWACS? It's right by the two last aircraft you put in red circles. Thanks

no they were C17 Globe masters not PAF

 

[DJ_Viper]

no they were C17 Globe masters not PAF

I was asking about the solo one traveling opposite of the C-17