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Jim Johnson's avatar

By the numbers, the pullout was eminently successful, not botched.

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SandyG's avatar

Pls explain.

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Tim_TEC's avatar

Look to Vietnam as a comparison. Over 60 servicemen were killed during the last month of the chaotic withdrawal. It's a miracle that the Afghanistan operation went as well as it did after 20 years of war and Trump's worst negotiated peace deal in history (he released Taliban 5,000 terrorist fighters back to the battlefield).

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SandyG's avatar

Thank you. Was this comparison ever made by any media outlet? I didn't follow the news closely. I don't recall hearing anything like this.

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Jim Johnson's avatar

I donтАЩt recall hearing anything like that from the media either, and I followed it closely across all media outlets. The media narrative was set on the first day from 15-20 seconds of video at the airport. You know, the clips of people running alongside the plane and packed in a cargo hold that outlets ran over and over.

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SandyG's avatar

yes, that is the image associated with the withdrawal

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Jim Johnson's avatar

The 13 servicepeople killed by the ISIS-K suicide bomber is a tragedy.

However, by every other number the withdrawal was a great success, not botched or a debacle:

Americans, allies and Afghan refugees evacuated: over 122,000

American serviceperson lives lost to Taliban: 0

American civilian lives lost: 0

American civilians remaining in Afghanistan except by their choice: <50

Number of days by which final August 31 deadline for withdrawal missed: 0

Firefights with Taliban during evacuation: 0

American military deaths before withdrawal and evacuation: 2,402

American military deaths after withdrawal and evacuation to date: 0

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SandyG's avatar

thx. why is this news to me?

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Jim Johnson's avatar

Because itтАЩs not part of the news mediaтАЩs narrative.

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SandyG's avatar

Of course. Why did I bother to ask? Trump has corrupted the MSM part of our free press.

But, cable and broadcast news is not where most people get their news and their audiences are declining. So CBSтАЩ cave may not matter all that much. The growth of independent news, like the Bulwark, and their social-media-sharing-ready content getting widely shared is a good thing.

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