Pompeo Is Lying About Afghanistan

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Will Saletan
@saletan
"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."

Pompeo Is Lying About Afghanistan
He laid the groundwork for the Taliban takeover. Now he’s blaming Biden.
slate.com
10:38 AM · Aug 20, 2021

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/08/pompeo-lies-afghanistan-taliban-biden.html

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.

*snip*

[gratuitous]

1. Mr. First in his Class at West Point, ladies and gentlemen!

Pompeo's still having trouble mastering that Honor Code, I see.

[atreides1]

3. Well

From 1986 to 1991, Pompeo served in the U.S. Army as an armor officer with the West Germany-based 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the 4th Infantry Division. He served as a tank platoon leader before becoming a cavalry troop executive officer and then the squadron maintenance officer. Pompeo left the U.S. Army at the rank of captain.

Not a very impressive resume for someone who graduated first in his class from West Point! Commanded only at the platoon level, served as executive officer...but was not give command of a troop(company) and then was made the squadron(battalion) maintenance officer...from that we can assume that graduating first in his class didn't mean much!

[KS Toronado]

5. Kinda like a Heisman Trophy winner that can't cut it in the big leagues?

[Moebym]

2. I want to keep my DU account

So I won't express how I actually feel about Pompeo.

But I will say this: Biden had a clear disdain for Pompeo, and the reason for this is becoming more obvious by the day.

[AllaN01Bear]

7. same here.

[2naSalit]

4. He always lies about everything.

Everything.

[Traildogbob]

6. Right!

If his lips are moving. But hard to tell when they are glued to Trump’s fat white ass.

[2naSalit]

9. It's a permanent attachment...

That's why you just have to accept that he's just lying because he is.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. The public must be told about his lying

That's all that matters.

[Kid Berwyn]

10. Like a rug.

Totally.



What he told Fox:

"They should go crush the Taliban who are surrounding Kabul, we can do it with American airpower," Pompeo said during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday." "We should put pressure on them, we should inflict cost and pain on them."

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/pompeo-biden-should-crush-the-taliban-using-american-air-power-2021-8

[crickets]

11. In other news, water is wet. K&R