So Engel's complaining we're negotiating for safe passage to the airport

[bigtree]

...instead of the alternative of bloody, street to street combat escorting some 10-20k through the Taliban to the airport, be damned the peaceful withdrawal happening now.

Richard Engel @RichardEngel 5h
Biden says US in constant contact with Taliban to get safe passage to airport. So, US asking former enemy, the Taliban, to please allow us to get our people out while they take the country.

Link to tweet

What Richard Engel is promoting would require another 'surge' of some 10 to 20k troops into Taliban held territory. Those troops would either operate at war or in negotiation with those hostile forces. The man is extremely reckless in his reporting, offering up our soldiers like fodder.

[Baitball Blogger]

1. Diplomacy be like, the first option.

[RockRaven]

2. Engel is mourning his loss of relevance, and the exposure of his non-insight into his

supposed area of expertise.

[Tetrachloride]

3. Negotiations is a good thing.

If they go not bad, there is hope that negotiations will work.

By comparison, dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unilateral. Even tho negotiations were ongoing with Imperial Japan.

Almost every day this week, my
Arab neighbors ask me to evaluate Americans presidents. They know the value of sitting diwn together. And so do I.

[EarlG]

4. Hmm, is "in constant contact with" the same thing as "asking" the Taliban?

Or is it more like we’re telling them, “if any of our citizens are killed or injured trying to get out, then all bets are off.”

If only there was a reporter in the area who could give us actual information instead of guesswork.

[bigtree]

8. we did see the president warn them earlier

...

[marble falls]

10. That's a problem, reporters on the ground aren't going to get the background ...

... so far the agreement, whatever it was, seems to be working, if slowly and with some hitches.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

5. This was a cheap shot by Engel, and uncalled for (nt)

[2naSalit]

9. He's had nothing but negative reports...

Since this started. I guess he sees that his war gig is fizzling out. He needs to come home, he's not reporting at this point, he's just ranting and venting over who knows what.

[crickets]

16. Yep. Some people see a bowl of Cheerios and just can't help themselves. nt

[Meyer]

6. Meyer

Engel has turned into nothing but a Drama Queen. So over him

[2naSalit]

11. Welcome to DU!

Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Drama Queen. All his voice overs are close to yelling like a carnival barker anymore, I used to like him.

[Texaswitchy]

7. President Biden has got it.

I found out one friend's Granddaughter is over there.

A medic in the Army.

[W_HAMILTON]

12. Now contrast that with this tweet of his:

Link to tweet

I guess Engel is now officially on my shit list -- being a hypocrite, in favor of Trump no less, is NOT a good look.

[rockfordfile]

17. yeah his cred is shot. The fact trump made that deal.

Anyway this was known some time ago.

I seen in a video on Maddow's show a Taliban person with a phone texting somebody. So if the Taliban have these "high-tech" communications to get info around. Then it would seem to me that some of the people that would've had same tech, should've known that we're leaving a year ago? We aren't talking stone age communications.

I think some of these didn't want to leave to begin. I think that some by trying to cause havoc thought we would stay. Maybe they support the corruption. We will know down the road more about the true intentions.

[malaise]

13. Someone should tell him that it was the Slobfather who negotiated with the

Taliban.

[joetheman]

14. I am so disappointed in Engel. I had been an admirer before this.

how else do we get our people through an occupied zone without negotiating with the occupiers?

[louslobbs]

15. Maybe President Biden could just invite the Taliban

to Camp David……