The Hornshoppe Forum

Hi Ed;

Saw your post on the Transcended Forum. Just wondering if you were able to get the Masterpiece fixed.

Since the last subject / threat was sidetracked about Afghanistan I thought I post some News reports from outside the US. ( I don't think you will find this kind of report in the US) As you will see, the majority of them are not very flattering and I don't want even think what the Islamic world is saying / writing in their news reports.

 
Kabul attack: what is the fallout?

 

At least 85 people have died and 150 have been injured in the terrorist attacks in Kabul. The IS terrorist militia, which operates independently of the Taliban in Afghanistan and advocates an even more extreme interpretation of Islam, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Europe's press looks at the impact on the evacuation operations and what the attack says about the balance of power in Afghanistan.


   
 
CORRIERE DELLA SERA (IT)


A foretaste of Kabul's future stance
The Taliban's reactions to the attacks are a foretaste of how they will situate themselves in international politics, Corriere della Sera concludes:
“The new masters of Kabul have reacted in a way that is both harsh and well coordinated. They make good use of Twitter. ... The main spokesperson gives us an idea of what we can expect from now on. One can imagine the grimace of contempt under under his thick beard. 'The attacks have occurred in an area where US forces are responsible for security.' We had nothing to do with it. The blame, in short, lies with these American losers. In this way a new political subject has entered the stage of international politics.”   

       
POLITYKA (PL)

   
   David's win over Goliath attracts Islamists
Jihadism will continue to gain ground in Afghanistan, Polityka fears:
“The triumph of David (the Taliban) over Goliath (America) has proven to be an excellent tool for recruiting Muslims from all over the world for the jihad. ... And the release of thousands of extremists imprisoned by the ousted pro-Western government has provided Al-Qaeda and the IS militias with willing fighters. Both groups were in conflict with the Taliban, but it is assumed that they may come to an understanding and cooperate in this new situation.”      


 
A bitter defeat for Biden
Joe Biden has announced retaliation for the terrorist attacks that also claimed the lives of 13 US soldiers. But he can no longer save himself, says NRC Handelsblad's US correspondent Bas Blokker:
“For Biden, only one thing mattered. Afghanistan was not to cost a single American life. ... A majority supported the decision when President Trump made it and still supports it now that President Biden is implementing it. But the way Biden is implementing it has earned him a lot of criticism. ... Until Thursday, Biden could still entertain the illusion that the mood would turn after a successfully completed evacuation. Now, however, he can never again claim that the evacuation was successful.”


 
US: goodbye Afghanistan, adieu world stage?


The US has concluded its mission in Afghanistan: the last troops left Kabul early on Tuesday morning. Europe's press takes stock of the chaotic evacuations of the last few days and the failure of the intervention as a whole - as regards both US strategy and the role of Europe. Some see America withdrawing from the world stage while others simply see a realignment.


    
SONNTAGSZEITUNG (CH)


Back to isolationism
The US neither wants to nor can play world policeman anymore, writes the SonntagsZeitung:
“Since the 1960s, the gap between the security policy elite and the citizens they represent has widened. In the US, in particular, the political divide has become abysmal. ... As a result, the American ability to act on the world stage is suffering. No US president is capable of devising a foreign policy strategy that thinks beyond the next election date any more. Domestic and electoral considerations always take precedence. ... The lamentable defeat in Kabul is the reflection of a superpower that no longer wants to play the leading nation, is less and less able to play this role, and is running out of the money it needs to do so.”


    
DELO (SI)


Europe must find its role in stormy times
The poor management of the US withdrawal under Biden's administration has increased mistrust in Europe, Delo comments:
“There was no proper coordination. This made even clearer how little the voice of the European allies counts in the transatlantic alliance. The disaster in Afghanistan is a joint failure, and European countries will have to learn from it. The new sense of Europe as an independent actor comes at a critical point of China's rapid rise and alienation from the US. And the foundations are crumbling within the EU too, because of disagreements between member states and the undermining of its founding principles.”   


 
Plenty of muscle but not enough brains
Ria Novosti sees the US as having failed intellectually rather than militarily in Afghanistan:
“It was a real fiasco: everyone saw how incapable the Americans are of objectively assessing reality. This conclusion has been drawn all over the world - and it will have consequences for the US. Not only in terms of reputation, but also in very concrete geopolitical terms. The US is still strong, it can organise an evacuation of over 120,000 people within two weeks. But the intelligence to prevent such a situation from arising in the first place is lacking. The saying: 'He who is strong doesn't need to be wise' doesn't apply here. For there comes a moment when brainless strength creates nothing but problems - above all for oneself.”


    
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG (DE)


Merely a shifting of priorities
We should not be too quick to write off the US, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung warns:
“The American withdrawal is likely to actually increase America's military capacity to act. Although the combat mission in Afghanistan ended in 2014, the Americans were tied up in operations in the country until the end. ... This was precisely the goal of the American president's withdrawal, which his two predecessors would both have liked to achieve. He wants to free up space for the new priority of American foreign policy: the confrontation with China.”   


       
ÚJ SZÓ (SK)

   
   Military intervention not the only way
Új Szó also does not believe that the withdrawal of US troops means that Washington has thrown in the towel:
“The US has not given up its strong efforts to secure the world order. ... The capacity to intervene or project force are important, but there are numerous other ways to achieve them than military invasion. ... For example, after bombing Al-Qaeda and overthrowing the Taliban, the US could have just used a proxy war to ensure its presence in Afghanistan.”