What a Trump-led evacuation might have been like...

Fantine said:

If Trump had "solved" the exit plan, why didn't he implement it? He had 9 months to accomplish it. It would have distracted the American public from that pesky pandemic and given him a "win" to carry him to victory last November (not the 7 million vote loss he justifiably suffered.)

But of course he knew it would be messy. He knew it wouldn't be a win. Why, just the thought of trying to conduct an operation probably gave him a recurrence of heel spurs.

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I believe that to do this right would have taken a lot longer than 9 months and two weeks, we can see was too short.

First, get out all those people who are from the US and other allied countries as well as those who want to get out.
Second, get out all the equipment, weapons, trucks, planes, computers, records and other infrastructure that is not absolutely necessary.
Third, get all US and allied government personnel.
Last, get the military out.
This could have been done by holding the military strong hold at the military air base until the last plane left with the last troops.

That, would have taken longer than 9 months.

We know what a Trump led evacuation is like. Nonexistent. He let himself get delayed, just like previous presidents.

He was going to be out in May. He had time to fix the visa problem for translators and didn’t. If he had actually kept with May in a second term there’s no reason to think it would have been different. He has a history of not wanting Muslim immigrants, but I’ll be generous and assume he would have tried to help them, as Biden did, but there’s no reason to think he would have been more effective. And that’s the optimistic view. There’s a reasonable chance that we would never have left.

hedrick said:

We know what a Trump led evacuation is like. Nonexistent. He let himself get delayed, just like previous presidents.

He was going to be out in May. He had time to fix the visa problem for translators and didn’t. If he had actually kept with May in a second term there’s no reason to think it would have been different. He has a history of not wanting Muslim immigrants, but I’ll be generous and assume he would have tried to help them, as Biden did, but there’s no reason to think he would have been more effective. And that’s the optimistic view. There’s a reasonable chance that we would never have left.

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But, in all truth, this is all speculation.

We will never know what Trump would have done.

Pavel Mosko said:

It's funny this thread. I use to listen to Scott Adam but stopped, And thought he probably had some funny or interesting stuff to say about Afghanistan so I decided to start watching him again, and started to a recent video. And he said something to the affect "Does anybody think that Trump couldn't have done a better job in getting out of Afghanistan than Joe Biden? It seems like that is something he could have done better. There are some things that Trump was not good at, like having a good bed side manner during a pandemic, but given certain things like the success of Operation Warp speed this seems like precisely one of the things he would have been good at".

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lol, what a load. The problem with Trump's response to COVID wasn't merely in his "bedside manner" - it was in all the stupid stuff he said and did, and the general dysfunction of his administration. Operation Warp Speed worked because Trump signed a check and didn't meddle in it - they basically paid private industry to get the job done. When did the Trump Administration itself successfully administer a large logistical effort?

Was it the delivery of those vaccines? No.
Was it in procuring and distributing PPE early in the pandemic? No.
Was it in the rapid response to institute lockdowns and contact tracing? No.
Was it in the development of COVID testing? No.
Rewinding a bit, was it in response to Hurricane Maria? No.

Trump was good at running his mouth. He wasn't good at actually getting things done. See also: infrastructure bill, Obamacare replacement, failed border wall deals.

A Trump led evacuation may well have been just as bad (it could hardly have been any worse). But Trump would never have allowed those responsible for bungling it in this manner to keep their jobs.

SoldierOfTheKing said:

A Trump led evacuation may well have been just as bad (it could hardly have been any worse). But Trump would never have allowed those responsible for bungling it in this manner to keep their jobs.

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"May well have"

Great, thanks for more speculation.

Truth is Biden and his admin actually "did" what they did. Time to stop deflecting and blaming Trump with your "powerful" ... "May have".

JacksBratt said:

But, in all truth, this is all speculation.

We will never know what Trump would have done.

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No, it's not speculation. We know what he did - nothing. He did not evacuate Afghanistan, that is demonstrated and proven by him.

ArmenianJohn said:

No, it's not speculation. We know what he did - nothing. He did not evacuate Afghanistan, that is demonstrated and proven by him.

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Oh man... that is so funny. You know what else he didn't do? Invite thousands to the southern border. Stomp on the Keystone pipeline. Destroy the employment rate. Drive up the gas prices. End the energy independence of the US.

He also planned on leaving by May. Just how was he to carry that out when Biden was in office?

All these posts that I am criticizing are for people speculating on what Trump would have done or not done. The whole "I believe" and "I doubt". The "if Trump"..... There is no substance to it. It is just people who hate Trump, speculating and assuming what would have happened. There is no way to prove or disprove anything. It's water cooler banter.

People hate Trump so much that they cannot get up in the morning without thinking about him. Then blaming him for something to deflect from the errors of those that need to bear them for themselves.

JacksBratt said:

Oh man... that is so funny. You know what else he didn't do? Invite thousands to the southern border. Stomp on the Keystone pipeline. Destroy the employment rate. Drive up the gas prices. End the energy independence of the US.

He also planned on leaving by May. Just how was he to carry that out when Biden was in office?

All these posts that I am criticizing are for people speculating on what Trump would have done or not done. The whole "I believe" and "I doubt". The "if Trump"..... There is no substance to it. It is just people who hate Trump, speculating and assuming what would have happened. There is no way to prove or disprove anything. It's water cooler banter.

People hate Trump so much that they cannot get up in the morning without thinking about him. Then blaming him for something to deflect from the errors of those that need to bear them for themselves.

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That's a lot of verbal gymnastics just to admit that it's true that Trump did nothing to withdraw from Afghanistan.

JacksBratt said:

Oh man... that is so funny. You know what else he didn't do? Invite thousands to the southern border. Stomp on the Keystone pipeline. Destroy the employment rate.

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You might want to check a calendar:
Unemployment Rate


The red arrow is where Biden took office.

Drive up the gas prices.

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Oh?
Gas Station Price Charts - Local & National Historical Average Trends - GasBuddy.com


The red lines mark the duration of Trump's term. It looks to me like gas prices climbed quite a bit in the middle and the current rise started before he left office.

End the energy independence of the US.

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Neither has Biden. What's your point?

He also planned on leaving by May. Just how was he to carry that out when Biden was in office?

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How would he have carried that out on that accelerated timeline in a more orderly fashion?

ArmenianJohn said:

That's a lot of verbal gymnastics just to admit that it's true that Trump did nothing to withdraw from Afghanistan.

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There is a huge problem if that's what you got from my post.

Take a look at Biden's trip to New York and his ratings and you will see what the rest of the US put the blame.

SoldierOfTheKing said:

A Trump led evacuation may well have been just as bad (it could hardly have been any worse). But Trump would never have allowed those responsible for bungling it in this manner to keep their jobs.

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Considering the Trump administration turnover rate, that goes without saying.

JacksBratt said:

There is a huge problem if that's what you got from my post.

Take a look at Biden's trip to New York and his ratings and you will see what the rest of the US put the blame.

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I don't see a huge problem - your post mentioned many things but did not deny the fact that Trump's action on the withdrawal was non-existent. The closest mention you make was that he "planned to do it in May" but that's an old procrastinator's excuse and doesn't change the fact that it was never done.

ArmenianJohn said:

I don't see a huge problem - your post mentioned many things but did not deny the fact that Trump's action on the withdrawal was non-existent. The closest mention you make was that he "planned to do it in May" but that's an old procrastinator's excuse and doesn't change the fact that it was never done.

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Again.... speculation. You run totally on figments of imaginary events of a man who is no longer in power... While you full well ignore the factual bungling and horrific results of the man that is in power.

You fuel your hate for a man by continually dreaming up ways to make him "orange man bad">

No surprise. His whole 4 years was one big long stretch of false accusations.

JacksBratt said:

Again.... speculation. You run totally on figments of imaginary events of a man who is no longer in power... While you full well ignore the factual bungling and horrific results of the man that is in power.

You fuel your hate for a man by continually dreaming up ways to make him "orange man bad">

No surprise. His whole 4 years was one big long stretch of false accusations.

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Again, how is it "speculation" to recognize that Trump did not withdraw from Afghanistan?

If he did, please provide proof that he did. From what I have seen, he did not. He took no action. He was in office and had the opportunity to do it, and he said he would do it, and he did not do it.

Kind of like he said about the "wall" - everything was all talk yet he took no action. None of that is speculation, it's just fact.

Halbhh said:

When the Trump administration began deporting Iraqi Christians back to Iraq (which they had fled from due to threats) that suddenly showed the true colors of the Administration. At first the deportations were for any with 'criminal records', but then later, even that excuse was dropped, and many without any criminal records were deported also.

In 2020, facing reelection, Trump realized it was politically damaging to himself in and said he try to stop the deportations (as if he'd not been the main cause).
Trump vows deportation relief for Iraqi Christian immigrants

Perhaps Trump didn't realize they were Christian to begin with, just like it appears as if he doesn't realize (?) that most of the immigrants from south of the Border are Christian, and anything except the criminally-inclined he suggested that many of them would be.

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Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Do Trump supporters know he deported Iraqi Christians?
Boy, I bet this sits incredibly awkward.
Failed the family guy test though?

AvilaSurfer said:

Still obsessed with Trump. I find this hilarious.

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given that he announced and started the formal withdrawal it seems silly to at least not consider the mental exercise.
But don't let that shorten your reach.

JacksBratt said:

"May well have"

Great, thanks for more speculation.

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About something which didn't actually happen, one can only speculate.

JacksBratt said:

Truth is Biden and his admin actually "did" what they did. Time to stop deflecting and blaming Trump with your "powerful" ... "May have".

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Trump had to deal with the same political hacks in the Department of State and Department of Defense, both military and civilian, as Biden did. I'm not blaming Trump and I'm giving Biden the benefit of the doubt. The fact of the matter is, regardless of who is in the White House, the US simply lacks competent military leadership.

ArmenianJohn said:

I don't see a huge problem - your post mentioned many things but did not deny the fact that Trump's action on the withdrawal was non-existent. The closest mention you make was that he "planned to do it in May" but that's an old procrastinator's excuse and doesn't change the fact that it was never done.

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Not to mention the delay in the “transition” because “I really won” was still a thing.

Hmmm... a speculation thread. Interesting.

From CNN:

Obama and Biden did not get them released - Trump did.

Obama admitted to failures and was regarded as feckless towards his response to ISIS. Biden was his right hand man.

Trump Administration Responsible For The Largest Rescue of American Hostages In History

The Trump/Pense Administration effected more hostage releases in four years than the Obama/Biden administration did in eight.

Since we are tripping the light fantastic and speaking about what it could have looked like under Trump. I'd say from past history - he would have been more effective in that area.

ArmenianJohn said:

Again, how is it "speculation" to recognize that Trump did not withdraw from Afghanistan?

If he did, please provide proof that he did. From what I have seen, he did not. He took no action. He was in office and had the opportunity to do it, and he said he would do it, and he did not do it.

Kind of like he said about the "wall" - everything was all talk yet he took no action. None of that is speculation, it's just fact.

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If I said "I will fix your car on Thursday" to a customer in the garage that I work at... and then get let go on Tuesday... Is the person going to be able to blame me if it's not fixed by Friday.

Seriously.... What's next? Blaming Trump for Ida?