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The Iranian revolution was not initially a super unified movement. The Shah was unpopular with lots of people - from the ultra conservative to the very left wing. But not everyone envisioned the revolution playing out the way it did and there were a series of brutal purges to stifle opposition to the clerics who took power. But it’s not as simple as “the people rejected a western way of life.” The Shah was unpopular for a reason, ironically for a lot of the same reasons the IRI is unpopular, he was a dictator (and one imposed on a country that used to have a secular democracy by world powers) - the IRI is just more brutal in keeping people in line. Maybe because they don’t care what the west thinks. The two real similarities I see in Afghanistan with Iran and the revolution is: the western backed government was unpopular and untrustworthy. And: a lot of people are still scared shitless of what the future holds, because they’ve seen this film before. But like the IRI, the Taliban don’t give a shit what the west thinks. The government was rampant with corruption & western backed warlords did things like call US air strikes on people they had personal grievances with. I understand why normal Afghans wouldn’t like them. But I don’t understand the quick surrender to the Taliban, tbh. It was a brutal reign before, I suspect it will still be brutal the second time around. Regardless of how many claims they have “reformed.”

There's a thread on Twitter somewhere of a British Ambassador staying put in the airport, helping approve and stamp interpreters' passports and other staff to enable them to return back legitimately. Fair play to him - could have easily just helped himself back and left people stranded but it's a heroic thing to do when everyone is fleeing in an instant and you choose to stay and help.

Wait till they find out he's got asthma.

So guys, I made a list of books and podcasts (I love to make lists of books I want to read ) that help understand american intervention in Middle East. Some books: Overal History of Middle East 1) "Islam: A Short History", Karen Armstrong 2) "A Line in the Sand: The Anglo-French Struggle for the Middle East, 1914–1948", James Barr 3) "Lords of the Desert: The Battle Between the United States and Great Britain for Supremacy in the Modern Middle East", James Barr 4) "A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East", David Fromkin 5) "All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror", Stephen Kinzer 6) "Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East", Gerges Fawaz Iraq 1) "Imperial Life in The Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone"; 2) "The Man Who Pushed America to War: The Extraordinary Life, Adventures and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi", Aram Roston 3) "Saddam: King of Terror", Con Coughlin 4) "Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation-Building and a History Denied", Toby Dodge 5) "Red Zone: Five Bloody Years in Baghdad", Oliver Poole 6) "The Fall of Baghdad", Jon Lee Anderson 7) "The Iran-Iraq War", P. Razoux Afghanistan 1) "Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History", Thomas J. Barfield 2) "Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban", Stephen Tanner 3) "The American War in Afghanistan: A History", Carter Malkasian 4) "The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan", Gregory Feifer 5) "Long Goodbye: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan", Artemy Kalinovsky Podcasts "Blowback" - Season 1 "Conflicted" - Series of Episodes: Prophet´s Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split "The Fault Line: Bush, Blair and Iraq" (Podcast) "Conflicted" - Episode: Ghosts in the Mountain - The Soviet-Afghan War

I think the brutal reality of Taliban rule in Afghanistan is that for the vast majority of Afghans who live in rural areas, Taliban rule makes little difference to them. In fact, once the Taliban take over they maybe even find that crime and corruption become a bit better. As we can see, the real fear is in metropolitan areas, where people make more use of their secular freedoms. Those people have a lot to lose, but ultimately they are a fraction of the population. If life under the Taliban really was a waking nightmare for most people, then they wouldn’t be able to take over so easily.

I watched that... not bad as it goes

Blood red sky I'm basically working my way through Netflix movies a the moment. This was pretty fun to be fair, plane gets hijacked, one of the passengers is a vampire who is trying to repress her hunger for blood for the sake of her human child. As you'd imagine all hell breaks loose on the plane and it turns into a blood bath. 6/10

Brilliant post. I'd add these two: "No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War through Afghan Eyes" by Amand Gopal "Games Without Rules: The Often Interrupted History of Afghanistan" by Tamim Ansary

They both were, imo.

@El Profesor Reports are Ghani left with helicopters full of cash lol It's not just they were corrupt but in political sway they were no bodies before US backed them. Look at the other presidential candidate Abdullah he's still there & will possible be part of future government but US never backed him but choose Ghani who immediately left.

Lmao. The socialist government lasted about ten times as long as his regime did without foreign support - and against much more expensively equipped Mujahideen, as opposed to the rag-tag remnants of the Taliban that his state has capitulated to. Which one was the real puppet state?

This is better than it looks… homemade Rogan Me.

I've found a thread on Twitter regarding the Afghanistan Papers. It gives some well needed perspective on how the regime backed by the US collapsed so quickly. The level of corruption and incompetence is hard to believe.

Tbh it’s the least the ambassador should be doing. The US and UK are most culpable for the massive refugee crisis this will cause… and they’ll both probably be taking in the fewest refugees. The people that worked with the US and UK are most likely to get targeted for retaliation by the Taliban. Just leaving them to fend for themselves sends a bad message for the next time we do anything like this.

@Tommy

@Khan of TF365 A loss for you but this was an entertaining match nonetheless. Thought at one point Pakistan had it in the bag earlier today.

Look up the Iranian Revolution, as it may shock you. I have read reports of how Afghans are welcoming the Taliban in some areas, as it aligns more with their 'Anti-Western, more conservative viewpoint'. Similar to Iran, which was prospering and open, until the 70's in which a VERY POPULAR revolution took place which brought Iran back to the ultra conservative lifestyle. Not saying they are the same, but I am saying that the way of life is vastly different there and not everyone agrees with a progressive government.

Interesting thread from an expert on the reasons of the fall of afghan government. Seems very similar to what happened to South Vietnam.

As you get older, you realise your time is more precious. The people in your life that don't add any value to that time will quickly disappear. It's natural and normal.

Chicken Dinner for 2.

Footage of people falling off the aircraft mid flight. Awful, awful scenes.

Denmark given a GP for this season. https://sailgp.com/races/denmark-sail-grand-prix-event-page/

I feel like this photo will go down in history