New Taliban same as the old Taliban

(My new American Thinker post)

The Taliban is back and everyone desperately trying to get out knows it.  I understand that a woman threw her baby over the fence into the hands of a U.S. soldier.  Yes, that mother knows what's coming and she wants her baby out of there.   

The Taliban is back and the national women's soccer team is getting the message, as we see in this report:  

The former captain of the Afghan women's soccer team has urged players to delete social media, erase public identities and burn their kits for safety's sake now that the country is again under Taliban rule. 

Copenhagen-based Khalida Popal told Reuters in a video interview on Wednesday that the militants had killed, raped and stoned women in the past and female footballers were scared of what the future might hold. 

The co-founder of the Afghan women's football league said she had always used her voice to encourage young women "to stand strong, to be bold, to be visible" but now she had a different message. 

"Today I'm calling them and telling them, take down their names, remove their identities, take down their photos for their safety. Even I'm telling them to burn down or get rid of your national team uniform," she said. 

"And that is painful for me, for someone as an activist who stood up and did everything possible to achieve and earn that identity as a women's national team player. 

"To earn that badge on the chest, to have the right to play and represent our country, how much we were proud." 

During their 1996-2001 rule, guided by Islamic law, the Taliban stopped women from working. Girls were not allowed to go to school and women had to wear burqas to go out, and then only when accompanied by a male relative. 

They're back and it won't be pretty for women.   Calling Megan Rapinoe!  I hope that Megan remembers that the next time she takes a knee.  Megan is rather lucky to live here.

Over the last 20 years, we've argued about Afghanistan.  Like most, I supported the initial attack and rationalized our later presence along the lines of fighting terrorism.  In the end, I came to the conclusion that leaving a small force would keep us in a country that borders Iran, Pakistan, India, and China.  Last, but not least, our presence there did not turn the country into a democracy but some women got to go to school and play soccer.

Afghanistan will return to the past and the women will feel it more than anyone.

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Afghanistan mother and baby plus more stories

Afghanistan mother and baby plus more stories 08/20 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Afghanistan mother and baby...What happens when the Congress looks into the Afghanistan story...FBI has an interesting fact about January 6th....1940 Leon Trotsky and Mexico........and other stories.......click to listen:

Friday’s video: A mother knows that the Taliban is back:

Friday’s video: 

A mother knows that the Taliban is back 

Click to watch:

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Will the Durham Report get here soon?

(My new American Thinker post) 

Back in 1975, fans waited several days for Game 6 of the World Series.  It rained a lot in Boston and both teams, and millions of fans, weren't sure if baseball would ever be played in the legendary Fenway Park.  Well, Game 6 came and  considered the greatest post-season game ever, i.e. the Fisk 12th inning home run for those who forgot.

Let's hope that John Durham, the federal prosecutor, gives us the political equivalent of that midnight home run that kept millions up from coast to coast.   Like millions, I drank a lot of coffee the next morning to stay awake.

According to news reports, Mr. Durham has been busy:     

John Durham, the federal prosecutor tapped to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation, has been presenting evidence before a grand jury as part of his probe, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.    The development is a potential sign that Durham may be mulling additional criminal charges beyond the one he brought last year against a former FBI lawyer who admitted altering an email about a Trump campaign aide who'd been under FBI surveillance. Durham is also expected to complete a report at some point.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Friday that Durham was presenting evidence to a grand jury and contemplating possible charges against some FBI employees and others outside government. 

A person familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to discuss it by name and spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed Durham's use of the grand jury to The Associated Press.Over the last two years, I've given  Durham the benefit of the doubt.  My patience was emboldened when former AG William Barr appointed Durham as a special counsel, thus making it easier for him to work under the Biden administration.

So let's give John Durham a chance.  I think that he's got something.  It may not be Game 6 but it might be a home run.   

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Afghanistan and what happens next plus Biden vs governors & more

Afghanistan and what happens next plus Biden vs governors & more 08/19 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Afghanistan and what happens next? Biden vs governors over mandates.....Bay of Pigs and Afghanistan.....The Durham Report finally coming.....and other stories.........click to listen:

Thursday’s video: Biden at war with governors rather than talking about...

Thursday’s video: 

Biden at war with governors rather than talking about Afghanistan 

Click to watch:

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A bit of the Bay of Pigs in Kabul

(My new American Thinker post.)  

Like most Cuban Americans, I grew up hearing stories about the Bay of Pigs from April 1961.   Back then, a president made a bad call, left a bunch of men on the beach and the U.S. suffered a humiliating defeat.  My fellow Cuban American Victor Andres Triay wrote a great book about the whole thing.

Of course, Afghanistan may well be more deadly than the Bay of Pigs.   No one cares anymore about the Bay of Pigs unless you are Cuban or a historian researching the Kennedy presidency.   By the way, Soviet leader Khrushchev remembered the incident when he met with President Kennedy in Vienna.  In many ways, that little episode on a Cuban beach set the table for Berlin, Laos, Vietnam, The Missile Crisis and the turbulent 1960s in Latin America.   It always happens when the U.S. is weak!

I was also reminded of The Bay of Pigs because of comments in the news, specially the one that Afghans did not fight.  Cubans fought back and so did Afghans now, as General Jack Keane reminded us:   

“Since the Afghans have been fighting the ground war in Afghanistan since 2014, and we’ve been providing air support and intelligence and in other words enablers for them to do that, they have suffered over 50,000 casualties. And in every one of those seven years they have pushed back successfully on the Taliban offensive that’s occurred every year, at a cost of themselves,” he continued. “What happened this year is the United States said to the Afghan Security Forces and to their government that we are no longer willing to support your efforts. We are pulling away from you.”

The reason for the colossal and now-deadly failure, he argues, is the sudden absence of U.S. support, particularly air support.

Keane offered, “The Afghans have fought in the past. They are not a strong military by any means and anybody who’s been in Afghanistan knows that. But with us enablers what we were able to achieve was a stalemate.”

Afghans did not fight?   There are 50,000 men dead that prove otherwise.  President Biden should apologize for saying that.

At The Bay of Pigs, a couple of U.S. fighter jets would have done the trick.  In Afghanistan, a residual force of 2,500 men would have sent the right message.  

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Afghanistan story won't go away plus 2020 and the media plus more

Afghanistan story won't go away plus 2020 and the media plus more 08/18 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Afghanistan story won't go away......2020 and the media....VP Harris off to Vietnam?............and other stories.........click to listen:

Happy # 81 Matt Snell.

Happy birthday Matt Snell:  30 carries, 121 yards, and a TD to upset Colts in Super Bowl III.  

It was Namath to Snell most of that day!  

Snell was born in Georgia on this day in 1941.  He played with Ohio State before joining the AFL.  He also played in 2 of the most famous games of the 1960's:  "The Heidi game" and Super Bowl III.

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Wednesday's video: The real fraud of 2020:

Wednesday's video: 

The real fraud of 2020 

Click to watch:

P.S.  You can to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, click send, and drop a dime here.