Richard Engel: ‘I’m Not Surprised At All’ Kabul Fell To The Taliban So Quickly

The collapse of Afghanistan’s government happened very quickly from an outside point of view, but for those like NBC’s Richard Engel who has been speaking to Afghan military leaders and government officials, “it was quite clear that it was going to come to this.”» Subscribe to MSNBC:

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#Taliban #Kabul #Afghanistan

Richard Engel: ‘I’m Not Surprised At All’ Kabul Fell To The Taliban So Quickly

91 comments

  1. Richard Engel has been the man with boots on the ground, his instincts were very good. Too bad more people don’t have the power of the media behind them so they get the word out!

    1. Biden and his incredibly stupid administration have blood on their hands. Impotent Congress and Senate are the laughing stock of the world. Shame on every one of them.

    2. @Christine Wright But of course not Trump, DeSantis, Abbot and the list of GOP lunatics who are aiming to destroy us from within by exploiting a deadly pandemic as a weapon of mass destruction.

  2. Did anyone really think the Taliban were actually going to honor a peace deal with us whether it was with donald Trump or Joe biden

    1. @BlaQ Bay17 Easier to blame Trump and any other person that doesn’t blindly accept liberal doctrine. Joe Biden goes on vacation as the southern border collapses and the Taliban roll through Afghanistan. That’s fact.

    2. @One Wheel Appeal
      They’re being pulled out under a treaty negotiated with the Taliban only (the Afghan government wasn’t even invited). Trump even bragged about it demanding the Nobel Peace Prize for ‘ending’ the war. Biden’s option was to honor the treaty or ignore it. Ignoring it would’ve further worsened our reputation (after 4 years of blowing off treaty agreements). Heck, that treaty basically allowed the Taliban to do whatever they wanted but shoot at American troops. We couldn’t even defend others, nor take any offensive actions (even to secure areas for evacuation). What other ‘options’ would you have had?

    3. @tishwitch this, all President Biden did was to move the date. President Trump should have made a deal in his first year. President Obama has allegedly said that you shouldn’t under estimate President Biden’s ability to screw things up.

    4. Once you leave you have no control, if you want control you wouldn’t have left,
      That place is what it is.

  3. Shameful how this country has let all those interpreters succumb to what will likely be their torture and deaths at the hands of the Taliban

    1. And the women judjes the Taliban will murder along with their families. NO plans in place for them were made.

    1. @Kenneth Bugbee They hadn’t been paid in months, they were sent out on missions without food water or weapons. The Taliban paid them to lay down their arms, they had no allegiance to the Afghan government it was inept and, corrupt.

    2. @glibsonoran
      I seriously doubt they were sent on missions without provisions and weapons . Are you trying to get a position with CNN or MSNBC ?

    1. Really is it not idiocy to talk of visas when the enemy is at the gate? Four years no visa and u want to talk of visas now? Just get the people out and process them later ! Its a huge betrayal. The country has lost all credibility here. You ally with US at your own peril. What a shame to abandon these folks like this

    2. THERE IS NO SAFE HAVEN FOR THESE PEOPLE! ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN AND GIRLS!! AND YES, I AM SCREAMING!!

    3. When 🇺🇸America was telling people,we are leaving,I would have packed it up and split with my family. Why on earth did they not leave.

  4. I’ve that R Engel was always open and honest on his reporting … now only if politicians would be so honest.

    1. @Greg Jeffcoat Say something stupid again, Joe Biden ANTIFA terrorist and democrat racial hatred klan member

  5. Just get all these translators etc to Guam, and process them there. No one is going to execute them in Guam!

    1. Good idea… except, what happens if and when some of them don’t pass muster? Drown them? Air drop them back to Afghanistan?

    1. And all those lovely American weapons now belong to the Taliban. It’s a replay of Viet Nam. The US is the worst superpower ever.

    2. @B Crater point being the US should never have been there to start with… perhaps they should have done what the did back in WWII… keep stalling getting into the war till one of their own states was attacked… that is the 1 and only reason the US joined the war…and they didn’t win the war the HELPED win the war after all the other allied countries were pretty much worn out… US should take care of their own back yard before doing something in other countries period… all of that wasted money the last 20 years could have made the US a much better country period…but nooo got to be the big bully on the world stage!!!! Sometimes it’s better to keep you nose out of other peoples business!!!

  6. You think we’d learn our lesson but we make the same mistakes over and over again. It’s a waste of horrible amounts of US money, lives, and spirit.

    1. @Mean Gene and now we’re getting out of there for our own reasons. Military contractors be damned.
      And I guess, by your logic, Afghanistan was happy under taliban rule since it didn’t ask us for help…..
      That’s plausible. Big error on whomever sent troops over there in the first place, right?

    2. @Pardone thought so. Only someone who’s been on the inside would know this for sure
      I salute you. 👋🏽
      I’ve never been, so I wondered why you’d say it with conviction.

    3. @Pardone You do understand that Truman dropped two nukes on Japan to end WW2? So are you saying that is what should have happened to end Al Qaeda in Afghanistan?So you are advocating to first fire bomb the capital city burning it to the ground, nuke ‘em twice with a third one promised if they go not surrender-that is how Truman ended World War Two.

  7. When the Taliban puts out videos of them slaughtering translators families we wont have allies ever again.

    1. They were never allies. They were pawns. The US has been arming Muslim extremism for decades. Don’t take my word for it. Look up Operation Cyclone.

    2. And maybe we shouldn’t. There is a deep repeat of history here that’s as deep as the blood that’s been lost of every individual’s life throughout the globe for one’s not honoring their words in the end.

    3. Funny (actually not funny at all) how everyone blames (will blame) the US for what the Taliban are doing (going to do). We may have made bad decisions but we are not the ones who will be killing families of translators or any others who worked with us. That would be the Taliban.

    4. That ship sailed years ago. Turns out killing people with drones and installing puppet leaders in their countries and calling it Democracy doesn’t win hearts and minds after all.

    5. this is Afghan soldiers fault they are cowards who surrender to the Taliban. some were even Taliban bunch of cowards.

  8. This was inevitable you can’t fight for the Afghanistan people unless they fight for it themselves, I thought this lesson was learned in Vietnam,

    1. @jfoiwelakf qwhknskj This person gets it. Those in the nation that are seeking a western styled social institution are in significant minority.

    2. @ken g What was the same about the two situations was that the governments that were put in place in Vietnam and Afghanistan were both inept and corrupt. When push came to shove no one was wiling to fight for them.

    3. Afghan government people were smart they took the trillions of dollars from the US government and they took advantage of that and now they want the us out

    4. Not surprised at all. The Russian (Soviet Union) army invaded Poland, Hungary, Tsjechoslovakia, etc. and kept them in a communist dictatorship. But when the Russians in 1979 invaded Afghanistan, they had a rough time and finally 10 years later – 1989- they were thrown out by the Mujahadeen. And it’s interesting, USA was in a cold war with the Soviet Union, stakes were high. The world was threatened by nuclear weapons, army corps, divisions, tanks, infantry etc. But Afghanistan was Russia’s Vietnam. Sad part? No superpower can change that country. Both Communist and capitalist system could change the way they think.

  9. Dude was not for the spin lol. “I don’t know why people are feigning surprise” bro they’re playing politics

  10. I like Richard Engel’s reporting of the middle east. I’ve been watching him for years and he is straightforward and honest when he reports.

  11. This was not handled well.
    I’m not disappointed that we’re getting out. I’m also not disappointed that we’re no longer propping up what was apparently a failed government. My heart goes out to the people of Afghanistan.

    1. Yes. I don’t understand why other countries won’t take these people.

      The West always talks about Population Decline. 🤔

      These refugees are people without a safe home. Who can contribute.

      Everybody wins.

  12. Maybe our government should hire independent reporters, who seem to know more and have more insight into developing siuations than our “intelligence” community!

  13. “The Americans wear the watches, but we have the time”
    Local Saying.

    The United Nations said NO….
    but the USA illegally invaded Afghanistan and Iraq anyway.

    This is on you, USA.

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