Thread by @FreedomFriesInc

Y'all blaming President Biden for the way Afghanistan is today but really you need to review what President Trump did there, like capitulating to Taliban demands to free Baladar in 2018, after 8yrs in custody.

An unmitigated fool. Blood on his hands.
nytimes.com/2018/10/25/wor…

Trump has blood on his hands in so many different ways. Along with his henchmen, some of whom are more competent than him and need to be stopped before they succeed at picking up his mantle.

I agreed with many aspects of his foreign policy. But not on Afghanistan.

I literally chose my Twitter handle @FreedomFriesInc to reflect my belief in the #CollectiveSecurity doctrine of institutions like #NATO, #ASEAN, (& the late #ANZUS, killed by NZ in 1986.)

In 2003 France let us down. So we jokingly renamed french fries. It was an early "meme".

United we stand, divided we fall. It's an enduring truth.

Blaming the US alone for failure in Afghanistan is just totally dishonest. Around 40 countries were involved on "our" side. Including the UK and Australia, who sent large contingents there. Even NZ lost 10 soldiers:

And I just learned there are still around 47 New Zealanders in Afghanistan, and for once in our lives we're considering sending NZ Defence Force personnel to get them out.

We cannot thank Australia and the US enough for assisting in this.

stuff.co.nz/national/polit…

But back to the main topic. I supported the coalition interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq from the start. It then became fashionable to oppose the "war."

We're all anti-war, if we have a working moral compass. I am pro self defense. And I do not agree with giving up too soon.

The enemies of the USA know that if they can just wait long enough, there's a chance domestic politics will get a Congressional majority or a POTUS to withdraw, or thaw a freeze.

The Castro regime in Cuba got it's wish in 2015, breathing new life into it's authoritarian rule.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists" was once widely accepted and supported in the USA.

It needs to come back into fashion. Trump is no better than Obama or any other POTUS in living memory, in his record of coddling dictators.

Trump left Biden a mess in Afghanistan.

The Trump presidency started out with high hopes for Afghanistan.

Here is a Jan 2018 thread of mine, with which I still agree on some points, but certainly not others. It's a handy example of Trump's later actions speaking louder than his earlier words:

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/947962678235897856

My 2017 anti-Pakistan regime comments I gladly stand by in 2021.

Although any respect I had for the Modi regime in India has gone. I oppose all Covidiots that allow millions of their own people to die. Trump is not the only one, by a longshot.

IMO 2017 was the best year of the Trump presidency, followed by 2018. You can learn a lot by reading his body language during the press conference the day after the 2018 midterm elections.

The more he loses, the more visible his far right extremism becomes. And he loses a lot.

Having now admitted that Trump's encouragement, enabling & condoning of 1/6 alone makes him the worst POTUS in history, I need to review this almost 4 year old opinion on Obama.

Trump's change of mind on Afghanistan was a major issue in the MAGA mvt.

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/947966297505013762

As the record shows, Trump's 2016 campaign featured "bring home the troops" as a major promise. In 2017 I thought eventually he would keep it. Like many other promises, he didn't.

And now he's trying to attack the man who inherited the Trump foreign & domestic policy messes.

Also relevant is the 2017 Politico feature story on #OperationCassandra, which surprised me in it's opposition to Obama's actions and omissions concerning Hezbollah and Latin America.

Story: politico.com/interactives/2…

My old tweet:

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/947968657086226432

"... but attack we will."

Maybe if the Trump admin had kept this promise, Afghanistan today would not be in the hands of Mullah Baradar, who in 2018 Trump agreed to free after 8 years in custody.

Baradar: nytimes.com/2018/10/25/wor…

My old tweet:

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/947969846800564225

Yes, Trump said he wanted the US to have good relations with these countries.

In his #SouthAsiaStrategy he appeared to send Pakistan (and China) the message that he was a firm friend of their arch enemy, India.

Not smart diplomacy, as it turns out.

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/947971867482173447

Now that I am reading this 2017 speech with the benefit of hindsight, you can see the tough talk against terrorists that has rightly been turned back onto Trump and his henchmen, as their own roles in domestic terrorism are thoroughly investigated.

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/947972390893469696

This part of the speech is quite galling, given recent events.

At the time, Paul Ryan kept a firm thumb on Trump to dial down the crazy. Smart policy. But then he left to build a future POTUS run. Ironically, that contributed to losing the GOP.

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/947976876315656193

Kinda easy to see why I was always going to jump ship when the Qanonsense peddlers took over. What with all my reading of primary source documents and DIY fact checking. Sigh.

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/947978942580867077

More irony for me as I read my years-old beliefs: This one came true, in a way I didn't fully predict.

When Trump encouraged & enabled 1/6, he meant what he said. He hopes his "1776" minded followers will show up for more domestic terrorist attacks.

https://twitter.com/FreedomFriesInc/status/947979472237600768

The above was another of my stream of consciousness threads. As always, IDC if only one person reads it.

I'm willing to admit I was wrong about Trump. Anyone who wants to know more about that and asks in good faith, will get a response.

#CountryOverParty🇺🇸🍟