Afghani Love Affair
With Uncle Joe27 total reviews
Comment from Terry Broxson
At first read, I thought of this poem as "biting" satire. Which I think it is. Satire usually has an element of humor. And you have that here. But the great sadness is explained in your notes. The whole mess is a tragedy.
Creatively conceived and presented. Terry.
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2024
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At first read, I thought of this poem as "biting" satire. Which I think it is. Satire usually has an element of humor. And you have that here. But the great sadness is explained in your notes. The whole mess is a tragedy.
Creatively conceived and presented. Terry.
Comment Written 17-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2024
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Thanks very much Terry. You read that right. This is an important enough subject that it was in fact the subject of the
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By the way. I am working on a political satire of my own that will most likely be posted next week. It does include a reference to you.
I'm not sure if you will approve or disapprove, but I will operate under the premise that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Terry.
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Absolutely agree. I look forward to reading what you post, and will be honored to be mentioned in it.
Comment from tempeste
You definitely have a very colourful way to make your point.
America's retreat in August 2021 from Afghanistan was a total debacle and an embarrassment for the Biden administration.
The Talibans within a couple of months wipe out all the rights obtained by afghani women since 2002.
Female students from secondary school up were not allowed to attend lessons.
Women with a job were told to stay home.
By the end of the year 2021, there were 3 millions underfed Afghans, parents were forced to sell their underaged daughters to wealthy men so they could feed their other children.
Death due to (teenage) pregnancy skyrocketed
The Talibans released women /children sex offenders from jail.
Women in silence suffer sexual abused even at home.
Some courageous women who initially protested openly were beaten, some even killed.
What can I say Biden really did fu$k up afghani women 's lives, future.
reply by the author on 18-Feb-2024
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You definitely have a very colourful way to make your point.
America's retreat in August 2021 from Afghanistan was a total debacle and an embarrassment for the Biden administration.
The Talibans within a couple of months wipe out all the rights obtained by afghani women since 2002.
Female students from secondary school up were not allowed to attend lessons.
Women with a job were told to stay home.
By the end of the year 2021, there were 3 millions underfed Afghans, parents were forced to sell their underaged daughters to wealthy men so they could feed their other children.
Death due to (teenage) pregnancy skyrocketed
The Talibans released women /children sex offenders from jail.
Women in silence suffer sexual abused even at home.
Some courageous women who initially protested openly were beaten, some even killed.
What can I say Biden really did fu$k up afghani women 's lives, future.
Comment Written 17-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 18-Feb-2024
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Thank you Tenpeste for adding this very important detail and context to the withdrawal. I hope that others read what you wrote and realize just how dark the aftermath of the withdrawal became. It is all too easy to forget.
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
This is a collection of naughty Limericks cleverly penned with a story of Bestiality here involving the President! I enjoyed the humour as this President is full of betrayal and misguided decisions during his time in office and it is time for a change now, not sure this is a Valentine's poem, but it is a brave write, love Dolly x x x
reply by the author on 18-Feb-2024
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This is a collection of naughty Limericks cleverly penned with a story of Bestiality here involving the President! I enjoyed the humour as this President is full of betrayal and misguided decisions during his time in office and it is time for a change now, not sure this is a Valentine's poem, but it is a brave write, love Dolly x x x
Comment Written 17-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 18-Feb-2024
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More like a Valentine's Day horror story for sure. Thank you Dolly - yes I took a deep breath before submitting this one right at the deadline and it almost did not happen. Glad you enjoyed this vile limerick : )
Comment from nomi338
Betrayal by anyone is awful. Betrayal by someone you trust can be devastating. The worst part of the situation in the middle east is the misuse of religion fanaticism and the awful way it is used to mistreat women, largely for their sexual domination.
reply by the author on 17-Feb-2024
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Betrayal by anyone is awful. Betrayal by someone you trust can be devastating. The worst part of the situation in the middle east is the misuse of religion fanaticism and the awful way it is used to mistreat women, largely for their sexual domination.
Comment Written 17-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 17-Feb-2024
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Wisely and succinctly spoken, my friend. Thank you very much for reading and commenting.
Comment from kahpot
Well, I can certainly see the humor here, though can't say I agree with the content, especially in the Valentine's Day prompt, and being an Aussie, can't say to much about your President, good luck for your contest****kahpot
reply by the author on 17-Feb-2024
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Well, I can certainly see the humor here, though can't say I agree with the content, especially in the Valentine's Day prompt, and being an Aussie, can't say to much about your President, good luck for your contest****kahpot
Comment Written 16-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 17-Feb-2024
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This was closer to a Valentine's Day breakup or nightmare, for sure. Thanks for reading Kahpot and nice to hear from you again.
Best,
Comment from Gypsy Blue Rose
What a horrible obscene poem insulting our President in the worst way possible.
You have the right to express yourself but I think you could have done a better job. In my opinion, you technically have done an average job with your post. I would not recommend it.
Gypsy
"Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason" -- Novalis
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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What a horrible obscene poem insulting our President in the worst way possible.
You have the right to express yourself but I think you could have done a better job. In my opinion, you technically have done an average job with your post. I would not recommend it.
Gypsy
"Poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason" -- Novalis
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 16-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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Thanks Gypsy, and yes you are right! I had to depict something incredibly vile, in a way that readers would never forget, to show what we did to women's rights in Afghanistan when we left. Girls are no longer allowed to go to school, and when women are denied an education, it's the first step on the path to sex slavery. Thanks for reading.
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First of all, it was president Trump who made the decision to pull our troops from Afghanistan but Biden got left with the bag.
Second, I feel horrible about the way the taliban abuse women rights. The taliban are animals.
The way girls are mistreated in Afghanistan is not president Biden's fault, its the taliban's fault. Since September 1996, the Taliban had captured Kabul, killed the country's president, and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
THE PRESIDENT: did make the decision to pull American troops because we were there for 20 years and enough is enough. Ask any mother or spouse how they feel about it and i guarantee you they are happy.
the United States did what we went to do in Afghanistan: to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and to deliver justice to Osama Bin Laden, and to degrade the terrorist threat to keep Afghanistan from becoming a base from which attacks could be continued against the United States. We achieved those objectives. That?s why we went.
We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build. And it?s the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.
Together, with our NATO Allies and partners, we have trained and equipped nearly 300,000 current serving members of the military ? of the Afghan National Security Force, and many beyond that who are no longer serving. Add to that, hundreds of thousands more Afghan National Defense and Security Forces trained over the last two decades.
We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools ? let me emphasize: all the tools, training, and equipment of any modern military. We provided advanced weaponry. And we?re going to continue to provide funding and equipment. And we?ll ensure they have the capacity to maintain their air force.
Biden met with President Ghani and Chairman Abdullah, Afghan leaders have to come together and drive toward a future that the Afghan people want and they deserve.
U.S. support for the people of Afghanistan will endure. We will continue to provide civilian and humanitarian assistance, including speaking out for the rights of women and girls.
Since biden was inaugurated on January 20th, we?ve already approved 2,500 Special Immigrant Visas to come to the United States. Up to now, fewer than half have exercised their right to do that. Half have gotten on aircraft and com ? commercial flights and come, and the other half believe they want to stay ? at least thus far.
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You raise some fair points. Many of my libertarian friends would agree with you. All the presidents who preceded Biden, including Trump, bear different measures of responsibility. Biden chose to continue Trump's policies, while saying that the buck stopped with him; the way in which he choose to execute those policies is on him. My generation fought in Afghanistan, I had two brothers serve there, and they were glad to not have been there any longer. My mom didn't whine about it. She shipped them cakes in jars for their birthdays celebrated in the desert. The military at large was dismayed with how the withdrawal was executed at odds with security recommendations from top brass. This has been covered extensively by major publications across the political spectrum including CNN, the Atlantic, and the New Yorker.
Included in your reply is parts of Biden's speech from July 8th 2021, while things were in the middle of disintegrating. Yes we got some folks out. Key people who had saved Biden in the most literal sense were left there until the media reported on it, and then the Biden administration went into face saving mode, instead of a systemic solution, as politicians do. My brothers and I have continued to fund private evacuations from Afghanistan. In some cases they cannot go to the US and have to go to other countries like Brazil.
In the text of Biden's speech you wrote out, he says: "We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build. And it's the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country." Afghanis did not elect the Taliban. It's a
government run by bullies and child rapists. Talk in Afghanistan is cheap. The Taliban promised all sorts of nice things on women's rights and didn't deliver, to no one's surprise. That again, I think we agree on.
Here is where we differ on where Biden bears culpability, according to his own supporters.
The general argument I'll make for why we did not need to fully leave, or at least in the rushed way that we did, was one of leverage and magnitude. Nation building takes a long time. Afghanistan was never going to be a Japanese or German post-war economic miracle but it was getting better. We had invested this massive amount of hardware and infrastructure and experience that provided tremendous leverage for very little ongoing investment. The Afghan military at large was trash, corrupt and untrustworthy; special forces were the exception. And because of them, we weren't really fighting a war anymore in Afghanistan. For a tiny fraction of our military budget, I think around $25 billion a year (3% of our military budget, or about 0.1% of GDP) we were providing ongoing, nominal provision for the poor in improving conditions, and air support to Afghani commandos while they did all the grunt work while putting none of our soldiers at risk. It had been ages since we'd had troop deaths. Biden unilaterally pulled that air support, ignoring his military advisors, and they all got slaughtered. That was the beginning of the dominoes falling. Biden was overly optimistic on the state of the Afghani military and was caught by surprise due to this unforced error.
Obama, who was a smart man, frequently sidelined Biden in his administration after realizing that the man he had put on his ticket for his foreign policy experience was full of bluster and hyperbole, and a liability. This is as well documented and lampooned as the Bush 2 and Dan Quayle gaffes. I will absolutely give Biden credit for being able to deliver a convincing speech. He is one of the best in the business and he has worked hard at improving that part of himself. Yet he still, just like Trump, refuses any admission whatsoever for his culpability, even though he said the buck stops with him.
2500 evacuees is a pittance. We left tons of thousands behind to be rounded up and murdered, or worse. And for that, by his own words, Biden is responsible. He voted for the war and for funding it. He was there with Obama from the beginning of the nation building efforts. This was his baby, even if it was adopted. Doubling down is the name of the game in politics, and it's a form of moral and intellectual cowardice. Smart and moral people listen and adapt.
As mentioned, all of thisis extremely well documented by reputable media sources across the political spectrum. The ones I just listed don't even include any that are considered "conservative"; they are centrist or liberal. I am going from memory and you can check everything I said. You can reach all these sources for free by visiting the links from proxy websites. Unfortunately the public has a short memory, so instead of going out after work on Valentine's Day night, I felt compelled to write this. If there is one thing that annoys me most about American policy, it's starting crap and not finishing it right, and then insisting we did the best we could, when everyone knows it is a lie.
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I understand your point and we can agree to disagree. The Taliban are evil people and responsible of crimes against women and children. I'm not a religious person but I belive in a loving God and the evil women and men that walk among us.... even in our country.
I admit Biden is not perfect but he has achieved a lot for the American people and he is a decent man. I voted for Biden and I pray he will win the presidency. I would be open to considering another Democrat but we don't have any strong candidates.
The alternative is a criminal con man dictator wannabee... he is a dangerous man, bigot, racist, and utterly ignorant. He praises putin and the like. I could go on and on about why we must stop Trump.
I'm from Spain. Growing up we had a dictator Francisco Franco who was a Trump type. Since very young I dreamed of moving to the United States and becoming a citizen. I'm proud of being an American and treasure our freedom and our constitution.
Thank you for your service.
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I'm glad you take your citizenship seriously enough to take on this debate, and at least we understand better where each other are coming from. I did not serve in the military but my brothers did. Have heard of Franko, and he was a bad dude. I will let my past writing speak for itself on Trump except to add: Only one leader can fix it! Vote Harambe 2024: the leader our country needs, not the one it deserves.
Kind regards,
Harambe (for President)
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You don't have my vote.
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You are glad i take my citizenship seriously enough to take on this debate with you?
I've been a citizen since I was 16 years old and I have a bachelor's degree, don't be condescending to me.
I don't want to hear from you again.
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No disrespect was intended, Gypsy. The opposite in fact.
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Now that said, if you plan on coming around to my page again dropping reviews against the site's policies just because it doesn't suit your politics, we're going to have a problem. I provided double warnings on my writing piece, but you wanted the $1.20 for reviewing it, right?
[Update: after reading this message, the reviewer has since updated her original review to try to make it legal with Fanstory policies, adding that in her opinion the writing is technically average. This is deceptive. She still lists no technical reasons for providing 3 stars. This constitutes deliberate harassment. I am taking screenshots in case she updates her review again.]
Comment from Debbie D'Arcy
Well, you're definitely out to wake up the readership here with your stacked limerick! It's an excellent satire on Biden's betrayal of US commitments to Afghanistan and, frankly, it had to be strong and crude to make the point. The withdrawal was a disgrace but Trump had already triggered expectations so I would like to see him similarly hung out to dry. Maybe next time? You've got to get rid of both of them if you're going to be standing for election! Well done and good luck! Debbie
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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Well, you're definitely out to wake up the readership here with your stacked limerick! It's an excellent satire on Biden's betrayal of US commitments to Afghanistan and, frankly, it had to be strong and crude to make the point. The withdrawal was a disgrace but Trump had already triggered expectations so I would like to see him similarly hung out to dry. Maybe next time? You've got to get rid of both of them if you're going to be standing for election! Well done and good luck! Debbie
Comment Written 16-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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Debbie, thanks for a thoughtful and astute analysis of this piece. Yep I believe in being politically even-handed and there will definitely be further shots fired in that direction. Here are a couple of previous pieces of that persuasion that might interest you, and I recently finished drafting a song on the NH Primary as well though probably will wait until the next primary to publish it.
Thanks again,
Comment from tfawcus
In some countries, Afghanistan included I suspect, seditious writing of this kind would be enough to get one shot! How lucky we are to have the privilege of free speech and the ability to lampoon our leaders
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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In some countries, Afghanistan included I suspect, seditious writing of this kind would be enough to get one shot! How lucky we are to have the privilege of free speech and the ability to lampoon our leaders
Comment Written 16-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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Sedition is a strong word for political satire, though there are certainly countries where it is treated as such, and Harambe the Gorilla did in fact take a bullet. Yes free speech is privilege indeed, and holds elected officials accountable for their actions. Afghanistan had those freedoms too prior to mid-2021. Thank you for reading!
Comment from Ulla
Yes, the poem is quite tasteless. I totally agree with you. But I also agree that what Biden did to Afghanistan was disgusting. Everyone was let down, and I was not only dismayed but in shock. However, I would never vote for the alternative your facing. God Preserve us all. Ulla:)))
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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Yes, the poem is quite tasteless. I totally agree with you. But I also agree that what Biden did to Afghanistan was disgusting. Everyone was let down, and I was not only dismayed but in shock. However, I would never vote for the alternative your facing. God Preserve us all. Ulla:)))
Comment Written 16-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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Thanks Ulla! Nor would I. That's why you should write in Harambe on the ballot this November : )
Comment from Karen Cherry Threadgill
This is hysterical and deftly done. I don't watch news much anymore. It seems to be the same stuff over and over. It never ends. Nor will it with men in charge. They simply think differently than women.
Karen
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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This is hysterical and deftly done. I don't watch news much anymore. It seems to be the same stuff over and over. It never ends. Nor will it with men in charge. They simply think differently than women.
Karen
Comment Written 16-Feb-2024
reply by the author on 16-Feb-2024
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Thanks Karen! You could always write for Nikki Haley. Or you could write in Harambe, who although being male, is not a man. The leader we don't deserve, but the leader we need.