User:Elyas01/sandbox

August 15th, 2021
Failure comes in many shapes and forms, some are small and inconvenient, others ruin a whole country in a span of 15 days. In my page, I am focusing on the events that led to the August 15th takeover of Kabul by a group of terrorists. From a failed state run by a “democratic” government to tyrants who call themselves the savior of the people. Over $2.3 Trillions later, countless civilians and 2,000 U.S soldiers dead, Afghanistan finds it’s self in worse shape than it had been before 2001. It starts from Hamid Karzai, who came into power as the head of state from July of 2002, the year and month I was born, not a fun coincidence. From 2007 to 2014, right until the end of his term as the head of state, 14,449 terrorist attacks were made in Afghanistan. His successor wasn’t much of a help either, from 2014 to 2020, he amassed 8,994 terrorist attacks. This made me think, these numbers are reported, how many more went unreported, it’s impossible to point to a specific number during this period of times but, the sign of a failed state were present from the beginning. For many, war is business, no life too precious over profits.

War on Terror

 * After the attacks on 911, President Bush along side his staff, most notably Paul Wolfowitz were discussing the appropriate actions after the attacks, which eventually led to the U.S invasion of Iraq.
 * U.S and NATO invasion of Afghanistan is launched
 * Hamid Karzai is brought as the president of newly formed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in a transitional period.
 * An ongoing war and a corrupt government, led Taliban attacks to increase in the region.


 * A game of cat and mouse is being played for 20 years, since no one is having a clear and decisive victory.

Evacuation of U.S Army ( in order )

 * Biden announces U.S withdrawal from Afghanistan.
 * Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah is set to meet President Biden in the White House in a surprise visit.
 * Afghan Troops (ANA) is losing ground to Taliban, most due to forced surrender by corrupted superiors.
 * Kabul Falls by morning of August 15th, 2021
 * Ashraf Ghani flees Kabul alongside his cabinet members.

Who won the war ?
20 years of U.S invasion, and Afghanistan is back to where it started. Innocent people died, soldiers died and many dreams were crushed to nothing, yet there are winners in this war. Winners who did everything to ensure profits over lives. here is a list.


 * Lockheed Martin
 * Supreme Foods
 * Blackwater
 * Congress Members, in form of buying defense stocks

Links to Claims
https://www.npr.org/2021/08/07/1025731011/as-the-taliban-gain-ground-in-afghanistan-the-u-s-remains-focused-on-diplomacy

https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures/2021/human-and-budgetary-costs-date-us-war-afghanistan-2001-2022

https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/warterror_2001.pdf

Links to Claims ( War on Terror )
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2573268/biden-announces-full-us-troop-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-by-sept-11/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/20/statement-by-white-house-spokesperson-jen-psaki-on-the-visit-of-president-ashraf-ghani-of-afghanistan-and-dr-abdullah-abdullah-chairman-of-the-high-council-for-national-reconciliation/

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/20/1029451594/the-afghan-army-collapsed-in-days-here-are-the-reasons-why

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/15/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-surrender.html

Links to Claims ( Who won the war ? )
Lockheed Martin 2000 Proxy Statement: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/936468/000095013300001044/0000950133-00-001044-d2.pdf

Lockheed Martin 2008 Proxy Statement: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/936468/000119312508043460/dpre14a.htm#toc41634_54 (See Page 43)

Supreme Foods: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-edpa/legacy/2014/12/08/supreme_information.pdf

Supreme Foods: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/defense-contractor-pleads-guilty-major-fraud-provision-supplies-us-troops-afghanistan

BlackWater: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-dark-truth-about-blackwater/ BlackWater was present in Afghanistan during the U.S Invasion of Afghanistan.

Congress Members: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/13/us/politics/congress-members-stock-trading-list.html

Congress Members: https://readsludge.com/2021/08/23/lawmakers-benefit-from-booming-defense-stocks/

A tool to check Financial Disclosures of Lawmakers: https://efdsearch.senate.gov/search/