Anchor Struck

I hope your Labour Day weekend went well. Jude and I had our friend Tim visit, walked the dogs, picked blueberries and ended it with beers on the “beach” of our creek when our unofficially adopted daughters Mo and Erin brought by a much-appreciated load of sawdust for our compost system.

It also marked the end of the tourist season on the island, which greatly reduces our chances of a major fire. When we trained for emergency preparedness many years ago, we learned that the most likely cause for concern would be from an untended campfire. September here also marks the return of some serious rainfall. We had a wetter and cooler August than usual, so Quadra is breathing much easier today.

It’s just a week until Trump and Harris debate, so Aging Orange is trying to spew major shit to warm us up. It’s his usual litany plus some Q-Anon insanity and fresh sexual insults. My favourite new thing is his claim that Harris lied about working at McDonald’s. It’s not true, of course, but it marks a new low in his pettiness.

Donny John, in his disastrous visit to Arlington National Cemetery, reminded us yet again about the tragic withdrawal from Afghanistan. There’s no question that it could have been planned better, but he conveniently glosses over a few facts leading up to the departure.

In February 2020, his administration negotiated a withdrawal agreement with the Taliban that excluded the Afghanistan government. It freed 5000 imprisoned Taliban and set a final withdrawal date by May 31, 2021. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani objected to the release. As the U.S. reduced its troop total from 13,000 to 2500, the Taliban kept fighting and welcomed Al-Qaeda into its fold.

Despite this, Trump assured the world that “we’re dealing very well with the Taliban . . . even they are tired of fighting.” Just before he left office, Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Salah told the BBC that Trump made too many concessions to the Taliban. Five months after he left office, Aging Orange boasted that Biden couldn’t stop the withdrawal process, and that the Afghan government would fall after the U.S. left.

On August 15, 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul and — in a scene tragically echoing the fall of Saigon –U.S. diplomats were evacuated by helicopter from the embassy. The bombing at Abbey Gate would soon follow.