One thing that I found interesting yesterday (and makes sense, at least most of the time) is that we don't know how many Americans are in pretty much any country at any time, as we don't require alerting an embassy/consulate on arrival. That'll undoubtedly lead to situations where Americans are trapped in X country.
Really good points you bring up. It's a good reminder for Americans to register with the US embassy when going to countries that have barely stable governments and/or have a history of unrest. Some countries that look peaceful, stable, and relatively free at the moment, can turn on a dime and become a totalitarian dictatorship pretty quickly. I'm going to remind myself to do register on my next international trip. It's a good habit to have.
From what I heard from many who have been to Afghanistan, is that outside of Kabul, Kandahar, and a few other of the major Afghan cities, is that cyberinfrastructure is very limited. And if there are Americans living in the more remote parts of Afghanistan, would explain why our government is having a tough time reaching them via social media and e-mail. The rugged, inhospitable terrain in many parts of the country only add to the difficultly. The neighboring countries of Pakistan, Iran, and the Central Asian countries formerly Soviet Republics(Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, etc) are anywhere as inhospitable terrain and infrastructurewise as Afghanistan. With that in mind, I think it would've been better had the Biden administration focused on getting American civilians and Afghan refugees out first before any kind of military withdrawal. Hopefully the "endless wars" crowd among the Dems and GOP learn a good lesson from this debacle, which will likely have major consequences years down the road.
One thing that I found interesting yesterday (and makes sense, at least most of the time) is that we don't know how many Americans are in pretty much any country at any time, as we don't require alerting an embassy/consulate on arrival. That'll undoubtedly lead to situations where Americans are trapped in X country.
Of all the countries where I'd want to register and let someone know I was around, Afghanistan would be near the top of my list.
No kidding: still, it's just important to keep that in mind.
Same. I've heard that a lot of the remnant are dual citizens. They may fit in with the Taliban a lot better than we assume.
Really good points you bring up. It's a good reminder for Americans to register with the US embassy when going to countries that have barely stable governments and/or have a history of unrest. Some countries that look peaceful, stable, and relatively free at the moment, can turn on a dime and become a totalitarian dictatorship pretty quickly. I'm going to remind myself to do register on my next international trip. It's a good habit to have.
https://step.state.gov/step/
From what I heard from many who have been to Afghanistan, is that outside of Kabul, Kandahar, and a few other of the major Afghan cities, is that cyberinfrastructure is very limited. And if there are Americans living in the more remote parts of Afghanistan, would explain why our government is having a tough time reaching them via social media and e-mail. The rugged, inhospitable terrain in many parts of the country only add to the difficultly. The neighboring countries of Pakistan, Iran, and the Central Asian countries formerly Soviet Republics(Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, etc) are anywhere as inhospitable terrain and infrastructurewise as Afghanistan. With that in mind, I think it would've been better had the Biden administration focused on getting American civilians and Afghan refugees out first before any kind of military withdrawal. Hopefully the "endless wars" crowd among the Dems and GOP learn a good lesson from this debacle, which will likely have major consequences years down the road.
*nowhere, not anywhere as inhospitable.
Such is my MS Word spell/grammar check dependent grammar skills.