The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices • Hacker News Board

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#21

Post by asimpletune » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:24 PM UTC

AllSeason wrote: post #17

We should never have left valuable material behind. How often has our own money and technology been used against us? We need to learn out lesson and do better. If we planned on leaving we had time to get that type of technology out of there first or destroyed the equipment beyond the point of repair.

I don't think "hate the West" is even the right way to put it. They're much more concerned with the islamic world, and turning "bad" (secular) muslims into "good" (shariah) muslims. It's not like they love the west either, but they fully expect non-muslims nations to be evil and don't care nearly as much.

The west is more of a useful propaganda tool to achieve the real goal of establishing the islamic caliphate (like from ottoman days).

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#22

Post by trynumber9 » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:27 PM UTC

howaboutnope wrote: post #19

> Frightening people man. Bush tried to buy votes towards the end of the election. Goes around, you know, selling weapons to everyone, getting that military industrial complex vote happening for him. Sold 160 fighter jets to Korea and then 240 tanks to Kuwait and then goes around making speeches why he should be Commander-in-Chief because, “We still live in a dangerous world.” > Thanks to you, you fucker! What are yo…

I suppose it is a joke but Kuwait had tanks before that. 200 Yugoslavian M84s.

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#23

Post by rualca » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:28 PM UTC

PartiallyTyped wrote: post #9

h2odragon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure people said Cuba would run out of cars in the 60s. They might be able to use all that gear per the manual and best practices, but they'll make use of it however they can. Humans do that. I hope history will look back at that and see it as a "plowshares" dump, where native ingenuity took tons of scrap iron and reformed into the infrastructure of a better society. I figure it's about as likely as being canrall…

There is a stark difference between old cars and modern tech, especially when we take into consideration repairability and right to repair being pressing issues.

Could you please explain why you believe "right to repair" is relevant in this case?

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#24

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:28 PM UTC

bigmattystyles wrote: post #15

Why do we leave so much behind? Is it impractical to remove economically or there’s no money that be made from it? I understand large parts of it was given to the Afghan army but it’s jarring to see. With regards to anything other than a weapon, we should be able to brick everything with a firmware update in the future.

[deleted]

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#25

Post by throwawayswede » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:31 PM UTC

asimpletune wrote: post #21

AllSeason wrote: post #17

We should never have left valuable material behind. How often has our own money and technology been used against us? We need to learn out lesson and do better. If we planned on leaving we had time to get that type of technology out of there first or destroyed the equipment beyond the point of repair.

I don't think "hate the West" is even the right way to put it. They're much more concerned with the islamic world, and turning "bad" (secular) muslims into "good" (shariah) muslims. It's not like they love the west either, but they fully expect non-muslims nations to be evil and don't care nearly as much. The west is more of a useful propaganda tool to achieve the real goal of establishing the islamic caliphate (like…

That's a pretty naive and reductive way to describe the situation. The relationship between early al qaeda days and various US agencies who armed and trained them is very well established.

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#26

Post by thanksforfish » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:34 PM UTC

rualca wrote: post #23

PartiallyTyped wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a stark difference between old cars and modern tech, especially when we take into consideration repairability and right to repair being pressing issues.

Could you please explain why you believe "right to repair" is relevant in this case?

Presumably, if the customer doesn't have the right to repair then the manufacturer would be able to make parts that are exceptionally difficult to repair without specialized knowledge and tools. Or worse, enforce cryptographic locks on any software/firmware to prevent unauthorized changes.

I think right to repair is about ensuring that the customer can make reasonable repairs to the product, and the manufacturer not infringing on their rights when designing the product.

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#27

Post by mindslight » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:34 PM UTC

geofft wrote: post #12

defaulty wrote: post #2

What's worse is the billions in armored vehicles and weapons that can be used against those who resist them. If anything, the Taliban are now in a stronger military position than in 2001.

I saw this recently: "We lost the war. Losing wars often puts you in a worse position. That's one reason starting wars you are unlikely to win is a bad idea." https://twitter.com/nberlat/status/1426941800468652039 That should be obvious to everyone, but in 2001 it was unpatriotic and politically incorrect to ask whether the US was capable of winning the war.

I'd go further and say that in 2001 "the war" wasn't even that well defined. It seemed to be more about the action of attacking rather than any coherent vision. Iraq was at least up for debate, whereas Afghanistan was like well of course we need to attack them "back" how could you think otherwise?

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#28

Post by op00to » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:35 PM UTC

bigmattystyles wrote: post #15

Why do we leave so much behind? Is it impractical to remove economically or there’s no money that be made from it? I understand large parts of it was given to the Afghan army but it’s jarring to see. With regards to anything other than a weapon, we should be able to brick everything with a firmware update in the future.

It wasn’t needed. The equipment is useless outside of theater. No one wants it. It’s a clear as day example of why the war was a waste of money from the start.

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#29

Post by baybal2 » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:36 PM UTC

You can get rid of ID papers with a lighter, getting rid of biometrics will require poking out your eyeballs.

A very dire predicament. Being identified, and killed, or having to live the rest of your life without sight.

Re: The Taliban Have Seized U.S. Military Biometrics Devices

#30

Post by op00to » Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 3:37 PM UTC

AllSeason wrote: post #17

We should never have left valuable material behind. How often has our own money and technology been used against us? We need to learn out lesson and do better. If we planned on leaving we had time to get that type of technology out of there first or destroyed the equipment beyond the point of repair.

How do you get the stuff to a place where you can get it out of country? Once it’s there, how can you get enough planes to get it out? Is the equipment even worth it now that we are not fighting a forever war here?