See the Sky Ripped Open

 

The claim that the Taliban executed a man via helicopter hanging - promoted by Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, and numerous others on the right - has been thoroughly debunked. Here's the most thorough fact check so far, from @zoo_bear: https://t.co/fVQrGrDGrq

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 31, 2021

I don't really have anything especially insightful to add to the whole

OMG the Taliban are using helicopters to kill folks

thing except that bad faith permeates a lot of the daggone discourse, and that debunking things like how much useful materiel was handed to the Taliban (it isn't actually a lot and most of it was rendered useless beforehand) probably isn't going to help with people who think that letting people know 19 times that they have to get out of Afghanistan while the getting is good doesn't really seem like a lot when really?

Biden says they reached out to Americans in Afghanistan 19 times since March to try to get them out... that seems like not a lot given the circumstances.

— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) August 31, 2021

Seriously. I don't know how you address that. Or how you address the whole "people are being left behind thing" when we don't have transporter beams like Star Trek, so it takes time and we are still going to get people out (the ones who actually want to go!). 

Or the whole "How can you trust the Taliban?" question when, per the deal from February 2020, they actually didn't attack our military contingent upon our leaving. They are sticking to the deal, if in a Taliban  kind of way. President Biden ran down many of the facts during his speech, and some bad faith MF's just said, whatevs and stayed nattering on about optics. No, we don't love them like soul siblings. Also too, sometimes you can deal with people because you do have leverage and they are just happy to get rid of you. 

 But the helicopter thing just makes me laugh in an ugly way because what? Were they momentarily jealous?

UPDATE: Jesus Flipping Christmas:

Donald Trump Jr. has changed his Twitter banner to a Biden-mocking image featuring a man appearing to be hanged from a helicopter, though, again, the helicopter execution story was imaginary. pic.twitter.com/zcEzg5VI1b

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 1, 2021

Don Jr. also has pushed the lie that service dogs were left behind, and of course the hell not.