The mockery is a bit heavy-handed, but that’s what you’d expect from the Taliban. They haven’t done anything since entering Kabul with a light touch, and this troll is no exception.
The Daily Mail reported Saturday on a collection of images released on social media by the Taliban’s “elite” Badri 313 Battalion. (H/t: Breitbart) One of the images is a side-by-side now going viral, depicting the Badri 313 raising the Taliban’s caliphate flag in poses similar to those in the iconic World War II flag-raising by the U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima, captured by AP journalist Joe Rosenthal.
Taliban fighters release photo mocking iconic photo of US Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima during World War II. pic.twitter.com/TfGqdZurF0
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) August 21, 2021
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
The white flag with the shahada, being planted across Afghanistan by the Taliban, is the flag of completed conquest: of civil “caliphate” rule. Called “al-Liwa,” it is distinct from the black battle flag, or “ar-Rayya.”
As Breitbart notes, the Taliban are attired in utilities and other battle gear left by the U.S. and NATO allies. Breitbart cites a Fox News report:
The Badri 313 special unit differs from typical Taliban fighters as they are made to look more like U.S. soldiers, with camouflage, combat boots, and body armor. They also carry M4 carbines and drive armored Humvees, the Sinclair Broadcasting Group reported.
Earlier, LU published a Daily Caller News Foundation article with highlights from the long list of modern combat equipment the U.S. left at bases in Afghanistan, which the Taliban now have access to. The weapon systems include 40 aircraft, some of them UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
The Taliban may or may not eventually attempt to fly the helos themselves; if they do, perhaps Americans can return the trolling favor with memes depicting the Taliban as kamikazes.
The Taliban indulged in quite a paroxysm of social media mockery, grabbing a quizzical selfie with fighters in spiffy camouflage utilities holding up ice cream cones in honor of President Biden’s well-known predilection for the frozen treat.
#Taliban eat ice-cream #Kabul #Afghanistan . pic.twitter.com/du5g9QRZIx
— Abdulhaq Omeri (@AbdulhaqOmeri) August 17, 2021
One Twitter user promptly weighed in with a popular reply.
Can someone please photoshop Biden eating ice cream with them and send it to me!
— Dxy2Btc (@JuanSeverini27) August 17, 2021
Another obliged him with a photoshop using an image that’s fast becoming a social media icon.
— Liz Gallo (@GallitoGallo) August 18, 2021
Bryan Preston offered this melancholy reminder at PJ Media: “Joe Biden pitched himself—and his party and the media and Never Trumpers pitched him as well—as the adult who would restore America’s prestige and standing in the world.”
Or, as Michael Doran of the Hudson Institute puts it:
The things I love most about the Biden era include the return to normalcy, the soaring national confidence, and, above all, the competence of our leadership. Friends, America is back!
— Mike (@Doranimated) August 21, 2021
