Govt. Cannot Guarantee ‘Safe Passage’ for Americans to Afghanistan Airport
Even if you’re in Kabul the flights are first-come, first-serve.
President Joe Biden and his administration cannot take care of Americans in Afghanistan.
“THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CANNOT ENSURE SAFE PASSAGE TO THE HAMID KARZAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,” the U.S. Embassy Kabul screamed in its security alert.
Basically, if you are not in Kabul you are screwed. You must deal with the Taliban by yourself.
Well, even if you’re in Kabul:
Please be advised that a significant number of individuals have registered and space on these flights is available on a first come, first serve basis. You may be required to wait at the airport for a significant amount of time until space is available.
The security situation in Kabul continues to change quickly, including at the airport.
The government even told people to not travel to the airport until they give them departure options.
What are you supposed to do?
I thought about using a GIF, but this is just way too serious. It's a tragedy and forever a stain on Biden and all those in his administration.
In the days and weeks to come, we'll find out the names, faces, and families of those who might not be able to make it home. https://t.co/UmutSjOxwp
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 18, 2021
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
just call uber or lyft
And have the driver take a quick left down a dead end alley? Uh, no.
.
Joe Biden’s State Dept. Halted A Trump-Era ‘Crisis Response’ Plan Aimed At Avoiding Benghazi-Style Evacuations Just MONTHS Before Taliban Takeover.
Call the fbi and tell them you know where the Jan 6th conspirators are.
Yesterday, the first question from Taliban to Al Jazeera female reporter asking about women’s rights. Zabiullah Mujahid says women have rights as long as they follow sharia law. Today, the Taliban are punishing the journalist that worked with foreign media in Jalalabad.
https://twitter.com/HizbkKhan/status/1427796181426573320?s=20
Many thanks to Joey and the Biden Administration: The Dark ages have returned to Afghanistan.
Not just Afghanistan. There are a few other dominoes in that area and elsewhere. The repercussions are already being felt in Taiwan.
BREAKING NEWS: If you guy any two of Hunter Biden’s refrigerator art pieces (@ 500k) you get preference on boarding from US military retreat flights from Afghaistan.
Actually, there should be an investigation to see if the Biden Crime Syndicate has been retained by the Taliban.
All of America is now a hostage.
Message above was not intended to be a Reply to JD.
Sick people in the regime all blaming each other. I notice there isn’t a line to RESIGN.
Possibly thousands of American contractors and others who trusted government, are going to be left to die.
If that happens, sooner or later we should be making Taliban sorry, toast them in large numbers.
You’ll have to wait until President Trump’s second term. Not gonna get it with SloJo purportedly in charge.
So this is what the Taliban is likely doing. There is a large mountain north of the airport within easy mortar range of the entire runway, apron, and facilities. It also provides prime firing positions for anti-tank missiles and RPGs. I would be dumbfounded if the Taliban is not taking up positions on these ridges and siting in weapons. At the same time, they need to be establishing fighting positions in the city around the airport, and readying to turn off the water and electricity to the airport. Lastly, they should be collecting US citizens and holding them hostage. Telling them they can go to the airport is a good way to get them to emerge from hiding and identify themselves.
Then they can besiege the airport, destroy the aircraft there, and cut off the flow of aircraft and supplies. The US would be reduced to supplying the airport via airdrops. Reinforcements would need to paradrop in under fire. Casualties could not be evacuated.
The US would respond with heavy aerial bombardment of the hill to the north, but the Taliban would also bombard the airport from the neighborhoods to the south, east, and west of the airport in Kabul. The prospect of inflicting heavy civilian casualties in these areas would deter heavy bombardment of these neighborhoods as the Taliban would force the population to stay in place. In addition, they could hold the US hostages in these areas to further dissuade us strikes against Taliban mortar and firing positions.
The long-range strike missions would need to fly over Pakistan, and hopefully they would allow it. The only other route in is over Iran, and that is not going to be allowed. So no loitering and picking off targets via air-ground controllers, but a lot of impressive sorties by B-52’s and B-1B’s.
The US would likely use Rangers to take another airport like Bagram to pour in troops and materiel. It would take a little while to take and secure the airport and build up the necessary ground power and expeditionary tactical air support elements. The Taliban could make this hard in a number of ways.
Then the ground element would surge to Kabul and fight its way to the airport. The fate of the US citizens held by the Taliban would be decided at this juncture.
A very positive aspect is that the fighting season does not have much time left in it. And it will be difficult for the Taliban to keep its fighters in the field when they all want to go home and enjoy the spoils of their campaign. So we could suddenly be back in control of Kabul and responsible for its safety and administration. Then we need to decide – stay and search for the hostages, or pay ransom and leave.
What a mess.
Are you replacing general “smilley”?
No, I am actually General “Buck” Turgidson.
How about Gen Mackenzie Hawkins?
Where is General Curtis LeMay when you need him?
They’re already dying. The Taliban held a massive public execution of 4 Afghan army officers. Other contractors have been publicly hung and one had his DoD ID burned into his chest.
The Taliban are already going around making lists of US ‘collaborators’ and are openly telling people that they’ll be dealt with soon enough.
All this because of the fucking RINO cowards pretending that this incompetent buffoon ‘won’ with the most votes in history.
I sympathize. This is a totally fubar situation. The US govt needs to step up and ensure every US Citizen has the ability to get to a flight in the most secure manner possible.
However, every US civilian in Afghanistan is present by choice. The overwhelming majority of them have been in country for some time. They don’t seem to have developed any sort of broad situational awareness of Afghanistan or the thin veneer of modernity and basic order or security. Where were the ‘old hands’, the bitter world weary, cynical folks? Were all of them silent or did they beat feet early?
Personally as soon as the US pulled out of Bagram Air Base I would have been on a flight out. That was over six weeks ago. The writing was clearly on the wall, especially given the manner in which that pull out was conducted.
I am not in any way blaming the folks trapped by our government’s ineptitude. I am curious about the numbers. Supposedly up to 40K American Citizens spread across Afghanistan.
That’s a lot of people who got taken by surprise. Many of whom are just the sorts of cynical people who we would not expect to get caught up in a fubar situation like this.
There is also probably a large contingent of folks working for NGOs out in the hinterlands who (i) cannot easily get to Kabul and (ii) may be naive to think that because they are there to help the people of Afghanistan, the Taliban won’t hurt them.
The government was telling them they had plenty of time. They believed their government. This is a lesson everyone should heed.
BSR,
Yeah ok. I haven’t seen many doe eyed idealists in the third world nations. Do gooders sure, but the folks I recall were pretty damn cynical despite that.
Step one in every third world nation is personal security. Keep your SAT phone on hand and paid up. Keep it charged with extra batteries and a way to charge them. An extra antenna wouldn’t hurt either.
Develop your own HUMINT. Chat up the guy in the local shop, your favorite driver, the kid who brings coffee. Over pay and tip well. You ain’t trying to get nuke codes just a heads up before the x hits the fan.
Keep cash on hand. Gold coins are popular. A small bag with some MRE and water ECT. For the willing and able black market weapons and NVG are available for a price.
Plan the route to evacuate. Then plan five more, especially in a city. This is pretty standard advice for NGO types much less govt employees or heaven forbid contract security.
I just find it hard to reconcile my experiences with the cynical, skeptical hard cases I recall and what is occurring. Third world nations are not for the feint of heart or over trusting idealists who would trust the government. Apparently a lot has changed since I hung up my boots.
As a guy with extensive, though admittedly dated, experience in numerous third world countries, including living in one for a few years, and serving in them on extended deployments, and working with various people from various countries and governmental and non-governmental organizations, to include countries in, shall we say, social turmoil, getting out of a bad suddenly developing situation is not so easy. When transit routes are long and dangerous, it may make sense to hold out if you are in a relatively speaking secure position.
Most US government personnel in fact do not have a great deal of knowledge about the country or culture they live it. They tend to remain self cloistered, even refraining from hanging out with people of similar backgrounds from other western nations. Most have only a very rudimentary knowledge of the local language and customs. Because Americans have been targeted, there is a great premium of safety which reinforces this seclusion.
A relatively few learn how to navigate around the country and actually know anything about it. Also, most Americans will not tolerate the standard of living in a Third World setting, and keep to the prosperous quarters, so even it they do get out and about, it is again a very limited experience.
Again, there are a relative few that learn how to navigate around a country. These will also tend to have trusted local friends. The rest are sheep. Just like everywhere else.
BSR,
I hear you but damn. I don’t expect land navigation skills just a basic awareness of the surroundings, situational awareness and basic instincts. The first thing is to figure out a go to hell plan for getting out.
How the Heck can they not know how to get to the airport in Kabal, not to Kabal. Not that it matters now, but on Tuesday of last week before it became basically impossible?
More importantly why didn’t they go then? That’s the smart play go first and go fast. Who did they think was going to save them post withdrawal? Not arguing with you really just can’t believe anyone would be that naive and helpless.
In all fairness, they weren’t expecting Uncle Sam to leave “to buy cigarettes” and then never come back.
Most are there because of the extra pay. That’s all they know. Something about this current generation; they place total and complete trust in a recognized authority. Me? I’m a survivor. I never trusted a sole. Not once. Not ever – except for a select few who I knew would die for me and vice versa – who I knew would risk everything to bring my dead body back. And that was a very small group. No need for toes to keep that count.
You may ask, “BSR, when did you get so paranoid?” Well, only when I realized they were plotting against me. Paranoia and good genes are the secret to a long life.
BSR,
We have likely walked some of the same ground. I will concede all your points for the run of the mill 3rd world Nation. Afghanistan though? I have a hard time with this one. It ain’t Costa Rica after all.
The facts seem to support your view of naive, trusting, sheep waiting for ‘someone’ to save them. Maybe my military career made me cynical because I could see first hand how insane our orders and mission sets were?
CommoChief:
Unless you are over 70 it’s unlikely we crossed paths. And of course I did a lot of REMF time as time meandered on. So you as a younger guy should have been forward in the fun while I turned the 8,000 mile long screw driver..
BSR,
Absolutely, same places or at least same sorts of places but wide differences in time.
Are saying you were the REMF behind the curtain that put me in some very precarious and unhealthy positions? If so that’s ok, it’s what I signed up for. ‘You shouldn’t join if you can’t take the joke’ is my motto.
“Maybe my military career made me cynical because I could see first hand how insane our orders and mission sets were?:”
Maybe I was the guy giving you the insane orders and missions sets. I certainly did so to someone.
“Absolutely, same places or at least same sorts of places but wide differences in time”
Most of the places I went to tended to me rather moist with large insects, with one notable exception. On the whole, the people were lovely, but occasionally you would run into one that was rather grumpy. It was the grumpy ones that made life interesting.
No SE Asian jungles for me. Balkans, SW Asian Sandbox(s) and Africa. Agreed about the people. As long as you don’t unnecessarily PO people they will usually stay nominally neutral. The grumpy ones well that’s why were there.
Don’t sweat any mission sets. Like I said don’t join if you can’t take a joke. Especially those of us who volunteered to volunteer to volunteer so to speak.
That reminds me that I served in Berlin about a quarter Century after the Airlift. In the event of war with the Soviets, My unit was to be there first to evacuate, before women and children. Official reason:
– We knew too much to be captured.
Unofficial reasons we figured out because we were “intelligence”:
– They needed to know if it was safe to evacuate the women and children,
– They wanted to make sure we didn’t get captured.
One of SloJoe’s biggest blunders was to give up Bagram in the first place. You NEVER abandon a Port of Embarkation/Debarkation until you’re absolutely sure you won’t need it for the retrograde, particularly one like Bagram, two runways, no civilian traffic, outside built-up areas, and already had miltary defense points. ALWAYS protect your Line of Communications.
What in the world possessed him and his military advisors to do so? He is bound to be famous as a horrible example at C&GS for at least a century.
That’s one of the key questions in the series of bad decisions that cascaded to today’s fubar situation. I certainly can’t say why, I doubt that the DoD and WH Nat Sec team can either.
“Govt. Can’t Guarantee Safe Passage…”
Well, they can’t now! But there would’ve been a lot better prospects of it happening it if they had kept security forces in place until after evacuations were completed. Now it’s anybody’s guess what will happen.
I’d say that they WON’T guarantee it.
They can.
There are thousands of Americans over there scattered all over accross the country, a country the size of Texas We don’t even know where they are now. Many have left home and are on the road travelling to the airport. Or are hurt or injured. Or holing up somewhere. Or hiding out. Or have been captured. It’s a worst case scenario.
Or dead
The airport sits in a bowl. That makes it especially vulnerable to mortar fire much less actual artillery and rockets. That’s a huge perimeter to secure and keep up a rest plan and QRF for internal security.
Could they sortie out to collect US Civilians? Maybe. What’s to say the guy on the phone asking to be rescued isn’t setting up an ambush? Now you have a at least a platoon if not a reinforced platoon element outside the wire under fire; Blackhawk Down scenario. More potential problems.
What it the opposition contests your convoy exiting? Bring them under fire? Now you provoked an Alamo situation. They rain down mortars and artillery on the runways. Planes destroyed, runway cratered and degraded.
There’s no easy answers here because of the mishandled withdrawal. Unfortunately saying we shouldn’t be in this situation isn’t going to do any good. The facts on the ground suck. Not many true options at this point.
I can’t imagine the frustration of our guys on the ground. They would love to be unleashed and able to conduct convoy missions to bring in US Civilians. I suspect that their hands have been tied and in many respects that’s not a horrible decision at this moment.
We need additional troops and enough vehicles to sustain any missions to bring our Citizens in. We have to decide when we are willing to risk the entire mission by forcibly moving out despite armed opposition or leave folks in Afghanistan.
Even if we could bring in enough guys and equipment to surge out and take control of Kabul, the American citizens will be long gone – collected as hostages and removed long before that force package is put together and assembled on the ground. We really are dependent upon the good graces of the Taliban – Thanks Joe!
PS: The smart play is to just let the Americans leave. The bold play is to not let that happen but play along to give you time to set up your attack. Revolutionaries tend to be bold. It will take a lot of restraint on the part of the Taliban not try and kill off as many Americans as they can. I hope they have restraint. But our options are rather poor. Again, our civilians have been abandoned by clueless Joe and his clueless SECDEF and CJCS live or die by the good graces of the Taliban. The SECDEF and the CJCS admitted as much today in a press conference.
They have also placed 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers in a very precarious position. Kabul is a long way away from anything. It’s beyond the edge of the Earth where there be monsters all ’round.
BSR,
Yep. Two broad choices for the US. Stay at the airport or sortie. IMO, the sortie option will ultimately end in disaster. It sucks and we could have made a much more orderly withdrawal in phases. We didn’t so now we have thousands of US Citizens outside the wire.
We might be able to expand the perimeter in a bubble towards the likely route. Then work some voodoo with the opposition to clear the route. That’s a huge long shot but probably the only option.
If we provoke mortars, artillery and rocket fire onto the runways then the situation becomes even worse.
Isn’t is Evacuation 101 that civilians are gotten out before the military? Since traitors no longer get the Mussolini treatment, perhaps modern communications will keep images coming until the November 2022 elections?
“Isn’t is Evacuation 101 that civilians are gotten out before the military? ”
You obviously do not understand the genius that is Joe Biden, SECDEF Austin, and CJCS Miley.
With Obama’s premature evacuation, we got Iraq War 2.0 (the transcontinental (world) war, and CAIR (catastrophic anthropogenic immigration reform). I wonder how Biden’s bad behavior will progress. The handmade tales are being spun to mitigate or preclude repercussions a la Cuomo et al and planned parent/hood then #HimToo (a lesser offense), Clinton and Benghazi, etc.
What is it about democrats and leaving people to die in Muslim countries?
Meanwhile back in the US…Biden administration planning to use Taliban tactics to beat down citizens to get complete Sharia…oops I mean Covid compliance
This progression recalls 0106 when Americans were invited inside, only to have the rug pulled from underfoot in an insurrection against the People.
Well, Americans, and Afghanis, too. Inclusive.
Oh they absolutely CAN do it.
Under President* Biden and his crew of woke incompetents, they just WON’T do it.
Ok. Can you lay out your operational plan for what that looks like? Just in Kabal, not the whole country. Just the broad strokes but taking into account the considerable limitations and constraints which exist.
I don’t see any way in hell to get every US Citizen in Kabal to the airport much less the whole country. I’m certainly willing to be convinced if you’re willing to show me how.
If the British do…
Again tell me the plan.
It’s pretty straightforward. You send out heavily armed troops in fast light vehicles with air cover. The moment they get attacked you overwhelm the attackers from the air while the light vehicles get out.
It’s a proven tactic. Hell, even without air cover it worked in Aden and in Northern Ireland.
Want to see it in action? Send some of those allegedly elite US troops at the airport out with the British troops currently doing it, in Kabul.
These sort of quick raids are possible in some instances, particularly when you control most of the ground and need only to dart into and out of a hostile area. The trick is to keep moving – never stop. In that way, the enemy cannot organize against you. If you get shot at, just keep moving.
But this does not always work or is not always possible. For example, if the exit points at the airport are heavily covered by Taliban, you are not getting out or back in unless they allow it as they are already organized in a prepared fighting position and will blow you to kingdom come upon emergence and, if you somehow survive, then again when you return.
Second, in a city, like Kabul, you can run into traffic jams, etc., and get bogged down and unable to move your vehicles. Then you are on foot trying to move with civilians who may be small children, not in the best of shape, and terrified. Then you have to infiltrate back onto the base after evading Taliban for Lord knows how many miles of traverse. Tricky for even trained and experienced Soldiers.
And, if you have thousands of stranded people needing rescue, how many of these runs are you going to make before the guys who control the city and the airport egress portals say no? They can just lay barricades and mines in front of the egress points. Can you sortie out teams to clear these, sure, but that will be an exciting time, no doubt. The result is you have to eventually creep out of the airport and hold ground, but each push is met by more barricades and mines, and fighting positions, and the process starts all over, by which time all the westerners are rounded up.
And air cover? From where? If the Taliban wants to stop aircraft of any sort from leaving the airport, it is easily done. Tactical air does not have the legs to fly in from outside the country. They would need to deploy and stage in some place like Kyrgyzstan along with tankers, etc. That will take a while if not already in place. Just all the diplomatic agreements required will take a while.
If I were a US citizen bogged down in Kabul, I would be learning how to blend. Hopefully I would have sufficient genetic camouflage to make it credible. I would try and make my way to as close to the airport as possible unobtrusively. But as soon as I had to say something, cover is blown, and then I produce a passport and hope the Taliban really is sincere about letting Americans leave. In any event, I’m not waiting to be rescued by Joe Biden.
IF the Brits are running vehicles in Kabul to pick up civilians and to bring them back to the airport, it is only by the grace and permission of the Taliban. And if I were the Taliban, I would let the Brits go because I want the Americans isolated in Kabul tactically, operationally, and diplomatically.
By the way, Northern Ireland was and is owned and administered by the UK, so I hope they could operate forces there. Popping into a an IRA stronghold neighborhood for a dash and grab is WAY different than trying to sortie out of an airport into a hostile city and beyond.
I do not think you have produced a viable CONOPS to rescue more than one or two small groups of people in Kabul.
AAD,
Agree with BSR. There is a short term tactical situation and a short term diplomatic/state craft dynamic at play.
If every US Citizen in Kabal was in one location say 1.5 miles from the airport we might be able to do it. Infiltrate Tier 1 or Tier 2 units into the city and onto the objective. Drones on over watch. Then push out, fast with enough folks to secure the objective and leaving enough folks along the way to secure the route. All backed by Apache and maybe fighter aircraft from somewhere.
At this point you have maybe a reinforced BN at the objective and another BN strung out securing the route. A QRF of 2 companies staged. Another BN to provide escort to the convoy. Everyone else on perimeter defense and internal QRF.
We are out of troops at this point. So the opposition knows where we are, do they engage? If so at what point? We have divided our forces into penny packets inviting defeat in detail because they can’t really support each others position.
What if the leadership says cool go get your folks but some rival underling decided it wasn’t cool and interposed a blocking force? Now we have more folks stranded outside the wire. Let’s say the leadership decides to go with this situation and if US forces engage then the leadership decides to shell the airport. Now what?
The reality is that we are on bad end of the correlation of forces. We don’t have aircraft that can remain on station. What we have is approx 6K troops stuck at an airport in a hostile city in a very hostile part of the world. We are also reaping two decades of swinging our dicks around. Not a lot of people actually like the USA.
If I were the opposition CDR I would continue to allow the US to look impotent. I would purposefully allow other nations to retrieve their folks. Heck I would help gather and stage them to make it easy. All to embarrass the USA.
The situation sucks. The facts on the ground are not in our favor. Wishing it was different doesn’t help. We shouldn’t have allowed the conditions to develop this way. It was very much avoidable. Unfortunately, we didn’t and we are stuck in a very bad situation with practically zero options.
Normally, 6,000 to 7,000 US Soldiers can go anywhere they want IF they are adequately supplied. They could move from the airport into the city, and the Taliban could not stop them, but it’s just a change of venue. Perhaps it would be better than staying on the open ground of the airport surrounded on all sides with a big mountain overlooking you, but the supply issue is just as bad. And unless they are going to walk out of Afghanistan, especially with several thousand civilians in tow, they will need a lot of vehicles which have to be brought in and the supply problem balloons. MTOE expands exponentially.
They already likely need 12 or so C-17 flights (or equivalent) in per day just to sustain the current force. If the shooting starts, these aircraft could not safely land anymore, and supply will need to be via airdrop, so I hope they are stacking up pallets and parachutes somewhere..
No matter what, you hold the airport, but the commander would need to decide to either extend into the city or up that mountain. I do not think he can do both without combined arms support and just light infantry. Being on the high ground overlooking the airport is the most advantageous place, and that’s where I would go because I am not leaving by airplane if that mountain is not secured, nor do I have a chance of being supplied with heavy combat vehicles and transport vehicles nor reinforced by guys who do not jump out of airplanes.
Hopefully, the Tier 3 guys are not already on the airport in Kabul, because they will be needed to open up another airfield if SHTF. I have heard nothing indicating these units may be on alert, however, which is worrisome.
No matter what, the US citizens still in Afghanistan and not inside the airport perimeter are not leaving if the Taliban does not want them to leave. Getting the 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers out is a big enough problem. This could become epic lore of American combat arms.
With luck, this will drag out peacefully through the end of the fighting season and most of the Taliban fighters will dissolve from the scene and go home for the winter and reduce the danger of the situation. With further luck, the Taliban just wants to consolidate power before this happens and really does just want the westerners and their armies out.
One hot head could change history. But that’s why you join – to be part of something like that (If you join for college money you potentially made the wrong choice in life). If the Taliban wants to start something, they will likely need to kick off the effort fairly soon to keep their fighters from going home.
The administration is likely offering the Taliban big bucks, pallets of cash, to just let the American civilians flow into the airport. This feckless administration will certainly take a course of action to further humiliate their country.
BSR,
Agreed. These guys are light infantry + A couple Marine BN. They have some Apache, drones, mortars, probably some artillery that’s ‘organic’ to this Task Force. It seems like it’s a lot and it is but it’s still motorized light infantry at best with severely limited air support.
Maybe the inbound flights are bringing in more assets. I sure hope so. Still the airport is a lot of perimeter to defend and a rest cycle and an internal QRF. That ties down a whole bunch of troops who are unavailable for anything else.
Priority one is hold the airport. If it goes then nobody comes home. These are all really good kids and I know they are frustrated as hell. The limitations on their capabilities and constraints from higher are inhibiting their ability.
This will definitely be studied. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into TF Smith. As you point out one jackleg can turn this into a bigger mess.
The truth is we ain’t even close to being able to dictate what happens. That’s a bitter pill for lots of folks commenting. You and I don’t like it either but at least we can detach emotion and deal with what is in front of us.
The opposition is calling the tune. We are reacting. We ceded the initiative. Ultimately I think the opposition is likely to string this out for humiliation/propaganda value. The folks in Kabal will mostly be allowed to go.
Second act is those who are too scared to go to the airport even when the opposition actually allows it in practice. Act 3 and maybe Act 4 is those scattered around Afghanistan. Each act will have it’s own price and we pay it.
“…and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”
“Govt. Cannot Guarantee ‘Safe Passage’ for Americans to Afghanistan Airport”
Millions for domestic oppression, not one cent for citizen security.
Don’t worry, we can easily replace those Americans lost in Afghanistan with plenty of future citizens coming across the border. What complicates the situation is that Harris would be no better than Biden and would appear to cost the Dems control of the Senate.
America is now a hostage.
The government could if they weren’t so busy spying on and attacking Tucker Carlson.
Ok tell us how. I don’t see any way in hell to get every US Citizen in Kabal to the airport. Maybe there’s been some super cool new tactical developments since I was medically retired six years ago.
I’m not trying to beat you up but you seem to be ascribing some sort of capabilities and options to the DoD that don’t exist. I am certainly willing to be convinced if you can lay out the plan. Hope isn’t a plan.
Meanwhile, British paratroopers are busing their folks to the airport. And anyone they can pick along the way.
Better call Boris.
as a practical matter, the ” evacuation ” is over–unlike benghazi(or even tehran), the americans/dependents aren’t gathered in one location(which would at least give you the option of a point defense/extraction sortie–high-risk but at least possible)
just don’t believe we have the horses/equipment available to interdict and prevail
believe americans on the ground there are worth more alive than dead as they would provide a means of leverage/extortion by the taliban to use against us–unlikely the taliban will condone widespread slaughter of innocent americans(non-contractors)as would likely be the one thing that would provoke an all-out response(even from dementia joe)from us–taliban are in control of the situation and want to stay that way