Disaster in Afghanistan: can US troops get out? 115
The Taliban is approaching Kabul. Once there they can stop planes leaving from the airport. Is there time to airlift US troops out of the country before that happens? Possibly not.
The Western Journal reports:
As President Joe Biden moved toward his goal of withdrawing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of this month, he repeatedly promised to keep Americans safe. The latest development from Kabul now throws that promise in serious doubt.
Taliban forces are pushing ever closer to the capital city of Afghanistan. The situation has deteriorated so rapidly that the Kabul International Airport is now the only viable way out of the city.
For many Afghan citizens, flying is preferable to staying put ahead of the impending Taliban takeover. The AP reported that every flight on Afghan airlines Ariana and Kam Air is booked solid for at least a week.
Previously, there were plenty of road routes out of Kabul. But the Taliban is now within miles of the city.
It’s not just Afghan citizens who must rely on the airport as their only lifeline, but also American troops sent to evacuate staff from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
The Bagram Air Base once served as a hub for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. But that base was abandoned as Biden pushed for a full withdrawal from the country by Aug. 31.
Despite repeated warnings about the potential consequences of pulling troops out of Afghanistan, Biden insisted the Afghan government would be able to hold off the Taliban.
“The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely,” Biden said on July 8.
The “likelihood is unlikely”. Bidenspeak! Well, the likelihood is now likely to be likely.
The Taliban is well on its way to “overrunning everything” due to the Biden administration’s poor handling of the situation.
Biden himself tacitly admitted his mistake by sending 3,000 American troops back into Afghanistan this week.
Update: 5,000 troops.
It is entirely possible for the Taliban to sabotage movement into and out of the country.
If the insurgents are able to halt travel from the airport, they will have effectively trapped American forces in Afghanistan.
Biden’s handling of the conflict in Afghanistan has been disastrous from the start, and the consequences of his missteps are now becoming clear.
The report says that if American troops are stuck in Afghanistan, unable to be airlifted out, the Taliban “most likely would not kill those troops”.
Why is it “most likely” that they will not kill them?
Afghan army soldiers surrendered to the Taliban on the understanding that they will not be killed, and as soon as they were unarmed, the Taliban shot them dead – as even CNN reports.
The US soldiers would fight, of course.
Even so, this disaster is likely to get worse.
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Update: The Taliban have reached Kabul.
Debkafile reports:
A few minutes after entering the outskirts of Kabul on Sunday, Aug. 15, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheed said his forces await a “peaceful transfer of the city”.
Afghan president Ashraf Ghani is in emergency talks with US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad as US staff exit the embassy by helicopter.
The Taliban statement said they have “no plans to take the city by force” and no intention of “taking revenge” against those serving in the Afghan government or military.
And the Taliban are famous for keeping their word?
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What does stupid Joe Biden think his 5,000 soldiers can do other than get stranded in a barbarous land at the mercy of savages?