Quote (bogie160 @ Aug 21 2021 10:23am)
An alternative might have been to keep sufficient forces in place to control the Bagram airfield, set a strict date for evacuation, and ensure that troops leave last. Instead we had troops leave and come back, desperate would-be refugees falling to their deaths from the wheels of our planes, and tens of thousands trapped in the country with nowhere to go.
And the point of controlling Bagram airfield is what? It's an hour/hour-and-a-half drive away from Kabul.
The administration warned Americans to leave the country. What does a strict date for evacuation look like? We can't force people to leave the country.
Aren't basically all the American troops in the country at Kabul airport? The failure to secure the airport was a mistake... perhaps that chaotic day or two with Afghans hanging onto our planes could've been avoided.