U.S. Marines stand guard at an Evacuee Control Checkpoint at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, August 20. Sgt. Victor Mancilla/U.S. Marine Corps
CNN: First US troops have started leaving Afghanistan as Biden decides not to extend withdrawal deadline
(CNN)The first US troops have started leaving Afghanistan on the same day President Joe Biden decided not to extend the August 31 evacuation deadline, two defense officials told CNN.
"So far, the reduction does not affect the mission," one of the officials said, adding that the commander on the ground can decide what military personnel are in units that are no longer required.
That decision can be based on a few factors, including the number of gates open at the airport, the number of people coming through and more.
"If you can have a smaller mission set and still conduct the mission, then you can reduce your footprint and reduce your risk," the official said.
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WNU Editor: With an August 31 deadline now in place, I understand the military operational reasons why US soldiers are leaving right now. But the optics of US soldiers leaving while hundreds if not thousands of Americans are still behind Taliban lines are beyond terrible.
10 comments:
We are so lucky to have Joe Biden. Think of how much worse it would have been, if we did not have a president, who was Ready on Day!
Also Joe has been around for half a century and knows all the players. They work well together and have the same vison, so there is flawless execution.
President Biden displayed leadership and backbone by deciding to leave.
Great work Mr. President, you earned millions of more votes in 2024!
What if Brit's French's and German's stay after Aug 31? What if Taliban fight them, make casualties and the three call for the 5th of NATO?
I don't think it happens, but who knows?
EU will not forget that. If "America is back", as Biden said, and it means America care more of the enemies than the allies this will stay in minds for a long time. There is no free lunch.
These troll are really annoying … I remember when the comment section had such interesting conversations that enlightened and entertained me … this type of trolling should be left to the children on Twitter
I posted the first comment. It was very sarcastic. I think the sarcasm is very appropriate, since the Pentagon gave Joe a deadline to make up what is left of his mind.
Good questions Jack.
Joe got us out. Consistent polling showed around 80% of Americans wanted out.
He made the right call. The leadership in the Pentagon and the IC must take the blame for feeding successive admins garbage intel about the situation in AF.
The president stood up to them and said enough.
What more do you want?
What more do you want?
Safe exit of Americans, interpreters and other allies. Retrograde of all sensitive material and as much retrograde of all other war material.
I want an orderly retreat. This in not orderly. it is almost an all out rout.
Now go sit on sharp, rusty nail.
The intel community screwed this one up, totally, as per usual. They should have known that the Afghan National Army was a paper tiger, at best. This should have been known since 2011 - see https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/the-afghan-govt-overthrown-by-taliban-never-existed-source-677178 for one troop's experience. Thus, depending on them for anything should have been regarded as folly. So, starting in January this year, US civilians should have been tricked, enticed, encouraged, or dragged out, and shipped out of country. That should have gotten done with in a couple of months. Same case for US troops, and Afghan nationals who would be likely to be of value to the US - or the Taliban - if they wanted out. Afghans who performed valourously in combat might be in this category as well. Sound like cherry picking? It is, but them's the breaks - our duty is to our own countrymen, first. But I'd do a slow withdrawal - then when most were out, announce the final date, knowing full well that the ANA would collapse in a week's time.
Closing down Bagram AFB was the Pentagon's cluster-you-know-what, they either tried to knowingly sabotage the withdrawal or were totally incompetent. It might be a good idea to find out which and take appropriate action. That action alone may cost American lives for no very good reason.
Biden sets the policy, it's up to the "intel community" to give him accurate and timely information so he can plan things out to minimize collateral and direct damage, and it's up to the armed forces, in this case, to execute the policy in an expeditious, yet careful, manner. There will be efforts to pin this on him, so the incompetents, traitors, and saboteurs in the armed forces, State Department, and the "intel" community can again slink away unscathed into the murk, and this should not be allowed to happen. We have deep structural problems which must be dealt with, and quickly.
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