Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters not long ago that an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Americans are staying in or near Kabul, Afghanistan.
What’s new: According to the Pentagon Information Department, there are still 5,000 to 10,000 Americans remaining in Afghanistan near Kabul. John Kirby.
-Anna Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) August 17, 2021
This is a pretty staggering number, because a country’s sadly simulacrum government began to collapse around Thursday. By Sunday, the U.S. ambassador was completely in Brave-Sir-Robin mode (Report: The U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan has taken our flag from the embassy and fled the country).
Here are some ideas. First of all, I am impressed that Kirby can take time out of mission-critical work like attacking Tucker Carlson (The Ministry of Defense has carried out a disturbing, unprofessional attack on Tucker Carlson, proving how politicized they have become) To deliver useful information to the American people. It is not common for a warrior with firm eyes like Kirby to do two things at the same time. The country really appreciates him condescending to serve us. Secondly, 5-10,000, in my opinion, a non-STEM graduate is quite a large range; in fact, it can cause what is technically called “crazy guessing” more than anything else. Third, why don’t we know how many Americans there are in Afghanistan? what are these? What about illegal immigrants? Finally, why are they still there?
The last one is not just a rhetorical question. Usually, every embassy has a plan for non-combatant evacuation operations (called NEO).When the deteriorating situation puts U.S. and other foreign nationals at risk and leads to visits Department of Defense Assets. Although discussed Triggering near-Earth objects in Afghanistan, This is the appeal made by the ambassador.
Two days ago, New York Times Report A near-Earth object is underway, but the way it does so makes it unclear whether a near-Earth object has been called, or whether the source uses the term as a shorthand for “let the civilians go.”
But early on Sunday, a near-Earth object was in progress. A senior military official who monitors the situation in Kabul said that the government now just wants to “buy time and space to complete the near-Earth objects and let our people go.”
It wasn’t until yesterday that at the Pentagon’s press conference that someone used “non-combatants” and “evacuated” together; even so, I couldn’t find evidence that the official NEO has been authorized.
Biden’s Department of Defense spokesperson:
“As early as May, after the president announced that he would withdraw troops in April, we have been planning the evacuation of non-combatants.”
Then why are there thousands of Americans trapped in Afghanistan? pic.twitter.com/OVjJ0DGI5e
-Mark Bednar (@MarkBednar) August 17, 2021
.@PentagonPresSec The Ministry of National Defense stated that since May, the Ministry of National Defense has been “planning non-combatant evacuation operations” and held a tabletop exercise two weeks ago to prepare for such operations from Kabul Airport.
“But no plan is perfect.” https://t.co/9p7h6SD4Ir pass @politico
-Quint Forgey (@QuintForgey) August 17, 2021
At the same time, chaos reigned.As my colleague Nick Arama said The Americans were trapped in Afghanistan, and the Biden team gave them terrible instructions, Senator Tom Cotton is using social media to try to find American citizens in Afghanistan, and the State Department told them to “refuge in place.” Then, late last night, our State Department strengthened itself. It tells Americans in Kabul that if they need help, they can fill out a convenient web form to request help.
Just like DMV, there are fewer skills and less compassion.
-streiff (@streiffredstate) August 17, 2021
All this shows that our humiliation in Afghanistan may not be complete.If you are passing the indispensable Afghanistan War News Blog, There is this project:
current situation. Airlifts to U.S. Embassy personnel, U.S. contractors, U.S. citizens, foreign nationals, and Afghan citizens who can prove working relationships with other countries continue. The American KC-135 Stratotankers hovered over northeastern Afghanistan, preparing to refuel a military transport aircraft taking off from Kabul Airport. The military aspect of Hamid Karzai International Airport has been jointly protected by the U.S. military and the military of other countries. The Taliban control the civil terminal and the south side of the airport. It is estimated that by the end of Tuesday, 4,000 US troops will be stationed on the ground.
new development. Initial news reports indicated that a member of the headquarters of the 82nd Airborne Division might travel to Kabul to better coordinate the evacuation of non-combatants. Spain sent a group of special forces and support personnel to assist in the evacuation. An Indian military plane carrying passengers leaves Kabul.
Military planes come and go. The military transport aircraft that landed on the airport ground quickly dispatched their incoming cargo (usually the army), and then loaded the shipped cargo (people). Their time on the ground is as short as possible.
Commercial flights. As of Tuesday, there are no commercial flights taking off or landing at the civil terminal of Kabul Airport. Online flight tracking data shows that there are currently no commercial flights flying over Afghanistan. Most commercial flights pass through Iran and Pakistan before reaching their final destination.
stranded. The US State Department reports that there are thousands of US citizens waiting for the flight to take off. The Pentagon estimates that 5,000 to 10,000 Americans are still in Afghanistan. Most of them are hiding in Kabul, and there is no mechanism to cross the Taliban checkpoint to the airport.
Taliban. So far, the Taliban have not intervened in military operations at the airport. Although there are thousands of Afghans there hoping to fly out of Afghanistan, the civilian terminal is not open.[My italics.]
News and social media. Pictures and videos of Afghans rushing to the runway have been broadcast on social media and news media. Some have depicted the Afghans clutching the landing gear of the C-17 as the plane took off.These Afghans will either fall from the sky after taking off or be Crushed in the landing gear bay Once the landing gear is retracted. According to reports, a C-17 was unable to operate within a short period of time due to a malfunction of the landing gear after the flight. Other videos circulating on social media include scenes of foreign citizens, third-country contractors, and Afghans bordering aricraft.
I doubt whether we have the will to insert an American division in Kabul and maintain it logistically, and the door-to-door rescue of trapped Americans has a certain “we must destroy this village to save it”. My guess is that, under the best circumstances in the next few days, we will see protracted negotiations for the safe passage of American citizens through the Kabul airport. This will be a great theater, and inevitably, we will learn that cash changes hands to facilitate the transfer of guardianship. In the worst case scenario, the Iranian hostage crisis will repeat itself.
