U.S. Fully Evacuated Military from Afghanistan, American Civilians Left Behind

Two decades of military operations in Afghanistan has come to an end. More than 100 Americans have been left behind.

Summary

After 20 years, the United States has removed all assets and personnel from Afghanistan.

• The last plane left literally one minute before the Taliban-mandated August 31 deadline for American withdrawal, a plan President Biden said was “unanimously favored” by military leaders.
• General Kenneth McKenzie, who was in charge of the withdrawal, said the “vast majority of Americans who hoped to flee were evacuated.”
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed there are 100-200 Americans left to be evacuated and that the United States is “hoping the Taliban keeps its word” in allowing passage to those who want to leave.
• Shortly after the last American troops left, the Taliban declared victory, calling it a “historical day and a historical moment” in which they “liberated [their] country from a great power.”

• The New York Times illustrated the demoralizing and humiliating picture of American retreat, with Marines shaking hands with Taliban soldiers and “starved and dehydrated evacuees boarding” planes to deliver them to “uncertain futures.”
• The Washington Post reported on the post-retreat orders given to Taliban soldiers by their leaders: to be “very cautious” with the Afghan civilian population after having “suffered war and invasion.”
• ABC News noted that as the last American military personnel were leaving Afghanistan, the first words we heard from leaders were not from our leader, President Joe Biden, but from CENTCOMM General McKenzie.

• The Daily Caller reported on nearly one hundred retired flag officers signing a letter calling on the resignation of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley over the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
• Newsmax interviewed Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso who criticized the Biden administration’s plans for withdrawal and the abandoning of billions in military gear, saying the Taliban is now armed “to fight on steroids.”
• The Spectator speculated on the future of Afghanistan under Taliban rule, noting the brutal rule of Mullah Omar is likely to repeat given the rogue’s gallery of murderers and terrorist leaders encompassing the inner circles of Taliban leadership.

Author’s Take

The willful abandonment of American civilians and the shameful way in which the American military left with its head down and its tail between its legs should follow President Biden everywhere he goes. But his recalcitrance and defiant attitude in the first days of the disaster suggest it will not matter to him.

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© Dallas Gerber, 2021