More Marines arrive in Kabul to aid urgent embassy airlift

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ROBERT BURNS and ELLEN KNICKMEYER

WASHINGTON (AP) — A fresh contingent of Marines arrived in Kabul on Saturday as part of a 3,000-troop force intended to secure an airlift of U.S. Embassy personnel and Afghan allies as Taliban insurgents approach the outskirts of the capital.

The last-minute decision to re-insert thousands of U.S. troops into Afghanistan reflects the dire state of security and calls into question whether President Joe Biden will meet his Aug. 31 deadline for fully withdrawing combat forces.

After an advance group of Marines arrived on Friday, more flowed into the Kabul international airport on Saturday, said Navy Capt. William Urban, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. Citing operational security, Urban declined to provide specific numbers. The Pentagon said on Friday that the bulk of the 3,000 — comprising two battalions of Marines and one of Army soldiers — are due by the end of the weekend.

Officials have stressed that the newly arriving troops’ mission is limited to assisting the airlift of embassy personnel and Afghan allies, and they expect to complete it by month’s end. But they might have to stay longer if the embassy is threatened by a Taliban takeover of Kabul by then.



Pentagon spokesman John Kirby listens as he is asked a question on Afghanistan during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-joe-biden-middle-east-evacuations-kabul-8ec855b3f943dafe80d3d3ca6b0953f2

[Javaman]

1. one would have thought we would have learned after Viet Nam

but no, we had an asshole fortune son who wanted a war due to daddy issues.

and here we are again.

we will learn? I seriously doubt it.

this, below, it the evac of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.

[Red Mountain]

2. Military success.....given the limitations of the porous Pakistan border

but the nation building didn't go well.

Has it ever?

Harsh to say but we're better off cutting our losses. If the Taliban become an international supporter of terrorism again we might have to roll them up again. And again. And again.

[ancianita]

3. The U.S. has dedicated military evac bases in Qatar & can handle 1,000's per day. This will be done.

And we did learn from Vietnam because a) we've established evacuation bases with thousands of helicopters, and b) we've made sure that the Taliban won't get near Kabul for another 30 days.

According to today's Guardian:

...In Kabul, US embassy staff have been ordered to begin shredding and burning sensitive material, as units from a planned re-deployment of 3,000 American troops started arriving to secure the airport and oversee the evacuations. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said “elements” of a battalion were now in Kabul, the vanguard of three Marine and Army battalions that the US was sending to the city.

The US is also moving an additional 4,500 to 5,000 troops to bases in the Gulf countries of Qatar and Kuwait, including 1,000 to Qatar to speed up visa processing for Afghan translators and others who fear retribution from the Taliban for their past work with Americans, and their family members...

US military intelligence suggests Kabul could come under pressure within 30 days. If trends continue, the Taliban are likely to gain full control of the country in months, it says. Refugees from the insurgents’ relentless offensives elsewhere have flooded the capital.

The UK said about 600 troops would be deployed on a short-term basis to support British nationals leaving. Earlier on Friday, many countries including Spain, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands announced the withdrawal of staff from their respective embassies...

Canada said the first plane-loads of asylum seekers have already landed in Toronto on Friday, as part of its promise to take in up to 20,000 Afghan refugees, including women leaders and government workers.s.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/14/us-troops-start-to-arrive-for-afghanistan-evacuation-as-taliban-close-in-on-kabul

The thing about starting early is logistics and giving a head start to the Taliban to attack. It won't be another rooftop clusterfuck like Vietnam, and we'll have airlifted and processed tens of thousands more this time.

[PatrickforB]

4. Shades of Viet Nam.

Say, I have an idea! Maybe we could take some of the money we will save back from ending this forever war and use it to lower the carbon footprint - actually benefit the whole planet and all of its people.