US left Afghan airfield at night, didn't tell new commander

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By KATHY GANNON

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said.

Afghanistan’s army showed off the sprawling air base Monday, providing a rare first glimpse of what had been the epicenter of America’s war to unseat the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks on America.

The U.S. announced Friday it had completely vacated its biggest airfield in the country in advance of a final withdrawal the Pentagon says will be completed by the end of August.

“We (heard) some rumor that the Americans had left Bagram ... and finally by seven o’clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram,” Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, Bagram’s new commander said.



Vehicles are parked at Bagram Airfield after the American military left the base, in Parwan province north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 5, 2021. The U.S. left Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years, winding up its "forever war," in the night, without notifying the new Afghan commander until more than two hours after they slipped away. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/bagram-afghanistan-airfield-us-troops-f3614828364f567593251aaaa167e623

[snowybirdie]

1. Likely a security issue

They probably couldn't trust Afghan military to keep things quiet. Glad our folks got out safely.

[spudspud]

6. Bingo. /nt

[Wingus Dingus]

11. Yeah. I don't really care. We've given them enough chances to

stand on their own.

[maxsolomon]

34. Who specifically don't you care about?

Afghan National Army Soldiers? Asraf Ghani?

You might want to care a bit. The Taliban will repress everyone there, and if they collaborated with us, kill them.

I care enough to say we should take a million refugees.There are over 38 million people there.

[christx30]

42. Would you be willing to go over and help fight?

Would you send your 18 year old family members? We've spent trillions, lost thousands. And we got nothing out of it.
The people there do not care about anything called Afghanistan. They love their village, their tribe. And we can't change their beliefs, apart from firebombing the whole place, or nukes. You want to do that?
What solutions would you offer as an alternative to leaving, or another 40 years of fruitless occupation? Time to cut and run. Let them figure it out themselves. The Taliban will be fully in power within 6 months. Nothing anyone can really do.

[maxsolomon]

55. I said nothing about continuing the war.

You're putting words in my mouth.

I offered my "solution", which will only barely mitigate the tragedy: accept a million refugees. I took issue with Wingus Dingus saying they didn't care what happened to Afghanis.

It didn't have to be this way, but REPUBLICAN Presidents (Reagan, Bush the Lesser) had to choose poorly.

[Politicub]

52. How are you demonstrating how much you care? By sharing an opinion?

I agree about taking in refugees, as do many people on DU who are grateful to see the U.S. wrapping up operations there.

It’s not a mutually exclusive position, and it isn’t necessary for someone to spell out all of their thoughts about Afghanistan just to avoid someone shaming them.

[maxsolomon]

54. "I don't care" is a pretty definitive statement.

I was asking Wingus Dingus.

[Warpy]

12. I'm not a bit surprised they weren't notified until we were gone

Too many people changing sides over there on a weekly or even daily basis.

I just hope everybody gets out safely and there are no reprisals against Afghans who worked there.

[Marrah_Goodman]

56. That was my first thought also.

[dlk]

2. The Afghanistan war cost American taxpayers over $2.6 trillion

[Submariner]

3. You can add an additional trillion for lifetime care of Afghanistan

disabled veterans over the next half century. A great legacy of pain and suffering brought on by Cheney and Bush.

[OnlinePoker]

10. No worry there.

At the rate veterans are committing suicide, there will be nobody left to care for. This is the real travesty of the post service care provided by the government.

[dlk]

19. This is a tragedy and national disgrace

Our veterans deserve so much better.

[dlk]

17. We are reaping what we've sown

No wonder our country is so divided.

[marble falls]

4. Just a little less than the F-35 program.

[sanatanadharma]

8. And the war did abolutely squat to improve the world or the lives of Afghanis

The USA proved itself on the world stage as being unable to win a war and create a new order; it serves a total refutation of the PNAC ideas, plans, analysis and morals.

After twenty years, nothing has changed except for the worse. Whatever greatness the USA may have had in 1955 was destroyed by the Reagan revolution 30 years later, and totally buried by Bush twenty years after that.

[TomWilm]

13. One of the main goals of PNAC was to stop the Joint Strike Fighter F-35 ...

... just another failed plan from PNAC:
Cancel “roadblock” programs such as the Joint Strike Fighter. Make selected investments in current generations of combat and support aircraft to sustain the F-15 and F-16 fleets for longer service life.

[dlk]

20. Reagan and his cronies did deep and lasting damage to our country

We may never recover.

[3auld6phart]

27. Yeah

and they named an aircraft carrier after Bozo the clown. A grade B actor to boot.

[cstanleytech]

22. It was never a war though and the Republicans knew it but they kept dumping gasoline on it because

they were using it to rally their voting base of gullible morons.

[oldsoftie]

23. Many Afghanis would disagree with you

Especially women & girls.

[NH Ethylene]

25. My thoughts too.

I recall Afghani girls being able to go to school for the first time because we were there.

That will end now, it appears.

I'm not saying we should be staying, but it's not all good news that we are leaving. There will be consequences. That's why it was such a hard decision for Biden to make.

[zipplewrath]

31. A generation has been educated

It will take another generation to determine if that has accomplished anything.

[oldsoftie]

38. Thats a good point; in most areas, they had many years.

Some areas more than others i'm sure, but still. I hadnt looked at it that way. They have many GROWN women who may have gone to grades 1-12. If that how they do it anyway

[Marrah_Goodman]

45. It will not

Educated women will be forced back into a life where they are valued less then farm animals. When the Taliban came to power, Afghanistan was full of educated women.

Soon women will not even be allowed medical care unless they are lucky enough to have a doctor as an immediate male family member.

[Politicub]

53. Breaking the back of the patriarchy would have been a worthy mission, perhaps.

But that’s not why the U.S. was there.

[EX500rider]

36. I'd say it did help the Afghans

For example, life-expectancy had increased from 45 years in 2001 to 63 years now. This, plus the rapid economic growth since 2001 means Afghanistan is no longer the poorest country in Eurasia.
The increased life expectancy is largely the result to improved sanitation and medical care, especially for newborns and children under five. In early 2001 only a million children were in school, all of them boys. Now there are eight million in school, and 40 percent are girls. Back then there were only 10,000 phones in the country, all land lines in cities. Now there are 17 million cell phones, with access even in remote rural areas. Back then less than ten percent of the population had access to any health care, now 85 percent do and life expectancy is rising. The GDP and average income has been increasing every year since 2002 and has more than doubled on a per-person basis since the Taliban days.

[ancianita]

39. Thank you for this, EX500rider. The world will look back and know these things.

[DENVERPOPS]

24. I remember

Cheney and Rumsfeld saying Iraq would be over in three days, and cost only a few million since the new Iraq govt would be footing the bill....
That disaster has to be way over two trillion by now with more to go for disabled vets, replacement equipment and bombs, etc etc

[Javaman]

32. We basically handed our tax dollars over to

the defense industry.

Very connected people in high places with their octopus like tentacles reaching far and wide made bank and laugh loud and hard at how gullible we are.

[TigressDem]

5. I am not FOR WAR, but this has been drawing down for a long time.

It seems that every time peace talks begin, there isn't any lasting cease fire, so the situation blows up and nothing really gets resolved.

Could actually leaving force the issue in such a way that either

A) Afghanistan becomes Saudi Arabia's problem or
B) Getting US back requires they actually commit to a cease fire


https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-war-afghanistan

[zipplewrath]

33. IT's what Obama should have done

Found an Islamic nation, or a coalition thereof, that would take over "peace keeping" duties in the country. Actually, I saw a proposal once that Japan be encouraged to take over responsibilities as such. They'd be a much more "true" mediator in the conflicts than the US/NATO.

[PerceptionManagement]

7. I'm sure the DoD careerist who are responsible for this abortion have been handsomely rewarded

[Baked Potato]

9. Just good security practice. They weren't gonna parade through town waving goodbye.

[Sapient Donkey]

14. I feel bad for the Afghanis and worry for their country

but like, what else could possibly be done? What we were doing wasn't working.

[Roy Rolling]

15. They left an Arsenal?

Couldn’t even take the weapons and equipment taxpayers paid for?

For God’s sake, this is why we need a $760 billion defense budget?

[Sapient Donkey]

30. Looks like they left small arms and ammunition for the afghan army

and a couple hundred armored vehicles, but took the heavy weapons and destroy the ammunition for those.

I guess we'll have to wait to see if we see the Taliban driving MRAPs down the streets of Kabul.

[Duppers]

40. Did the same in Iraq.

[SmittyWerben]

16. Keep this in mind

We have US military members who have joined and retired who spent their entire enlistment in a war time military. Their ENTIRE enlistment. Not a border guard action, but active, ongoing combat operations. This withdrawal needed to happen long ago.

[joetheman]

18. Obviously it wasn't enough for us to know that the Afghans kicked Russia's butt over a 10-year war.

What did we really think would happen?? Centuries of history of Afghan impenetrability was not enough. We had to prove it to ourselves. Afghan is just historically different from all the other countries that we either defeated or colonized. They are different.

[AverageOldGuy]

21. Did we . . .

. . . leave them the keys to all those vehicles?

[GB_RN]

26. "Afghanistan: Where Empires Go To Die"

[Duppers]

41. Mike Malloy?

[GB_RN]

49. I Honestly Don't Know

Heard it once, somewhere. It’s definitely pretty accurate.

[Duppers]

50. He's credited here...

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/207879-afghanistan-where-empires-go-to-die

Russia gave up; U.S. gave up. Tho we didn't die, the Afghanistan conflict seems unsolvable.

[GB_RN]

51. The Brits Gave Up, Too

They invaded in 1839 and stayed until 1842 in their FIRST war. Their history calls it the "Disaster in Afghanistan". Seems the only thing that unites Afghans is foreigners...

[trof]

28. There must be 50 ways to leave Afghanistan...

You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

[keithbvadu2]

29. What was the Afghan military doing that made them so busy that they could not pay attention to such

What was the Afghan military doing that made them so busy that they could not pay attention to such a massive move?

[christx30]

35. Probably reason number #252 this has been going on

twenty years. And reason # 700 it’s time for us to leave.

But, yeah. Good question.

[mac2766]

37. get out

get out
get out
get out
get out....

Americans need to get the hell out of the middle east and let them do with one another whatever they will. We need to get out.

Just

get

out.

Keep an eye on the region and bomb the hell out of them when they over-reach, but still... get the hell out of there.

[csziggy]

44. One of the classic blunders

[csziggy]

43. Just posted in GD - The Onion Predicted this ten years ago

U.S. Quietly Slips Out Of Afghanistan In Dead Of Night
7/18/11 8:00AM

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN—In what officials said was the "only way" to move on from what has become a "sad and unpleasant" situation, all 100,000 U.S. military and intelligence personnel crept out of their barracks in the dead of night Sunday and quietly slipped out of Afghanistan.

U.S. commanders explained their sudden pullout in a short, handwritten note left behind at Bagram Airfield, their largest base of operations in the country.

"By the time you read this, we will be gone," the note to the nation of Afghanistan read in part. "We regret any pain this may cause you, but this was something we needed to do. We couldn't go on like this forever."

"We still care about you very much, but, in the end, we feel this is for the best," the note continued. "Please, just know that we are truly sorry and that we wish you all the greatest of happiness in the future."

More: https://www.theonion.com/u-s-quietly-slips-out-of-afghanistan-in-dead-of-night-1819572778

[The Jungle 1]

46. Vietnam II

I would like to say we have learned our lesson.
I have never understood what the end game in Afghanistan was. Everyone knew their was no "win" situation in this mess.
Could we have made them a colony?
HW invaded Iraq achieved a defined goal and then got out. Ya gotta give him credit for that one.

[Calista241]

47. I suppose we could have done what conquering armies have done since time began,

and rolled into the place, killed everyone that looked at us funny, stole all their shit, and left.

[riversedge]

48. Countless lives lost-yet the Taliban is still in business. damn

[machoneman]

57. One big bulshit story: Oh, we forgot to give a gold-plated email to the Afghan commcander: we're....

..through.

Sounds like a sour grapes issue: how could one miss we were leaving?
All the plane flights outbound maybe?
All the heavy hauler trucks removing the blast protected armored vehicles?
Gee, maybe all the helicopters in the ari flying outbound?

Gimme a break!