There is so much that is infuriating about President Joe Biden’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
However, none perhaps is more galling than his unwillingness to allow U.S. forces to rescue American citizens and our Afghan allies and get them to the Kabul airport.
Our French and British allies reportedly have been sending their military and other security personnel into the city to do just that.
David Martinon, French ambassador to Afghanistan, posted a video on Wednesday showing a caravan of vehicles traveling through Kabul.
“Two nights ago, French police escorted out of the embassy in the green zone of Kabul the French, Afghan and international families to whom [France] had offered shelter. The diplomatic and consular team of the embassy has taken care of them at the airport and they have been evacuated,” he wrote.
Two nights ago, French police escorted out of the embassy in the green zone of Kabul the French, Afghan and international families to whom ?? had offered shelter. The diplomatic and consular team of the embassy has taken care of them at the airport and they have been evacuated. pic.twitter.com/FxqgU7oQ3z
— David Martinon (@david_martinon) August 19, 2021
France 24 reported that the French military has been conducting operations in the Afghan capital since Monday.
On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron thanked those soldiers and police involved in “sensitive operations” in Kabul.
Près de 200 Afghans qui ont travaillé pour la France ou qui sont menacés viennent d’être évacués de Kaboul. Ainsi que des Français et des ressortissants étrangers. À nos armées, policiers et équipes diplomatiques qui organisent ces opérations sensibles, merci. On continue. pic.twitter.com/xHSreTLOLI
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 18, 2021
The U.K. Daily Mail reported that Great Britain sent 300 Special Forces troops to Kabul to rescue 6,000 U.K. citizens and eligible Afghans.
The SAS soldiers joined a contingent of 600 paratroopers already in the country.
British soldiers rounded up some 200 British nationals from around the city soon after arriving, according to The Telegraph.
At a news briefing on Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the U.S. does not have the forces on the ground necessary to expand beyond the airport.
“We have to make sure that we can not only secure the airfield, but as the chairman said, defend it as well, because there are a number of threats still in the environment,” he said. “We don’t have the capabilities to go out and collect up large numbers of people.”
SEC AUSTIN: “We don’t have the capability to go out and collect large numbers of people.” pic.twitter.com/k4cZESUav2
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 18, 2021
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley suggested the U.S. military could engage in certain limited rescue operations if directed to do so.
“We have the capability to do other things, if necessary,” he said, adding there are a “variety of special operations forces” on site.
So it sounds like the Pentagon’s top brass are waiting for Biden to green-light any operations beyond the airport.
As of Friday, the president said there are nearly 6,000 U.S. soldiers in Kabul. That sounds like a lot of capability to me.
Biden has a history of being risk-averse when it comes to military operations, as exemplified by his opposition to conducting the Osama bin Laden raid in 2011.
The Washington Examiner’s Tom Rogan reported that the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division told the commander of British forces in Kabul to cease operations outside of the airport perimeter.
“Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue has told his British Army counterpart, a high-ranking field-grade officer of the British army’s 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, that British operations were embarrassing the United States military in the absence of similar U.S. military operations. I understand that the British officer firmly rejected the request,” Rogan wrote.
On Friday, Biden was pressed on the issue of the U.S. not sending forces beyond the airport perimeter.
The president responded that he was open to authorizing such operations.
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