Gen. Mark Milley was ordered by President Biden to protect the Kabul embassy “at all costs” but wouldn’t allow more troops to be brought in. The general initially stated he was left no choice but to abandon Bagram airbase in order to have a large enough force to do that. Now, the embassy is operating out of the international airport and Biden allowed more troops to be brought in for protecting the evacuation.
One might wonder why the American embassy, which was to be closed with the departure of our troops anyhow, wasn’t simply moved to Bagram where it was infinitely more defensible had the decision to remove all air support not been made. High value Taliban, al Qaeda and ISIS prisoners held at Bagram could have been flown to Guantanamo, to be exchanged for Americans and Afghan ally hostages as needed. A deep perimeter around the base could have been maintained with sufficient forces to facilitate the removal of friends and allies.
I disagree with the goals of this conflict for the last eighteen and a half years – to remake a 13th century society to mirror our own. As for this “withdrawal”, I was a young Marine Lance Corporal grunt 60 years ago who, not even being a tactical genius, could have foreseen the results of which we would have used two words to describe – the first being “Cluster.”
Jim, I have to disagree with most of your statement, but yet agree very much with your last paragraph. I’ll explain why I feel this way from the position of being a plank owner in U.S. Central Command, having joined them while still the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force in the early fall of 1981. I don’t know the source of your information so I can’t speak to that.
Much like Monday morning quarterbacks, it’s very easy to be a an “arm chair general” if you’ve never had to wear the stars or been associated and among the people who make those decisions without foreknowledge of the events yet to happen. Even as a crusty Gunny, I remember how shocked I was when I first seen the expected attrition rate while working on my first OPLAN which involved stopping a Soviet incursion into the Iranian oil fields. Never having been assigned to a Unified Command level I was amazed and humbled about how little I actually knew about how the military really works. I must have been wearing blinders for the first 17 1/4 years I was in the Marine Corps because I had never even considered some of the things which I needed to know.
Do you have any realistic idea of how large and how many people were employed by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul? I don’t either, but I do know that its a helluva lot more and way to big to just pick-up and move down the street, or the distance between Kabul and Bagram. Also, I would guarantee that Bagram would have been just had difficult to defend as HKIA. How hard do you think it would have been to move any “High value Taliban, al Qaeda and ISIS prisoners held at Bagram” to Guantanamo. Don’t even consider them being some of the most terrible and bad assed terrorist in the world. George W. Bush certainly is not among my favorite presidents, but two of the stupidest and dumbest things he did was to establish the prison at Guantanamo, and perpetuate the Afghanistan war by trying to do “nation building.”
Jim, please stick to writing books about Marine boot camp, you do that really well. Leave the politics and war planning to those best suited for it. Even with the nearly three years experience working there, I doubt if I could ever have done it again. It is not as easy as everyone seems to think, matter of fact it is very, very, very, difficult. Just be glad that we have people there that are capable of taking on that task.
Semper Fi!!!
And yet, the embassy WAS moved to the airport! I was referring to essential personnel needed to carry out the basic job since most of those folks were being evacuated as they closed shop.
Jim – I almost overloaded my pea sized brain with my alligator mouth. When I said that “I don’t know the source of your information so I can’t speak to that.” I had failed to notice the title of your letter. So, I looked it up and read the article written by Michael Goodwin on 8/20/2021. By the way, it was in the New York Post and not the Times. I do have to say that neither do I agree with the statements of Mr. Goodwin. There once was a man who said much more elegantly how I feel, and I’ve provided a copy of that:
The Man in the Arena
by Theodore Roosevelt
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
I don’t think that I need to say anymore. Semper Fi!!!
I like the quote. Thanks Top.
In 1967 & 1968 Vietnam I was a member of the Golf Co. 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, the same unit as the marines & corpsman killed in Kabul. 2/1 was the last Marine “Grunt” Combat unit to leave Vietnam in 1971. In 1971 Golf Company had the last “Grunt” marine KIA in Vietnam At the 2/1 yearly reunions we often meet 2/11 marines from all wars.
SF
Do not know where you got your info, but you are wrong about their unit. They belonged to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Lejeune Harry 1371
Was 2/1 part of 24th MEU?
No. 1st Marines are at Pendleton.
John 15:13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You will be remembered, God bless you all.
Hang tough, Jim! In spite of the expert who contradicted you, some of us non-experts agree with you 100%
Milley, like many senior officers (General types), are nothing but spineless politicians, more worried about their post retirement political/lobbying careers that the welfare of the country or their men.
We should have left the day after we smoked Osama! It’s not our job to reconstitute their society.
Mike McManus
RVN 65-66, 68-69
1st Recon
Michael,
I believe you have pointed out what “should” have happened!!
RIP all those who gave their all..
I agree 100% and if I recall correctly General Colin Powell was the one who said, “if we break it we fix it” and his idea to play the long game in the mideast rather than the the F out as soon as the pigs Osama and Saddam were neutralized.
Many mistakes were made, for sure. But Bagram is 30 miles from Kabul. Sounds like an IED run to me. It was difficult enough evacuating from Kabul. The Afghan army contained some brave warriors, but many commanders were appointed by their buddies in government so they could share the graft. A commander would be sent funds to pay the salaries of 500 men, but half did not exist (the “ghost” soldiers) and the other half were underpaid. The same held for ammo, food, and other supplies. Surprised that most of the Afghan army ran? No leadership, no ammo, no salaries, no food – no surprise. We are better off out of that collection of feuding tribes, religious fanatics, and corrupt politicians, no matter how shambolic the exit. Always remember the brave American Marines and others who died, but be thankful that no more will pay the ultimate price. R. McKean, E5, USMC veteran
I suggest read Caravans by James A Michener. All though over sixty years old and taking place 1946. It describe the Afghanistan mind which does not change and will change.
Right on Jim. Many of us echo your feelings and thoughts. As for Milley, he’s a politician who sold his integrity long ago. All these generals now are nothing but hacks chasing their next promotions. They have no testicular fortitude.
SF
Jim…I agree with you. We needed to get out of this terrible war but not the way we approached this fiasco with TOTAL lack of sensible planning. As a four year veteran Sgt in Vietnam, 1966, my views on leaving the battle field was a lesson in how not to exit a war. Without knowing what planning did or not occur in our evacuation from Afghanistan, my judgment is the lack of overall leadership and planning was clearly evident.
Yeah, if only Biden & Company had used the strategic withdrawal models of the Korea War, Vietnam, Somalia, Lebanon and Iraq …
Maybe now that we’re out of that S…hole country, let’s get our own affairs in order. We cannot fix a centuries old problem in a short amount of time. (If you consider 19 years that)
MSGT PROTHO – allow me to cut through all the political, upper echelon, pentagon group think, focus group, we’re smarter than you B.S…. Neither Austin, Milley, Blinken, or any of the other top figures in our military structure had the courage, strength of character, or true concern for the troops (or the nation for that matter) to just say NO! Risk your career to do the right thing… throw your badge on the desk and take the heat for it. Tell Biden how terrible the plan (if you call it that) is. Throwing your tacit support for a politician who can barely string two sentences together without a teleprompter just so he could say he got us out before 911 2021 is SHAMEFUL! I hope your careers are worth the cost you have inflicted with cowardice. I’m pissed off… you should be too.
MSGT PROTHO – P.S. in case you missed it we just became a state sponsor of terrorism what with all the weapons and equipment that we abandoned in the middle of the night. It used to be that you had leaders that you would follow to the gates of hell… I wouldn’t follow these clowns through the drive-in at McDonalds.
Except those were the weapons that The Afghan Army laid down, those weapons and vehicles no longer belonged to the US. Place the blame where it belongs, on the miss-run Afghan Army and their commanders.
Bud Redding, USMC LCPL
3/25
Outstanding, Steve! In my book you outrank the MSgt!
Steve and Gary: I have tried twice to post responses to your comments but for some reason they fail to post. I think it may be because I added my email addresses. Please feel free to contact me a edd_prothro(at)windstream.net if you wish to continue this conversation. Semper Fi!!! Top Pro
Jim,
I think that you are right on!