That's the same tired, worn out excuse for all options in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Syria -- it would have required at least 100,000 troops.dislaxxic wrote: ↑Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:14 am America’s War in Afghanistan Is Over but Our Big Lies About It Live On
An opinion piece in the Daily Beast
It’s important to establish these details, because these are the things people overlook when describing what has become one of the most popular criticisms of Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan: that he allowed the military to “abandon” BAF, or that it would have been somehow more possible or feasible to carry out a deliberate evacuation from BAF than from Hamid Karzai International Airport. This is false. The number of people required to safely secure BAF and its eight-mile perimeter in 2021 would have required an entirely new troop surge numbering in the thousands. When one considers the logistics involved, and the numbers of soldiers, Marines, and airmen, the number could have easily ballooned far greater than the number readily available for the task.
The collapse of Afghanistan demonstrated that the country I imagined when I was deployed here was also a lie, just another storyline.
It also would have required taking Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to create an outer perimeter of security. Several months ago, it would have been unimaginable to carry out a unilateral operation. These choices would have affected which ANSF units were available to provide security elsewhere. And one must also consider in retrospect that the ANSF providing security would have also probably required support from the American base logistics system.
The collapse of Afghanistan demonstrated that the country I imagined when I was deployed here was also a lie, just another storyline. It has been extraordinary to watch how in the intervening weeks, rather than facing up to the delusion that we entertained for 20 years, nearly everyone with a hand in this mess has done everything they could to shift the blame elsewhere. Certainly, some leaders were capable of and interested in considering the significance of Afghanistan’s near-instantaneous collapse. Admiral Mike Mullen, for example, didn’t shy away from reality. But the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t have much company. Most of the other people who led the war and promoted it have indulged in rationalizing, comforting counterfactuals and even outright lies.
We didn't need to retake Bagram. We needed to just not leave. Had we stayed, the ASF would have stayed with us.
The ASF could have fallen back & concentrated their ground & air forces there, if necessary. If Kabul needed to be evacuated, our remaining embassy staff could have evacuated to or through Bagram. If necessary the Ghani govt could have evacuated there. Bagram & 3 other air bases (Mazir-I-Sharif, Shindand & Herat) could have been held by ASF, US & NATO forces, turned over last, & not abandoned. The ASF & the Ghani govt could have defended the northern & western provinces, temporarily ceding the Pashtun regions to the Taliban, until those populations rejected their harsh rule & a coalition govt could be negotiated.