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By Wednesday night, U.S. intelligence agencies were almost certain that an attack was imminent outside Kabul’s airport, thus warning U.S. citizens to leave the area immediately.
Only 12 hours later, the suicide bomber passed through the crowd and Detonated explosive, Killed at least 162 Afghans and 13 American soldiers.
This is the tragic outcome of the 20-year war waged by the United States in Afghanistan. This is the largest loss of life for the United States military in ten years. It comes as President Joe Biden ordered a complete withdrawal on August 31.
One of the most pressing issues when the US military launched an investigation: how did the bombers Make it pass Taliban checkpoint? Why does the US military stay in such a concentrated space even when it knows that an attack is imminent?
“This is a failure somewhere,” General Frank Mackenzie, the commander of the US Central Command, told reporters hours after the attack. A branch of ISIL in Afghanistan claimed it was an attack. Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K).
But at some point, Mackenzie added that the troops had no choice but to contact people trying to board the evacuation flight, screen them, pat them whether they had weapons, and make sure they did not have any weapons when they were threatening. Will enter the airport.
The US official, who asked not to be named, said that the conditions for the attack were determined months in advance.
They told Reuters that the military had been seeking approval to allow Afghans in danger to leave the country a few weeks before the Taliban began to evacuate from the Kabul airport after taking over the capital.
However, according to officials, the slow processing speed and the inability to secure housing for evacuees from third countries slowed their departure speed and once suspended all flights from Kabul for six hours.
This means that facing the chaos outside, the army is on the front line at the airport gate.
“It doesn’t have to happen,” a U.S. military official said. “They don’t need to die.”
The Bagram debate
In the whirlpool of criticism against Biden’s dangerous evacuation of American citizens and Afghans who work for the Americans, some questioned his decision to return Bagram Air Base in July, the largest U.S. military installation in Afghanistan to date.
Some Republican lawmakers argue that if the base remains open, the evacuation will be more orderly.
American officials rejected these arguments.
A U.S. defense official who asked not to be named stated that an estimated 8,000 U.S. troops are needed to ensure the safety of Bagram, and Bagram is likely to be attacked when the Taliban came to power.
Americans who want to leave the capital will face a 40-minute drive through the Taliban checkpoint.
In the next few hours, the United States will turn its attention to the withdrawal of about 5,000 soldiers from Kabul Airport-the White House said on Friday that the next few days may be the most dangerous days of the operation.
According to officials, the assailants have fired at the aircraft during the evacuation operation, but with little success. They added that as the number of US troops decreases, rockets and suicide bombings will become greater threats.
It is expected that even if the evacuees withdraw their equipment and troops, the military will continue to fly out of the evacuees, but the number is expected to drop sharply.
Officials said the evacuation was particularly challenging due to security threats and humanitarian crises outside the airport.
Unlike many previous military withdrawals (such as the withdrawal from Iraq in 2011), armed groups have been able to develop plans that focus on a single goal, namely airports, rather than multiple bases in the United States.
Military planners are also eager to avoid repeating the situation of thousands of desperate Afghans rushing to the runway and hoping to board the plane. Several died, Some fell from the aerial vehicle.
An American official said that Biden’s “Saigon” momentIn 1975, the infamous United States withdrew from Vietnam, and the Afghans outside the airport realized that the final phase of the withdrawal of Washington’s troops was underway, and this may still happen.
Symbolic revenge?
Biden’s voice trembled with excitement, and on Thursday he promised that the United States would Hunt down the responsible person For the airport attack, he said he ordered the Pentagon to develop a plan to combat the perpetrators.
On Friday, the U.S. military stated that it launched a drone attack, which is believed to have caused deaths. ISKP “Planner” In eastern Afghanistan.
However, officials warned that, apart from symbolic or limited actions, the United States actually has little to do to lower ISKP.
The defense official said: “Since 2014, we have been trying to destroy the organization in Afghanistan, but it is impossible to deploy thousands of soldiers on the ground.”
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