President Biden Remarks on Storm Henri and Afghanistan Evacuations: Watch & Discuss

4 thoughts on “President Biden Remarks on Storm Henri and Afghanistan Evacuations: Watch & Discuss”

1. Here’s a quote from CNN that I think is worth sharing:

   From August 23 at 3:00 AM EDT to August 23 at 3:00 PM EDT, a total of approximately 10,900 people were evacuated from Kabul.

   10,900 people moved in 12 hours. on top of an estimated 16,000 the day before. That puts us at somewhere well north of 40,000 people since 14 August.

   Tell me again why the US has botched this?Report

   1. I think it’s because of the after-the-fact thing. Like, if someone said “the withdrawal from Afghanistan will have result in the Taliban taking over Kabul in two weeks and two people will die because they were clinging to planes leaving in a replay of Saigon” back in, oh, April, it’d have been seen as a criticism of the administration rather than an assessment that is wrong because it was too optimistic.Report

   2. “Tell me again why the US has botched this?”

      The US isn’t in control of the evacuation zone.

      Who gets evacuated and who doesn’t is predicated on a cease fire with the Taliban; and it’s the Taliban who controls the checkpoints which determine who can and cannot depart.

      We’ll likely never know how many or who didn’t make it out… but as North has previously observed, as long as those folks are indigenous, well, who’s gonna care?

      Which points back to the baseline assumption that no contingency plans were necessary because the evacuation zone would obviously be under Govt. control for the duration.Report

      1. The US isn’t in control of the evacuation zone…

         Initial reports indicate US personnel are among the wounded in an explosion outside Kabul's airport, officials say. Follow live updates: https://t.co/lzTODwNeFw pic.twitter.com/4KsbgQzgov

         — CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) August 26, 2021

         Report

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