The U.S. Is Hostage to the Taliban

***

There was no lack of determination to do so on the part of Secretary

Lloyd Austin

and

Gen. Mark Milley,

both of whom fought in Afghanistan. One or the other said more than once that they view their mission as getting out “all American citizens” who want to leave the country now in Taliban hands.

The problem is the U.S. military now controls only the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) with about 4,500 troops. Americans, foreign nationals and some Afghans who manage to make it to the airport are able to board flights to depart. But Americans and Afghans are on their own in trying to make it to the airport, which means getting past multiple Taliban checkpoints in the city and surrounding the airport perimeter.

Mr. Austin said that, so far, the Taliban are allowing U.S. citizens who have passports to get through. But the Taliban are not letting most Afghans through, and many who are trying are beaten and who knows what else. Many Americans and Afghan allies are also spread around the country and will have to find a way to get to the airport.

Pressed by reporters on whether the military could leave the airport and get Americans, or extend the airport perimeter, or create a safe-passage corridor from Kabul, Mr. Austin said he couldn’t do any of those and keep the airport secure. That means he’s also depending on the goodwill of the Taliban to let our people and our allies go.

Gen. Milley was also pressed on why the military had abandoned nearby Bagram Air Base in July. Bagram has two runways, while HKIA has one. The general said he didn’t have the troops to protect Bagram and the U.S. Embassy given the rapid troop drawdown order from President

Biden.

Gen. Milley said his orders were to protect the Embassy as a priority, and the military did.

Mark this down as one of the biggest mistakes of the Biden withdrawal plan, if you can call it a plan. Holding Bagram now would help speed up the evacuation and create more room for Afghans and others as they await departure. Gen. Milley ducked a question about whether retaking Bagram from the Taliban is an option. That means it’s Mr. Biden’s call, and the President wants this dreadful mess behind him pronto.

The U.S. military could fly in enough force to retake Bagram. And if the Taliban block Americans or the Afghans who fought with us from getting to the airport, it may have to. What should be unacceptable is for U.S. military leaders to have to tell the world, and the Taliban, five days into this crisis that they don’t have enough force on the ground for anything more than protecting one airport.

The White House may fear that a more robust show of force will cause the Taliban to take Americans hostage. But that concern underscores the degree to which the White House is letting the Taliban dictate the terms of the evacuation. This is a rolling humiliation.

The military men also weren’t any clearer than the White House on the Aug. 31 deadline that Mr. Biden had set for all U.S. military forces to be out of Afghanistan. They ducked the question, though later Wednesday Mr. Biden said in an interview with ABC News that U.S. troops will remain until all Americans are out.

There should be no deadline on evacuating Americans who are still behind enemy lines. The only deadline should be when all Americans and the Afghans who risked their lives to fight with us are safely gone.

We can understand why Mr. Biden would rather talk about Covid vaccines, as he did Wednesday, or $3.5 trillion in new spending. But he and his Administration are responsible for putting Americans and our allies in harm’s way. His top priority, his only priority, has to be getting them out no matter what it takes.