Kabul Evacuation Continues to Defy American Planning: No Ubers to the Airport

The American pullout from Afghanistan continues to be a nightmare for US military planners. The chaos shown in video clips for more than a week belies the claim that this would be a simple extraction, as the political echelon led Americans to believe before the final evacuation began. Embarrassment was as rife as danger when it became obvious that getting evacuees to the Kabul airport was likely riskier than the final liftoff itself. Despite comments previously made by the US commander-in-chief, would-be evacuees have been told not to try to reach the airport on their own but to await instructions from a government representative. As social media endlessly repeat images of thousands of Afghanis desperately seeking to leave, President Joe Biden has promised not to leave behind those who aided the American military effort in Afghanistan since 2001. Many experts believe it’s a promise the president should not have made since it involves adding tens of thousands of additional souls to be rescued when it’s not certain that the initial nucleus of Americans can be removed safely. He has set a deadline of August 31 for the evacuation but that date is being viewed with increasing skepticism.