Since President Biden ordered the withdrawal of troops out of Afghanistan, US officials have hinted that a small military presence could continue under the guise of protecting a diplomatic mission.
According to a report from The Sun, the US is considering keeping 600 Marines in Afghanistan to protect the US embassy. The report cited anonymous sources who also said the US wants Turkish troops to stay at the Kabul airport to protect it from the Taliban or other militant groups.
There are currently several hundred Turkish troops guarding the Kabul airport. On Tuesday, The New York Times also reported that the US wants Turkey to continue protecting the airport. US officials believe Turkey is looking for concessions from Washington in order for them to stay.
Last week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the US was working with some of its NATO allies on ways to secure the Kabul airport after the withdrawal so the US and other countries could keep embassies in Afghanistan.
Biden ordered the Afghanistan withdrawal to be completed by September 11th, but the Times report said the US and its coalition allies are on track to be done with the pullout by early to mid-July. As the withdrawal is moving along, the Pentagon is scrambling for ways to maintain influence and assets in Afghanistan. Securing the Kabul airport to protect embassies could be the excuse the US military needs to keep personnel and equipment in the country.
So we are removing 1,900 actual troops and our contractors while still paying for their security which includes footing the bill for them to hire their own contractors. We are also looking for ways to be able to continue with bombing raids when we damn well please. Some “withdrawal”.
What we have observed in the recent months is the distinct difference between the Russian military hierarchy and that of the US. The Russians do offer advice and once the CiC decides and issues orders they are obeyed with no delay. The US generals on the other hand drag their heels for as long as possible, lie to the CiC and seek ways do delay obeying the order, and on occasion as happened in Syria create conditions so as to rescind the order at least temporarily.
In RealSpeak, the US told 600 Marines they should update their SGLI (Servicemembers Group Life Insurance) because they are now ‘expendable assets’. In other news, body bag (oh, sorry- that’s “Pouch, Human Remains, NSN 9930-01-331-6244”) stocks just rose sharply.