{"id":46054,"date":"2021-07-05T18:05:19","date_gmt":"2021-07-05T18:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/05\/us-slipped-out-of-bagram-at-night-didnt-tell-new-commander-afghan-military\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:28:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:28:52","slug":"us-slipped-out-of-bagram-at-night-didnt-tell-new-commander-afghan-military","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/07\/05\/us-slipped-out-of-bagram-at-night-didnt-tell-new-commander-afghan-military\/","title":{"rendered":"US slipped out of Bagram at night, didn\u2019t tell new commander: Afghan military"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) \u2014 The U.S. left Afghanistan\u2019s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years<\/a> by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base\u2019s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans\u2019 departure<\/a> more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afghanistan\u2019s army showed off the sprawling air base Monday, providing a rare first glimpse of what had been the epicenter of America\u2019s war to unseat the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9\/11 attacks on America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. announced Friday it had completely vacated its biggest airfield in the country in advance of a final withdrawal the Pentagon says will be completed by the end of August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe (heard) some rumor that the Americans had left Bagram … and finally by seven o\u2019clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram,\u201d Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, Bagram\u2019s new commander said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the Afghan army could take control, the airfield, barely an hour\u2019s drive from the Afghan capital Kabul, was invaded by a small army of looters, who ransacked barrack after barrack and rummaged through giant storage tents before being evicted, according to Afghan military officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt first we thought maybe they were Taliban,\u201d said Abdul Raouf, a soldier of 10 years. He said the the U.S. called from the Kabul airport and said \u201cwe are here at the airport in Kabul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An Afghan soldier plays a guitar that was left behind after the American military departed Bagram air base, in Parwan province north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 5, 2021. The U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years, winding up its “forever war,” in the night, without notifying the new Afghan commander until more than two hours after they slipped away. (AP Photo\/Rahmat Gul)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kohistani insisted the Afghan National Security and Defense Force could hold on to the heavily fortified base despite a string of Taliban wins on the battlefield. The airfield also includes a prison with about 5,000 prisoners, many of them allegedly Taliban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Taliban\u2019s latest surge comes as the last U.S. and NATO forces pull out of the country. As of last week, most NATO soldiers had already quietly left. The last U.S. soldiers are likely to remain until an agreement to protect the Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, which is expected to be done by Turkey, is completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, in northern Afghanistan, district after district has fallen to the Taliban. In just the last two days hundreds of Afghan soldiers fled across the border into Tajikistan rather than fight the insurgents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn battle it is sometimes one step forward and some steps back,\u201d said Kohistani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kohistani said the Afghan military is changing its strategy to focus on the strategic districts. He insisted they would retake them in the coming days without saying how that would be accomplished.<\/p>\n\n\n\t