{"id":35131,"date":"2021-08-18T20:43:09","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T20:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/18\/no-time-for-coulda-woulda-shoulda-on-afghanistan-top-military-officials-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:12:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:12:05","slug":"no-time-for-coulda-woulda-shoulda-on-afghanistan-top-military-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/08\/18\/no-time-for-coulda-woulda-shoulda-on-afghanistan-top-military-officials-say\/","title":{"rendered":"No time for coulda, woulda, shoulda on Afghanistan, top military officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Though acknowledging surprise at the Taliban\u2019s rapid victory, the U.S. military\u2019s top officials are not interested in discussing what could have or should have been done in the final days of its presence in Afghanistan<\/a>. They\u2019re focused on what\u2019s left to do, which is to potentially evacuate tens of thousands<\/a> from the Kabul airport by the end of the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evacuation of civilians from Kabul is likely to be the second largest non-combatant evacuation operation the U.S. has ever undertaken, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told reporters on Wednesday, behind the 1991 evacuation of 20,000 troops and their families from the Philippines after a volcanic eruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019ll be plenty of time to do [after action reports]. But right now, our mission is to secure that airfield, defend that airfield, and evacuate all those who have been faithful to us,\u201d Milley said. \u201cThere will be many post-mortems on this topic. But right now is not that time. Right now, there are troops at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Days after the capital of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, Military Times spoke to a former U.S. interpreter trapped in the city.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Roughly 4,500 troops had landed at Hamid Karzai International Airport as of Wednesday afternoon, arriving on C-17s that boarded evacuees and then got back in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, official said, there are no plans for rescues outside of the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have the capability to go out and collect that large numbers of people,\u201d Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of that is concern that breaking up the force on the ground will destabilize an already tense situation at the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI certainly don\u2019t want to do anything to make the airfield less safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State Department has advised potential evacuees to shelter in place, as officials continue to negotiate with the Taliban for safe passage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were 20 flights out in the past 24 hours, Milley said, for a total of 5,000 Americans, vulnerable Afghans and third-country nationals evacuated so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though defense officials have said they\u2019re working toward hourly flights and a capacity of 5,000 to 9,000 a day, the limiting factor, according to reports, is the ability to run a gauntlet of Taliban roaming Kabul, including harassing or assaulting those in line to get into the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith respect to helping us with the flow,\u201d Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters earlier on Wednesday. \u201cWe are talking to them about the effect that their [8 p.m.] curfew and the limits that they\u2019re putting on flow outside the airport is having on our ability to accomplish the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t