Much strategic blame for the evacuation of Afghanistan

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BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Thursday marks Independence Day in Afghanistan. But as citizens took to the streets to celebrate, the Taliban continue to strengthen their grip on the nation. It comes as the US evacuation process struggles to keep pace with the growing demand from American citizens in the country and Afghan citizens pleading to escape.

Texas A&M Universitys Albritton Center for Grand Strategy officials have been monitoring the situation closely; including John Schuessler and Jasen Castillo, co-directors of the Albritton Center, who published an opinion piece in Newsweek on Wednesday about the role of the Americas, current and past, in Afghanistan.

Jasen Castillo joined First News at Four on Thursday to discuss the article and provide insight into the ongoing evacuation process.

There’s no right way to end a losing war, Castillo said.

He said the evacuation went badly, in part due to factors the United States could not control.

The Afghan president convinced [the Biden Administration] that any type of personnel evacuation would have marked the end, Castillo said, and the Afghan president did not want that.

Instead, Castillo says the Biden administration chose to evacuate people later than they should, causing chaos and inefficiency. But Castillo argues that if the evacuation process had started too soon, it could have ended in a sudden government collapse and mass hysteria. He compared it to the damn old phrase if you do, damn if you don’t.

But Castillo says the issue does not fall directly on President Bidens’ shoulders. Castillo explained that there is never a good time to get out of Afghanistan and that President Trump and President Obama should have gone out during their tenure.

I haven’t yet seen a good historical example of how you effectively evacuate in a lost war, Castillo explained, it’s an ugly and unfortunate thing, but I don’t know how you could have orchestrated better, especially to navigate this dilemma.

Watch the full interview in the player above.

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