FLASHBACK: It’s imminent: After nearly 20 years US to leave Bagram

The Associated Press ^ | June 29, 2021 | By KATHY GANNON

[Oldeconomybuyer]

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — For nearly 20 years, Bagram Airfield was the heart of American military power in Afghanistan, a sprawling mini-city behind fences and blast walls just an hour’s drive north of Kabul. Initially, it was a symbol of the U.S. drive to avenge the 9/11 attacks, then of its struggle for a way through the ensuing war with the Taliban.

In just a matter of days, the last U.S. soldiers will depart Bagram. They are leaving what probably everyone connected to the base, whether American or Afghan, considers a mixed legacy.

U.S. Central Command said last week that it’s well past 50% done packing up Bagram, and the rest is going fast. American officials have said the entire pullout of U.S. troops will most likely be completely finished by July 4. The Afghan military will then take over Bagram as part of its continuing fight against the Taliban — and against what many in the country fear will be a new eruption of chaos.

“The closure of Bagram is a major symbolic and strategic victory for the Taliban,” said Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

“If the Taliban is able to take control of the base, it will serve as anti-U.S. propaganda fodder for years to come,” said Roggio.

It would also be a military windfall.

“There’s something sadly symbolic about how the U.S. has gone about leaving Bagram. The decision to take so much away and destroy so much of what is left speaks to the U.S. urgency to get out quickly,” said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the U.S.-based Wilson Center.

Roggio says the status of the prison is a “major concern,” noting that many of its prisoners are known Taliban leaders or members of militant groups.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

An Afghan Army soldier walks at the gate of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, Friday, June 25, 2021.

The flag of the United States flies over Bagram Air Base, in Afghanistan, Friday, June 25, 2021.

In this May 3, 2021 file photo, a man rests in the shade of destroyed machinery sold by the US military to a scrapyard, outside Bagram Air Base, in Afghanistan.

A gate is seen at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, Friday, June 25, 2021.

[spokeshave]

Ha...sorry but a few scrapped commercial rigs doesnt pass the small test

What about all the pristine condition top grade military gear

helicopters, armored Himves, tanks, and piles of weapons and ammo.