Huida de Kabul

Greetings again from the darkness. We watched it play out on television, seemingly getting worse and more tragic and more convoluted by the day. It was painful to watch the United States evacuation of Afghanistan, and now, Jamie Roberts documents what actually happened with previously unseen archival footage supplemented with remarkably candid personal interviews.

The war was in its 18th year when, in 2020, President Trump announced we would be ending the war and bringing our folks home. It was President Biden who gave the final deadline for evacuation by August 2021. Of course, most of us doubted it could happen that swiftly, and given what unfolded, maybe it shouldn't have.

Previously unseen footage is remarkable, and certainly provides a true sense of what was happening at the time and how our undermanned military faced numerous obstacles - some dangerous, others humanitarian - and performed admirably given the circumstance. The insight from the Marines who were there is especially impactful, and their recollections cut to the quick. Their mission was to evacuate US citizens and "at risk" Afghans who had been helpful to the cause, but we learn the first couple of days were spent evacuating "VIPs" ... always a sign of political motivation.

It was literally day 2 (August 15) when the Taliban seized control of Kabul, causing desperation and fear and chaos. The footage is vivid in showing what was happening, and how confusion permeated every action. It's stunning to watch as Taliban leaders are interviewed and laugh at the US for such a botched plan after a two-decade war. Interviews with some Afghan citizens who made it out display the emotions of those driven from the homes under extreme stress. And those Marines offer the most direct feedback for the operation and the no-win decisions they faced when deciding who could leave.

We have all seen the newscast images of those desperately clinging the airplanes, but what about the canal of sewage many spent days wading in, hoping for a chance to leave? The "deal" struck with the Taliban to allow evacuations is a bit confusing to us, but even more so to the Marines stationed at the time. Despite 124,000 people being evacuated and most of the military equipment destroyed prior to the last plane filled with Marines, it's still sickening to see the Taliban immediately shift into victory celebration mode. We know where this is headed, and so do those who remained.

An HBO documentary premiering on September 21, 2022.

This documentary was great. Heartbreaking and eye opening. I just cant believe how the BIden regime thought it was a good idea announce our departure before planning the logistics of evacuating all those people. The death of those 13 marines and 170 Afghani's is Joe Bidens fault! Hes a failure as a senator, as a father and as President.

I would easily recommend this documentary. It should help us reflect on the freedoms and blessed lives we all have here in the US. We should always consider the sacrifices the men and women of our military have made in this 20 year war that was pointless. Only because of the spineless war bureaucrats that serve as politicians.

Very honest account of how things unfolded when the US left Afghanistan. You can see the desperation of the people trying to flee, many times costing them their life. The conditions outside the gates were horrific. The summit of all that was the blast from a suicide bomber or ied that killed 13 US personnel and 170 afghans that basically ended all entering activities at the gates. A caveat of this documentary is that it falls short because it doesn't show anything about the retaliatory attack from the US government via drone to a NGO vehicle filled with children and water that had nothing to do with ISIS. That should be included too because it was directly related to the incidents shown in this film.

Interesting. Afghanistan is in part of the world that is never at peace. It is sad armies go there to die. But this doesn't touch on is the incredible ineptness of our political leadership. It is almost like they set up our military to fail. They put them in an untenable situation, with limited resources, and effective rules of engagement driven by politics not by war time necessity. And then the dying starts both military and civilian. This gave a lot of latitude the piece of garbage Taliban. Then again it is HBO with a left-leaning business model. Make no mistake, the Taliban and Isis are monsters of evil. That is exactly why all of those people, thousands upon thousands were trying to escape the country. This is a clear example of how these places will remain Third World countries in a time of unprecedented modern technology everywhere. Tough situation. I could care less about the Taliban, but I feel so bad for the Marines who had to deal with this untenable situation. And our politicians stood back and did nothing.

Afghanistan, a place, a land, a country, which perhaps will never remain under the control of anyone, as in the past most likely in the future too.

This land has seen bloodshed more then any place in the world. Kabul today is there's, tomorrow someone else. The fight, the battles will go on, sadly.

Taliban, it was expected that they perhaps this time would be different then the ones in 90's, some might are, but the majority of these people are illiterate and not in knowledge of modern or Islamic teachings. They were filled with hate, they were taught all inhumane act(s) they can carry out and there is only principle to rule is through fear.

There are many stories, in these last days, especially, not covered in this documentary. How the top leadership fled through the same airport carrying billions. How the so called trained Afghan forces just fell like a house of cards. It shows that the American achieved nothing but failure in the last 20 years.

There were many other airlines, who out of their heroics help fleeing people out of Kabul, the documentary remains untouched over that part. Though it has shown some events and it will touch you.

Freedom always has a price. Always will have a price.