Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) isn’t the dumbest Republican senator. That would be a contest between Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). But Graham is no military strategist.
He did serve in the military. After graduating from law school, Graham joined the Air Force and was commissioned as a JAG officer (i.e., a military lawyer), and apparently was pretty good in that role. He left active duty after 6 years, but remained in the Air Force Reserve while serving in Congress, eventually retiring with the rank of colonel even though “he did little or no work” as a reserve officer.
What Graham never did was command troops, or work in a staff position planning operations.
After ISIS terrorists attacked the Kabul airport, killing 11 U.S. Marines and a Navy medic, and wounding 15 more American troops, Graham “urged the US to take back control of Bagram airbase,” the U.K.-based tabloid Daily Mail reported here.
“I have advocated for days that the Bagram Air Base should be reopened as the Kabul airport is very difficult to defend and has been the only evacuation outlet,” Graham tweeted. “We have the capability to reestablish our presence at Bagram to continue to evacuate American citizens and our Afghan allies.”
Sure. If we restart the U.S.-Taliban war.
The Taliban are letting the U.S. evacuate its citizens through Kabul airport. They control Bagram, and we’d have to take it from them by force. That would require sending more American troops to Afghanistan, and they’d be involved in active combat. That means more casualties.
The Taliban didn’t attack our troops at Kabul airport; ISIS terrorists did. ISIS and the Taliban are enemies. If the Taliban can’t (or won’t) prevent them from attacking our people at Kabul, why does Graham think Bagram would be any better?
More to the point, Bagram is 25 miles from Kabul; to get there, evacuees would have to thread their way through miles of ambushes and roadside bombs. And not just ISIS, but the Taliban’s entire fighting force, would be trying to stop them. How smart is that?
There’s a reason why the Pentagon doesn’t ask politicians for military advice.
Another point: In a war, you don’t always get to choose the battlefield, so you work with the one you have.
Photo: The road to Bagram, circa 2019
Having a second American air base in country is a strong tactical and strategic idea. The Pentagon should have been more proactive in retaining a second air base so command and control could be maintained. Airfields that are half military and half civilian are inherently difficult to secure. [This comment has been edited.]
The only way the U.S. can have an air base in Afghanistan is by continuing the war. A policy decision has been made to end this war, so that isn’t a strategic or tactical option the Pentagon can consider.