A Red Line In The Afghan Sand

Throughout April 1975 the NVA and Viet Cong drove the ARVN from every province. Troops threw away their uniforms. Artillery was abandoned on the road. M16s were tossed into rice paddies. It was Thân ai nấy lo or 'Every man for himself' and all combatants and civilians fled the countryside for Saigon hoping that the Americans saved them from their communist countrymen.

Not a chance and in the last week of April the artillery shells crated Tan Son Nhut Airport's runways and exploded amongst the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese government officials and their families seeking flight to anywhere, but Saigon. The Viet Cong had countless scores to settle from the Ten-Thousand Day War or Resistance War against America. There were lists. The names belonged to generals, touturers, intelligence agents, spies, or quỷ quyệt or snitches, thieves, drug dealers and every genre of criminal parasites, but not even a man with a brick of gold there were only so many seats. Chaos ruled the airstairs. Everyone remembers Herbert Von Es' foto of the last helicopter from the US Embassy roof, but the last US soldier to leave Vietnam was General Homer Duggins Smith, a friend's father, from the airport and he never looked back on that day as anything than a miracle. At the end of Operation Frequent Wind. Rear Adm. Donald B. Whitmire told his men: "The sooner we get out of here, the faster we'll get a Budweiser."

There are no Budweisers anymore in Afghanistan. The Taliban have seize control of Kabul. Thousands of foreigners are stranded in the city along with thousands of Afghanis employed by the USA. The American media continues to harp on the similarities to Saigon, except there has been no shelling of the Airport. No rounding-up of soldiers. The refugees are allowed to enter the terminals as planes come and go to countries willing to accepting the fearful. The Taliban is happy to see them go. Less mouths to feed. Less of a threat of insurrection. Better they should go, but they will never be welcome back.

The victors have told the the American military that the red line for departure is August 31, 2021, as promised by President Biden. Eleven more days. Time to get your ass in gear, because there are only two options.

Stay or go>

Me, I would have already been 'went'and I don't drink no more.

Allah Akbar.