While the State Department and DOD continue to spin the narrative of a successful continued and safe evacuation from Afghanistan, focusing on images of children and families being given food and supplies, the reality is that the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) and all of Kabul remain in a state of chaos and an ongoing security nightmare for Western troops.

Massive crowds of desperate Afghans continue to probe the perimeter and surge against the entrance points. The entire airport is surrounded by Taliban fighters who are reportedly ripping up passports and sensitive documents of those authorized to depart. Americans remain stranded across the city and the US leadership has enacted no plan to extract them.

The fate of the US-led evacuation hinges entirely on the whim of the Taliban, who are so close, they could take down every aircraft arriving and departing the airfield with small arms, if they so choose. The magnitude of incompetence that has been demonstrated in this debacle by the DOD, State Department, and Executive Branch is as astounding as it is unprecedented.