In the past few days our television screens have been filled with images of the disturbing scenes unfolding in Afghanistan.
With the Taliban’s takeover of the country now almost entirely complete in a matter of just a few weeks, thousands of Afghans have fled to Kabul Airport in the hope that they will be evacuated along with foreign civilians and military forces.
In the age of the smartphone and mobile internet, we have seen the harrowing scenes unfold just minutes after they occurred.
Runways filled with Afghan civilians clambering to get on board US air force transport planes, Apache helicopters buzzing the runway to clear them for takeoff and perhaps most tragically, several Afghans falling to their deaths from a transport plane during its takeoff.
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Despite the extremely dire circumstances on the ground and the airport compound being surrounded by the Taliban, more American and Australian troops are heading to Kabul to rescue stranded civilians and refugees.
The collapse of the Afghan military and government, followed by the disastrously planned evacuation of civilians and refugees, has been compared to the fall of Saigon in 1975, when South Vietnam fell to North Vietnamese forces.
But the two events perhaps don’t share quite as much in common as they may do at first glance.
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The final evacuation of US forces, refugees and foreign nationals from Saigon took place over two days, from the Defence Attaché Office compound and the gardens of the US Embassy.
At the fall of Saigon, two US navy aircraft carrier battle groups were present not far off shore, along with dozens of other warships. Nearby another two carrier battle groups were ready to provide logistic and air support to the ongoing evacuation.
This led to some of the most iconic images of the entire Vietnam War, as South Vietnamese military helicopters were pushed off flight decks into the sea to make room for others to land more refugees.
The Mekong River which runs through Saigon also provided a valuable escape route for South Vietnamese refugees, who were able to get on boats and sail out to the waiting American fleet.
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The besieged defenders of Kabul Airport have none of those advantages and are stuck around 100km from the borders of neighbouring Pakistan.
The one huge advantage they do currently possess is the undamaged runway, giving Allied forces the ability to facilitate the departure of large numbers of people on fixed wing aircraft.
Estimates from the Pentagon suggest up to 5000 people can be evacuated from the airport daily, as long as the runways remain clear and free of damage.
In order to ensure that the evacuation could be conducted safely, the US has reached a deal with the Taliban to ensure that passage out of Kabul Airport could take place without interference.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the two sides apparently agreed to a “deconfliction mechanism” in which operations at the airport in Kabul are permitted to continue.
While it’s not in the Taliban’s interests to impede the evacuation, the idea that over 10,000 Americans would be left effectively at the mercy of the Taliban was unthinkable at the outset of the war to oust them from power almost 20 years ago.
Yet here we are.
Around 7000 American troops, along with those of Allied nations such as Australia, will be defending a more than 10km airport perimeter for potentially weeks, depending on how many Afghan refugees end up being evacuated.
In contrast, the final stage of the American evacuation from Saigon took place from the lawns and roof of the US embassy, an area of only a little over a hectare, surrounded by a high wall.
For those still stuck in Afghanistan and the Allied soldiers currently there, the coming weeks are likely to hold a nervous wait, as the evacuation continues in an attempt to get tens of thousands of people out safely, under an extremely difficult set of circumstances.
From Afghan refugees preventing operations due to once again filling the runways, to concerns about rogue Taliban commanders not keeping the word of their superiors, the defenders of Kabul Airport face a challenging time in the days ahead.
While the current situation in Afghanistan may appear, on the surface, similar to the fall of Saigon, in reality, it is much worse.
It took two years of hard fighting for forces in South Vietnam to be worn down by the North Vietnamese.
The Afghan army, on the other hand, folded in a matter of weeks.
Ultimately, this collapse and the complete lack of preparation for it by US and Allied officials, has created a situation that is arguably worse than the fall of Saigon.
And the world is watching.
Tarric Brooker is a freelance journalist and social commentator | @AvidCommentator
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