Why would they want anyone to think we’re having to rely on our commercial air carriers vs our own military?
Trying to figure that one out.
The optics of "doing something" is more important than results.
If the full force of the US military were brought to the mission of moving people in a permissive environment (which is what the administration occasionally claims it has), we could move the entire population of Kabul halfway around the world by September 11th. The administration can't do that though because it would be an admission of an earlier screwup, so the staffers look down the menu of options that don't involve retaking Bagram, deploying the rangers, etc... The Civil Reserve Air Fleet was probably one of the few non-military options on the menu and they're giving the willing media a chance to run interference by talking about it. It also plays to the mythology of Biden as a legislator since they can spin this as something that only a seasoned and wise politician would be able to pull off... or something like that. In practice, the government is probably overpaying for no-bid contracts to charter a few aircraft and pull flight crews (who are already stretched thin because of administration requirements on covid protocols) from scheduled flights.
My running assumption on how the administration is operating is that they're looking to get to the next news cycle, it doesn't matter how bad it actually is underneath the hood, put a bandaid on it and just get to the next news cycle. I wouldn't be surprised if those chartered flights end up mostly empty and government ultimately ends up transporting under a thousand passengers with this program. The administration will pat itself on the back and quietly stop the effort. Meanwhile, the stories of cancelled flights and delays at airports all throughout America (because the flight crews are stretched too thin) are getting spiked.
“Why would they want anyone to think we’re having to rely on our commercial air carriers vs our own military?
Trying to figure that one out.”
Look who’s running the military!
It gives the Dunkirk vibe. “All hands on deck.”
It’s pure theater.