Mark this down as one of the biggest mistakes of the Biden withdrawal plan, if you can call it a plan. Holding Bagram now would help speed up the evacuation and create more room for Afghans and others as they await departure. Gen. Milley ducked a question about whether retaking Bagram from the Taliban is an option. That means it’s Mr. Biden’s call, and the President wants this dreadful mess behind him pronto.

The U.S. military could fly in enough force to retake Bagram. And if the Taliban block Americans or the Afghans who fought with us from getting to the airport, it may have to. What should be unacceptable is for U.S. military leaders to have to tell the world, and the Taliban, five days into this crisis that they don’t have enough force on the ground for anything more than protecting one airport.

The White House may fear that a more robust show of force will cause the Taliban to take Americans hostage. But that concern underscores the degree to which the White House is letting the Taliban dictate the terms of the evacuation. This is a rolling humiliation.