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jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
“The plan was for General Donahue’s paratroopers to take control of Abbey Gate from the Marines on Aug. 27 and shut it down. But General Donahue thought it was too risky to wait. He met with the senior U.S. commander at the airport and recommended shutting the gate immediately.
British forces, which were using the entryway to evacuate their citizens and allies, asked the Americans to keep it open. Pentagon leaders “grudgingly” agreed, a senior U.S. official recalled.
The Marines were still in control of Abbey Gate at 5:48 p.m. on Aug. 26 when the suicide bomber struck. Eleven Marines, one Navy medic and one Army soldier, along with scores of Afghans, were killed.”