Ian Patrick, FISM News
The withdrawal from Afghanistan continues to spiral out of control, as the Pentagon confirmed that it is not currently able to keep Americans safe in the nation while they travel to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul for a flight out.
This was admitted by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a press briefing, where he said that he doesn’t “have the capability” to secure any point beyond the airfield where the U.S. currently has a presence. When asked about how he can guarantee the safety of those who can’t get to the airfield, Secretary Lloyd responded by saying:
Well, we’re going to do everything we can to continue to try to deconflict and create passageways for them to get to the airfield. I don’t have the capability to go out and extend operations, currently, into Kabul. And where do you take that? I mean how far can you extend into Kabul, you know, and how long does it take to flow those forces in to be able to do that?
Secretary Lloyd said he has three concerns for the continued evacuation of the area: the safety and security of U.S. citizens and other evacuees, keeping the airport secure from chaos and violence, and “increasing the flow of aircraft and people out of Kabul.”
.@SecDef lays out his three key concerns at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. #HKIA pic.twitter.com/ghdLKfHnBe
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) August 18, 2021
A @USMC Marine escorts two civilians during processing through an Evacuee Control Checkpoint (ECC) at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. #HKIA pic.twitter.com/MYINkiCjyA
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) August 19, 2021
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley, also noted in the same press conference that the Taliban is actually “facilitating the safe passage” of U.S. citizens to the airport.
The Taliban are in and around Kabul right now, but they are not interfering with our operations. Through the State Department, the Taliban are facilitating the safe passage to the airport for American citizens – that is U.S. passport holders.
A statement from the U.S. embassy in Kabul on Wednesday made a clear statement on the matter writing, “THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CANNOT ENSURE SAFE PASSAGE TO THE HAMID KARZAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.” The statement also notes that the “security situation in Kabul continues to change quickly, including at the airport” and gives details for U.S. citizens looking to escape.
Reports of the Taliban attacking Afghan citizens as they try to enter the airport have also surfaced, creating more chaos and confusion in the attempted evacuations. U.S. fighter jets have been deployed above the airfield to aid in the evacuation operation.
The number of American citizens remaining in Afghanistan was at around 15,000 as of this morning. While the military said it hoped to evacuate 9,000 people a day, yesterday, only 1,000 people were evacuated, with only 330 being US citizens.
Reuters reports that the “Pentagon is aiming to evacuate up to 22,000 Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants, their families and other at-risk people” as well.
Biden has continued to defend himself for the failed withdrawal in an interview with ABC news saying that there was no way “to have gotten out without chaos ensuing,” and that he had “priced in” the fact that they would have trouble evacuating people from the country.
EXCLUSIVE: Pressed on whether the U.S.'s exit from Afghanistan could have been handled better, Pres. Biden tells me, "The idea that somehow, there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing—I don't know how that happens." https://t.co/j2MYMUJcdKpic.twitter.com/ua9T2q9wal
— GeorgeStephanopoulos (@GStephanopoulos) August 18, 2021