The US military evacuated approximately 1,100 Americans, permanent residents of the United States, and their families. Afghanistan on Tuesday, a white House The official said- questioning how they would manage the massive airlift required to evacuate all US citizens safely.
President Joe BidenThe team said they are optimistic that the pace of withdrawals will increase.
“Now that we have established the flow, we expect that number to increase,” the White House official said in a statement.
The evacuated people were evacuated from 13 flights – with 12 C-17 and one C-130 flights.
Joe Biden, seen on Monday addressing the nation about the situation in Afghanistan, was severely criticized for the chaotic scenes as the country’s government fell and the Taliban took power
An A-400M transport plane evacuating people from Afghanistan arrived at Tashkent International Airport in Uzbekistan on Tuesday
US Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie, Commander of US Central Command, US Marine Brigadier General Farrell J. Sullivan directs operations at Kabul Airport on Monday.
Indian citizens wait for evacuation on board an Indian military aircraft at the airport in Kabul on Tuesday
When asked how many C-17 transport aircraft are being used to evacuate people from Afghanistan, a senior defense official said voice of america: ‘Every one that is available.’
The US has approved about 6,000 troops to assist with security and evacuation on the ground, more than double the number of US troops in Afghanistan when the withdrawal was announced in May.
Washington said on Tuesday night that more than 3,200 people had been evacuated from Kabul so far.
“In addition to evacuating these total more than 3,200 people, we have also relocated about 2,000 Afghan special migrants to the United States,” the White House official said.
Yet confusion prevailed on Tuesday night about how many eligible Americans and residents remained in Afghanistan.
The State Department confirmed on Sunday that the evacuation of personnel from its embassy in Kabul was complete, and that workers are now at the airport – just a few days after the US pulled staff from the consulate amid the Taliban’s takeover of the capital city. hours later.
Biden is seen arriving with a military attaché at Camp David on Tuesday
“We can confirm that the evacuation of all embassy personnel is now complete,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
‘All embassy personnel are located in the premises of Hamid Karzai International Airport, the perimeter of which is guarded by the US military.’
He did not say how many there were.
Thousands of Afghans queued at Kabul airport on Tuesday to try to make room for a plane out of the country
An Afghan man working for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan shows his documents as he waits outside Hamid Karzai International Airport to flee the country on Tuesday
On Tuesday, Defense Department press secretary John Kirby told CNN’s New Day host John Berman that there could be anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 US citizens near the Afghan capital.
“We think there are definitely thousands of Americans,” Kirby said. ‘We don’t have exact calculations.’
He said that once the airport starts full operations, there will be a capacity to evacuate 5,000 to 9,000 people per day.
A former official, Robert Charles, who was assistant secretary of state to President George W Bush, said on Tuesday that he had been told there were about 40,000 Americans and permanent residents awaiting evacuation.
He told Fox News, ‘There is a document called F77 in the embassy and it tells how many Americans are in the country.
‘I was told there are 15,000 people, possibly 40,000 Americans waiting to get out.’
He said it was ‘Dunkirk with a bad ending’.
Robert Charles says he believes 40,000 Americans are in Afghanistan awaiting evacuation
Former CIA director David Petraeus agreed.
‘It’s a Dunkirk moment and our decisions made it,’ he added cipher brief.
‘We need to accept this. And now we must act as if we recognize the devastation we have caused to the Afghans who supported us.
‘We must make sure the Taliban knows that we will not tolerate their attempts to obstruct the movement of individuals to and from the airport. And we must demonstrate that if necessary.
‘This is the only way to discharge our moral obligation to those who supported and served with us and who are now marked as men and women in their own country.’
The airport was temporarily closed on Monday following chaotic scenes that saw thousands of people flooding the airport and clinging to planes as they took off. Human remains were found in the fuselage, the US Air Force confirmed on Tuesday.
Chaos erupted at Kabul airport on Monday as thousands rushed to the runway to escape the Taliban regime, fearing bloody retaliation by Islamists
Thousands of Afghans rushed to Kabul airport before some Americans jumped on the C-17 jet, which was carrying hundreds of diplomatic staff and visa holders out of the country.
New video footage has emerged showing a dozen people clinging to the landing gear of a US evacuation jet that took off from Kabul airport on Monday after the Taliban captured the capital.
The remains were found in a wheel well after the plane landed at Al Udeed Air Base in Qatar.
The Air Force is confiscating the aircraft to collect the remains and inspect the aircraft
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said: ‘We are working, engaging, coordinating with Taliban elements on the ground to ensure a safe passage.
‘We will continue to work on that issue day after day until we complete our mission.’
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