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The threat to civilians in Kabul from Islamic State terrorists has added another threat to the already chaotic evacuation in Afghanistan, two US officials said on Saturday.
An official said the threat was significant and had influenced evacuation planning. The other officer said the ISIS-K threat has always been a problem and commanders blamed it.
The bigger concern, and the one that was flight delayed on Saturday, is finding shelter for the flood of refugees being flown out of Kabul, the second official said. Both officers were not allowed to speak publicly.
President Joe Biden was briefed on IS in Afghanistan at a meeting in the camp room on Saturday, attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chief of Staff General Mark Milley, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Avril Haines, Director of the National Secret Service.
All the gates of Kabul Airport were closed on Saturday to secure Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, according to a Defense Ministry official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Most US military evacuation planes fly from Kabul to Qatar, and the inability to handle more evacuees there is creating a ripple effect.
Pentagon officials said Saturday that despite a fluid and dynamic situation at Kabul Airport, they continue to handle evacuees from Afghanistan.
“The airport will remain safe,” said Maj. General William Taylor, deputy director of the joint staff for regional operations. “At this point in time, no change in the current enemy situation in and around the airport was reported.”
Current situation in Afghanistan in numbers
Highlights:
- 5,800 US soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan.
- 17,000 people were evacuated in the past week.
- 3,800 in the last 24 hours.
The day before, six C-17 military transporters and 32 charter planes left Kabul with about 3,800 people, Taylor said. C-17s are commuting evacuees between Qatar and Germany to make room for the evacuees to land at intermediate locations, he said. Three flights landed in Dulles last day and Afghans are handled at Fort Bliss, Taylor said.
About 22,000 people have been evacuated since July and 17,000 since August 14, including 2,500 U.S. citizens, Taylor said.
The US military has around 5,800 soldiers on site, with the 82nd Airborne providing runway security at Kabul Airport, the Army’s 10th Mountain Division on guard at the airport and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit assisting with civilian departures.
Embassy warns Americans in Afghanistan
U.S. military and diplomatic officials offered slightly mixed messages to Americans on Saturday, wondering if they should travel to Kabul airport for an evacuation.
The US embassy in Kabul warned the Americans on Saturday not to travel to the airport without “individual instructions from a representative of the US government” because of possible security threats at the gates.
FOR HER: This is how you are helping Afghan civilians threatened by Taliban violence
But Pentagon officials said they would continue to process U.S. citizens and others with the correct papers through the airport gates.
“When American citizens enter the gates, we keep processing them and take them to safety,” said Taylor. “I didn’t tell you to come. What I said was that our armed forces at the gate have the ability to process those who come to the gate. “
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby described the embassy guidelines as “careful notification to ensure that any movement there is as safe as possible”.
He would not substantiate the security concerns and stressed that the situation is constantly changing.
“I’m not going to go into specific threat assessments,” he said. “It’s very, very fluid and dynamic.”
GRAPHIC WARNING:Video from Kabul shows gunshots and children as Afghans try to get into the airport
“Totally inadequate”: Democratic committee chairman wants to investigate evacuation plans
The Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee has joined calls to investigate what went wrong with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“The plan to evacuate civilians has been completely inadequate,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., In a statement Friday evening. “In the coming months, we need to investigate why it happened this way and make sure it never happens again.”
Smith also said that intelligence relied on to evacuate needed to be scrutinized to determine “whether it provided any clarity about how quickly the Taliban would move in and what our response should have been.”
The Senate Intelligence Committee works with Democrats and Republicans on the Foreign Relations and Armed Forces committees to coordinate a series of scheduled investigative hearings into the actions of the White House, Pentagon, State Department and Intelligence.
But Smith stressed, as Biden did, that the immediate focus should be on safely evacuating Americans and allies from Afghanistan as soon as possible.
– Maureen Bullhead
Biden is still hoping for a full withdrawal by August 31st
The warning of the chaos at the airport, where thousands of people are waiting to leave, came a day after President Joe Biden said he knew of no problems getting to the airport from downtown Kabul.
“We have no indication that they – in Kabul – could not get through the airport,” said Biden on Friday.
Biden said Friday the government still hopes to complete the military withdrawal by the deadline but would continue until all Americans are out. He also pledged to evacuate Afghans who were helping US forces.
Kirby said he wouldn’t speculate on the window of opportunity closing, but acknowledged the time pressure.
“I think we were very honest that we know we are fighting both time and space,” he said. “This is the race we’re in right now.”
Kirby said the military remained in regular contact with Taliban leaders in Kabul.
“We have a number of security concerns,” he said.
Biden said the intelligence services expected the Taliban to take over the country but grossly underestimated how quickly the Afghan government and security forces would give up.
“The consensus was that it is highly unlikely that they would collapse and fall in eleven days and that the leader of Afghanistan would flee the country,” Biden said on Friday. “I’ve made the decision. The money stops with me. I accepted the consensus opinion. “
DEBT ALLOCATIONS:How did Afghanistan end like that? Pointing with the finger begins
Austin won’t step down, Pentagon says
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has not considered resigning over Afghanistan and fully supports President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw troops, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Saturday.
Asked at a briefing for Austin’s recommendation not to withdraw the troops, Kirby said the secretary was pleased that his voice was heard while the plan was debated.
“He’s had an opportunity to give his best advice and advice,” said Kirby. “It was a very integrative, very conscious process.”
After Biden made his decision in April, Austin was ready to obey orders from his commander in chief.
“He fully supports this decision,” said Kirby. “He made that very clear.”
Biden in line with other countries
With analysts saying the events in Afghanistan could affect Biden’s relationship with foreign allies, the president spoke to leaders of Qatar and Italy on Friday to thank them for their help in evacuating US citizens from Afghanistan as well as vulnerable Afghan refugees .
‘WHIPPLASH’: Biden told the world, “America is back,” but it doesn’t feel like it to many
According to a summary by the White House, Biden thanked Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani from Qatar for facilitating talks among Afghans. Leaders underlined the importance of close coordination in Afghanistan and the Middle East as a regional summit in Baghdad approaches later this month.
According to a summary, the heads of state and government of seven countries with the largest economies are to discuss a common approach for Afghanistan at a virtual meeting next week.
Biden spoke to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel about Afghanistan and the summit on Thursday.
Featuring: Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY; Associated press
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