WASHINGTON (AP), President Joe Biden stated Sunday that the U.S.-led evacuations of Americans, Afghans at-risk, and others from Kabul Airport picked up speed over the weekend, but it is still vulnerable to the Islamic State extremist group's threats.
Biden spoke at the White House and stated that 11,000 people were airlifted from Kabul over a period of 36 hours this weekend. However, he didn't provide any details. This number appears to include charter flights and non-U.S. military planes, as well as daily U.S. Air Force C-17/C-130 transport aircraft flights from the capital. There are still thousands of people who want to join the airlift. However, it has been slowed down by security concerns and U.S. bureaucratic hurdles.
Administration officials stated earlier Sunday that the U.S. military was considering innovative ways to get Americans and other people into Kabul Airport for evacuation from Afghanistan. This is in response to acute security threats. The Pentagon ordered six U.S.-based commercial airlines to move the evacuees to temporary locations outside of Afghanistan on Sunday.
The U.S. directed airlift from Kabul to continue Sunday, one week after the Taliban took control of the country. However, U.S. officials are growing more concerned about the Islamic State group's threat. This concern is compounded by the Taliban's obstruction to this mission and U.S. government bureaucratic issues.
Biden met with Secretary Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan. The White House also stated that they planned to give a public update later in the day. Biden will discuss Afghanistan with leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized countries on Tuesday.
"The threat is real, acute, persistent, and it is real," stated Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor.
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Sullivan stated on CNN's State of the Union, that 3,900 people were airlifted from Kabul by U.S. military aircraft in the last 24 hours. An American defense official spoke on condition of anonymity, saying that the 3,900 people were flown out of Kabul on 23 flights by C-17 transports, and nine on C-130 cargo planes.
This is an increase of 1,600 people who were flown out on U.S. military aircrafts over the past 24 hours but still far below the 5,000-9,000 daily airlift that the military claims it can handle. Sullivan said that 3,900 people were also airlifted by non-U.S. military aircraft in the last 24 hours.
Biden's administration has not provided a firm estimate of how many Americans are seeking to flee Afghanistan. Others have estimated that the number could be between 10,000 and 15.000. It was several thousand, according to Sullivan on Sunday.
Austin stated that as the Aug. 31 deadline to end the evacuation operation nears, he will suggest whether to extend it. Tens of thousands of Americans, as well as others, have not yet been evacuated.
Austin's interview with ABC aired on Sunday, but was taped on Saturday. The State Department issued a Sunday notice urging people who are attempting to flee Afghanistan under an organized private evacuation plan to wait until they have been given specific instructions by the U.S. Embassy flight organizer. According to the notice, all other people, including American citizens, should follow the instructions of the embassy and make their way to Kabul airport.
Austin stated that the airlift would continue as long as it was possible.
Austin stated that they would do everything possible to help every American citizen, regardless of their citizenship, get out. We have -- we continue looking at creative ways to contact American citizens to help them get to the airfield.
Austin pointed out that the U.S. military used helicopters on Thursday to transport 169 Americans from a nearby hotel into the airport. This is the only instance in which U.S. forces have been known to go beyond the airport in order to evacuate the evacuees.
According to the British military, seven more people were killed Sunday in unceasing crowds at the airport. After the Taliban took over the capital, the U.S. military seized control of the airport to allow for evacuations. Foreigners and their Afghan allies have found it dangerous and difficult to cross the airport due to the Taliban forces in control of the streets surrounding the airport.
Republicans in Congress have criticized Biden's responses more strongly. According to GOP Senator Joni Ernst, an Army veteran and a former Army soldier, if the Taliban claims that Americans can travel safely from the airport, then there is no better method to ensure they do so than to use our military to transport them.
Ryan Crocker, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said that Biden's handling of the withdrawal had been catastrophic and caused a global crisis.
Processing evacuees after they have reached other countries in the region or in Europe is a major problem in an evacuation operation. Even though temporary waystations in Qatar, Bahrain, and Germany are often full, new locations are being created, including in Spain.
The Pentagon activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet Sunday in an effort to reduce that burden and free up military aircraft to fly missions from Kabul. According to the Defense Department, 18 aircraft from American Airlines (Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air), Hawaiian Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, and American Airlines will be flying to evacuate people from interim routestations. These airlines will not fly into Afghanistan. The six airlines participating in the airlift have agreed to help for less than two weeks. This roughly matches the current duration of the airlift which will end on Aug. 31.
In 2003, the civil airline reserve system was activated for the Iraq War. Commercial airliners will continue to be civil aircraft, but the Air Mobility Command of the military will manage the flights.
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This report was contributed by Lolita C.Baldor, Ellen Knickmeyer and Hope Yen, all Associated Press writers.
