It's over. "We can't get them out," Matt Zeller (a former CIA analyst, and veteran) told Insider August 25.
Zeller spoke to Insider just one week before the last US military sorties from Afghanistan.
General McKenzie stated that approximately 123,000 people had been evacuated. However, he said, "We didn't get everyone out who wanted to get out."
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It's over. "We can't get them out," Matt Zeller (a former CIA analyst who served as a war veteran and is currently the Board Chair for the Association of Wartime Allies in aid of refugees and allies) told Insider on Wednesday August 25.
Zeller spoke to Insider just one week before the US declared victory in Afghanistan. "On August 30, at 3:29 p.m. East Coast Time," General Kenneth McKenzie, Commander of the United States Central Command said that the last US military flight had left the country.
McKenzie stated that nearly 123,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan. McKenzie admitted that not everyone was evacuated. Fewer than 250 Americans wished to leave and an untold amount of Afghan allies were left behind.
He said that the military phase of the operation was over. "The diplomatic sequel will now start."
American veterans like Zeller worked hard in the weeks before to assist Afghan allies. However, they were faced with many obstacles, even before Friday's attack at the airport that killed 13 US troops and dozens of Afghans. According to the US military, ISIS-K, an Islamic State presence in Afghanistan, and a sworn enemy to the Taliban, is responsible for the explosion.
The Taliban stated last week that only foreigners would be permitted to leave Afghanistan and that they won't extend the deadline of August 31 for Americans to be evacuated. Zeller spoke with Afghans on the ground and said that the Taliban had completely changed the way they operate security since Tuesday's press conference.
Other people reported similar difficulties in getting through Taliban security checkpoints. McKenzie however stated that between 1,000 and 1,500 Afghans were flown out of Afghanistan within 24 hours.
Americans and Afghans were in a frenzy after the August 16 Taliban overthrow. They fear the fall of the US-backed Afghan government. Women were forbidden from working, going to school or leaving the house during the Taliban's rule between 1996 and 2001. The Taliban used cruel punishments like stoneing and public executions. They also prohibited people from listening and singing.
The Biden administration did not meet their August 31 deadline to evacuate all Americans or troops from Afghanistan.
Zeller, co-founder of No One Left Behind was the one who estimated that 175,000 of our allies would be left behind. The Wall Street Journal estimated that there were tens to thousands of people who had been left behind by the military planes that left on Monday.
Zeller stated, "See what happens if you lose a battle." "You just surrender to the end."
Zeller said last week that her heart is broken for these amazing people.
Send tips to this reporter at tmitchell@insider.com.
