An organizer of charter flights to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies from Mazar-i-Sharif airport accused the State Department of keeping the planes, saying “there will be blood in the hands of the White House” if some of the people waiting are injured or killed by the Taliban.
Another organizer told Reuters that about 1,000 people, including Americans, are being held in Afghanistan waiting for the State Department to authorize their flights.
A person involved in hiring private jets to get people out of Afghanistan attributed the responsibility exclusively to the State Department for withholding the flights.
“This is the zero place to negotiate with American lives. These are our people standing on the tarmac and all you have to do is make a phone call, ”the person told Fox News.
“If you lose a life as a result, the blood is in the hands of the White House. The blood is in your hands,” said the person Fox News does not identify to avoid jeopardizing the efforts of rescue, and added: “It’s not the Taliban who support it, no matter how much it hurts me to say that – it’s the United States government.”
The person suggested that the State Department be embarrassed that private letters help Americans flee Afghanistan after the Biden administration left them trapped after the U.S. military withdrawal last week.
The flight organizer who spoke to Reuters also blamed the State Department for failing to inform the Taliban that it approved Mazar-i-Sharif’s departures.
“They have to take responsibility for endangering the lives of these people,” said the organizer, who asked the cabling service not to reveal their identities.
Rick Clay, who operates the private group PlanB trying to rescue people in Afghanistan, told Fox News he was trying to get permission to land in Doha, Qatar.
Military commanders at Doha Al Udeid Air Force have informed those requesting permission that they must go through the State Department.
Clay said he has a manifesto of 4,500 names of U.S. citizens, green card holders and Afghans with special immigrant visas who want to leave Afghanistan.
It has given the State Department 800 names of people who will be passengers on the first flights.
“It is essential to enter Doha wherever it is [are] other refugee centers, “Clay told Fox News in a text message.” This is where I asked for permission. “
Clay said PlanB “has trouble getting permission” from the State Department for flights departing from Afghanistan to land in a neighboring country.
He said the State Department does not allow private letters to “land anywhere” and said agency officials blame the absence of traffic controllers and radar problems for the delays.
“If we can get planes, pick people up and get them out, why can’t we take them to Doha to the refugee center or other refugee centers?” Said Clay. “That makes no sense.”
“We still have Americans we can get out of,” he continued.
While some blamed the State Department for the delays, Rep. Michael McCaul, the Republican equities in the House Foreign Relations Committee, accused the Taliban of holding “hostages” the Americans.
The chaotic situation and conflicting reports in Mazar-i-Sharif reflect ground conditions near Hamid Karzai International Airport outside Kabul after the Taliban took control of the capital last month and crowds of Afghans stormed. the airport seeking to escape extremist group government.
McCaul said the State Department cleaned up six planes in Mazar-i-Sharif, but the Taliban refuse to let them go.
“Well, they don’t clean planes to leave. These planes have been sitting at the airport for the past two days, and they are not allowed to leave, “McCaul told host Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday.
“We know the reason why the Taliban want something in return. In reality, Chris, it becomes a hostage situation in which they will not allow American citizens to leave until they get full recognition from the United States of America.” , said McCaul, of Texas.
The White House responded to claims that more than 1,000 Americans are still in Afghanistan, placing the number “around 100.”
“We’re going to look for ways to get them – those who want to leave – to get them out of Afghanistan. We know a lot of them have family members, a lot of them want to stay, but those who want to we’ll make them leave, ”Ron Klain, White House chief of staff, told CNN’s union state. ”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are expected to meet with U.S. troops and diplomats in Germany and the Middle East this week amid evacuation efforts.
As the planes sat on the tarmac of Mazar-i-Sharif, Clay said he received messages from Afghans awaiting their flights that they feared knocking on the Taliban’s door.
“Please save us as soon as possible,” a message said. “My family and I face a lot of problems. My children’s health is deteriorating day by day due to many concerns.
“On the other hand, there are reports that the Taliban have recruited people to the Ministry of Technology and Communications to find people to cooperate with U.S. forces,” he wrote to Clay. “If they find out anything about me, they will kill me and my family.”
McCaul said the Taliban’s retaliation against Afghans who worked with the U.S. military during the 20-year war has been “severe.”
“You have stories of performers who took their families home and watched, you know, how their wives and families were beheaded before the performer was executed. This is not a new and improved Taliban. This is the same old Taliban. They go back to the same brutal practices, ”he told Fox News.
He also said the Taliban are in a stronger military position than they were when they last took power between 1996 and 2001.
“It’s worse because they are now fully armed with our weapons, our helicopters and sticks of our money,” he told Wallace.
He questioned President Biden’s assertion that the United States maintains the ability “on the horizon” to attack terrorists in Afghanistan from bases in neighboring countries.
“This capacity on the horizon is greatly exaggerated because we have nothing close to Afghanistan. It is a landlocked country surrounded by our enemies, Russia, China, Iran, who have now been encouraged by this foreign policy, you know, wrong, ”he said.
“I think we need to establish this SRI. You know, at some point on the horizon, flying from a gulf, probably countries like Qatar, which would take six to eight hours, having to fly through Iran, over Pakistan, to refuel. When I talk to any military person, they tell me that this is not appropriate for us to have ISR capability, ”McCaul said, referring to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.