Biden, meanwhile, warned that the evacuation operation remains dangerous and that its outcome is uncertain, but said the U.S. “will do everything possible to provide a safe evacuation.”
“Any American who wants to go home: we’ll take you home,” Biden said in a speech at the White House on Friday. The president also extended that promise to Afghan translators who risked their lives to help U.S. troops and diplomats operate in the field during the U.S. 20-year presence in Afghanistan.
There is nothing “more important than taking out American citizens,” Biden said. “But I recognize that. But they’re just as important, almost, as all those SIVs (special immigrant visas) we call, that actually helped us. They were translators. They were in the battle with us. They were part of the operation.” added.
Biden assured his assurances with a sober note of caution as reports continued to emerge about how the Taliban were beating and threatening people, including Americans, who were trying to make their way to the airport.
“Make no mistake, this evacuation mission is dangerous, poses risks to the armed forces and has been carried out in difficult circumstances,” Biden said. “I can’t promise what the end result will be or … it will be risk-free. But as commander-in-chief, I can assure you that I will mobilize all necessary resources.”
“All media”
Biden suggested that the mobilization could include military incursions beyond the perimeter of the airport to pick up Americans, and hours later the Pentagon revealed that it had done exactly that, using three Chinook CH-47 helicopters to retake 169 North -Americans who had gathered at a hotel about 200 meters from an airport gate.
The original plan had been for Americans to walk in the door, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, but a large crowd had gathered there and some of the Americans felt insecure trying to make their way to through the crowd. When another country alerted the U.S. military to the situation of the Americans, a commander on the ground made the “in situ” decision to retrieve them, Kirby said. The other country established security until the helicopters arrived, Kirby said, adding that “it was a very fast and safe operation.”
This operation may not be the last, as Biden suggested, who told reporters that “we are considering every opportunity and every means by which we could bring people to the airport.”
As part of that effort, the State Department announced a new working group “dedicated solely and exclusively to contact with U.S. citizens who have indicated a desire to be repatriated to the United States” from Afghanistan, said spokeswoman Ned Price on Friday.
He said the effort was contained within the State Department, but that they would share information with other agencies “if it proves useful … and should be done.”
News of the Chinook rescue and task force comes when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told House members Friday afternoon that the Taliban were beaten by Americans in Kabul, according to various sources.
Austin called it “unacceptable,” but would not rule out the possibility of U.S. troops leaving the airport gates to ensure a safe passage through checkpoints. Austin added that in general, the Taliban did not obstruct Americans who wanted to get to the airport.
Shortly after Biden’s statements, U.S. officials announced a number of new countries that will now aid U.S. transit or temporarily host Afghans fleeing the Taliban and said the first evacuation flight was leaving the United States. Afghanistan had arrived at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany with about 350 people on board.
“Bahrain, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan have been or will soon transit through the United States or, in some circumstances, in others, through their territories in security “. Price said Friday.
“Albania, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Mexico, Poland, Qatar, Rwanda, Ukraine and Uganda have also made generous offers on the efforts to relocate Afghans at risk,” he told reporters at daily information session.
Price said other locations would go online in the next few days, “which will allow us to make sure we can maximize that flow because, again … the metric and the only metric we care about is how many people we are able to move, to be safe, if they are Americans we are repatriating to the United States, if they are third-country nationals, whose transfer we are facilitating to their home countries, or if they are it’s about Afghans at risk. “
Special immigrant visa applicants will be taken to the United States, depending on the price added. “In some cases, we have heard these very generous offers of support from partners, from allies around the world who will be willing to welcome at-risk Afghans as they go through this process,” he said.
The president tried to reassure the country as the unrest of the evacuation effort spread beyond Afghanistan and sparked an urgent push to give U.S. military pilots out of Kabul new destinations. to save people.
For several hours no flights left Kabul, Clarissa Ward of CNN reported on Friday, because one of the central destinations, Qatar, was about to reach its capacity.
“The first passing station”
On Friday afternoon, General Hank Taylor, deputy director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Regional Operations, told reporters that flight operations had resumed after a pause of about “six to seven hours” while the U.S. military was adjusting “resources and personnel” to address what it called a temporary capability issue at the U.S. military base in Qatar.
While U.S. officials were looking for new places to land planes from Afghanistan, about 10,000 people at Kabul airport who had been prosecuted for departure were unable to fly due to the delay in Qatar.
Pentagon spokesman Kirby said Qatar had been “the first stopover for the evacuation flights we have been conducting and, as we have been doing so consistently, it is one of the reasons we have been there. reached capacity as quickly as we did. we thank the other countries that have already agreed to accept additional numbers “.
Taylor confirmed to Pentagon reporters that the U.S. will relocate Afghans to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. Shortly afterwards, the U.S. military posted an online photo of Air Force aviators setting up green cribs to a base hangar.
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Operation Allied Shelter facilitates the rapid and safe evacuation of U.S. citizens, special immigrant visa applicants and other Afghans at risk from Afghanistan, “the message said. Qualified evacuees will receive support such as temporary accommodation, food, medical check-up and treatment. and more at Ramstein Air Base as it prepares for movements to its final destinations. “
According to two DHS officials, National Security personnel are expected to go to Germany to help prosecute SIV applicants and Afghan allies.
On Friday, 17 flights had departed from Kabul airport the previous 24 hours with 6,000 passengers, Taylor told reporters on Friday. Those 6,000 include “a couple of hundred U.S. citizens,” as well as Afghans at risk, Taylor said.
Since the end of July, the Department of Defense has moved more than 18,000 people out of Afghanistan. 13,000 of the total of 18,000 who have been evacuated have moved out of the country since Aug. 14, Taylor said, adding that there are now 5,800 U.S. soldiers on the ground in Kabul.
Military and diplomatic efforts are underway to pressure the Taliban to ensure a safe passage for those still trying to reach the airport, but for now the route is full of uncertainty for Afghans who want to flee, as they first often violent and arbitrary Taliban controls must make their way.
Biden said in his statements to the White House that his administration is in “constant contact with the Taliban” and that most of the commitments were focused on getting Americans out who want to leave the country.
Asked about the US sending troops to Kabul to get Americans who have not been able to get to the airport safely, Biden said: “We have no indication that they have not been able to pass – to Kabul – through the airport. “We have reached an agreement with the Taliban. So far they have allowed them to pass. It is in their best interest that they go through them.””
Kirby, when asked about Austin’s comments to lawmakers about the Taliban beatings, said the military was aware of the reports. “We are certainly aware of these reports and they are deeply concerned, and we have communicated to the Taliban that it is absolutely unacceptable, that we want a free passage through their checkpoints for documented Americans,” Kirby said. “And overall, that’s happening,” he added.
The administration has issued several warnings. The U.S. embassy in Kabul has warned Americans that it “cannot guarantee safe passage to the airport,” and Department of Defense and State officials have said they do not have the capacity to recover U.S. citizens. Americans from Kabul and take them to the airport for evacuation flights.
Those who are able to reach the perimeter of the airport have reported waiting to enter. The U.S. embassy reported in a recent security alert that “due to large crowds and security issues, doors may open or close without notice” and urged people to “use the best judgment and try to enter the airport through any open door. ” ”
Those who can get to U.S. government evacuation flights will not have to pay for them, the State Department confirmed Friday. “In these unique circumstances, we do not intend to demand any reimbursement from those fleeing Afghanistan,” Price said in a statement.
Clarissa Ward, Brent Swails, Will Bonnett, Kara Fox, Jeff Zeleny, Barbara Starr, Allie Malloy, Ellie Kaufman, Priscilla Alvarez, Geneva Sands, Jeremy Herb, Natasha Bertrand and Ryan Nobles of CNN contributed to this report.