Afghanistan: US reliant on Taliban to allow citizens safe passage to the airport - defence secretary says
A top US general has said working with the Taliban is the "primary means" of getting Americans out of Afghanistan as the US "does not have the capability to go out and collect large numbers of people".
Thursday 19 August 2021 02:31, UK
The US does not currently have the capability to evacuate large numbers of Americans who are outside Kabul - and troops are having to negotiate with the Taliban to allow people passage to the airport, the US defence secretary has said.
Speaking from the Pentagon, Lloyd J Austin III said the military was "laser focused" and "doing everything that we can to evacuate Americans, allies, Afghans who've worked alongside us, and also other courageous Afghans".
But he added that the US is "not close to where we want to be" in terms of the numbers of people flown out of the country.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A Milley, said that "through the State Department, the Taliban are facilitating the safe passage to the airport for American citizens".
He said that is the "primary means" of getting people out of the country, adding: "We don't have the capability to go out and collect large numbers of people."
Gen Austin initially said there "have been no hostile interactions with the Taliban", but when pressed by reporters, admitted "there have been some unfortunate incidents".
"We do hear reports of people getting turned away from checkpoints," he said. "We've gone back and reinforced to the Taliban that they need to be allowed through."
He added that the major issue for US forces currently was processing the people that are there "as fast as we can".
Witnesses said armed members of the Taliban have been preventing people from getting into the airport compound, including those with the necessary documents to travel.
Gen Milley said the US military "will continue to deconflict issues with the Taliban" and create passageways for people to get to the airfield.
He said the US is not capable of extending operations into Kabul and is focused on securing the airport.
President Joe Biden said US forces will stay in Afghanistan until all Americans are evacuated, even if that means staying beyond his 31 August deadline.
He pushed back against criticism that the US should have done more to plan for the withdrawal.
"The idea that somehow, there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don't know how that happens," he told ABC News.
Gen Milley said the situation in Afghanistan "is still very dangerous, very dynamic and fluid".
He said US troops were currently "in harm's way", adding: "Right now there are troops at risk, and we are the United States military, and we fully intend to successfully evacuate all American citizens who want to get out of Afghanistan."
US President Joe Biden caused an uproar at his coronavirus news conference when he refused to answer questions from reporters, who were expected to confront him with more concerns about the withdrawal.
There are about 4,500 US military personnel in Kabul, helping with the evacuation at the international airport of hundreds of westerners and local allies, including interpreters, who have assisted the coalition during the 20-year conflict.
The Taliban has claimed it will not seek revenge on those who have fought against the group and said it is committed to the rights of women within the framework of Sharia, or Islamic law.
When the Taliban previously ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, the group clamped down on women's rights, carried out public executions and banned TV and music.
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Afghans remain sceptical of the claims, with thousands racing to the airport and borders to flee the country while others hide in their homes.
Taliban militants took over the civilian side of Kabul airport on Tuesday and have used force in attempts to control the crowds, firing occasional warning shots into the air to disperse groups of people trying to push through the gates.