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“We are also aware that some people, including Americans, have been harassed and even beaten by the Taliban,” Austin said on the call, according to multiple sources. “This is unacceptable and [we] made this clear to the designated Taliban leader.
Austin added that “with the exception of these cases, we continue to see duly accredited Americans and Afghans continue to move.”
Asked about Austin’s remarks, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby reiterated that the United States had told the Taliban it wanted “free passage through these checkpoints for documented Americans,” adding, “Overall, that’s what’s happening.
The House briefing – which included remarks from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley – was the first of several in the coming days as lawmakers demand answers on the botched withdrawal of United States of Afghanistan and the incredibly rapid rise of the Taliban to power. .
Already, at least four Democratic-led congressional committees have pledged to hold hearings and investigate the Biden administration’s execution of the pullout, prompting bipartisan condemnation.
Milley told lawmakers the military would increase C-17 evacuation flights from Kabul from 12 a day to more than 30 in the coming days, the sources said on the call.
Earlier on Friday, Biden made his first pledge to evacuate any Afghan allies from the United States who wish to leave the country, extending the same commitment he has already made to the Americans inside Afghanistan. . And on the conference call, Austin confirmed that the US military had “absolutely” agreed to evacuate the best Afghan commandos who aided the Americans during the war effort.
Republicans have been among the most vocal critics of Biden’s withdrawal from the war-torn country, which was announced in April. On Friday’s conference call, parliamentary minority leader Kevin McCarthy called the withdrawal a “huge mistake.”
Mccarthy urged Austin to reopen Bagram Air Force Base, which has long been the beating heart of the U.S. war effort, but was closed and abandoned earlier this year as the U.S. accelerated its withdrawal. Bagram has two runways for Kabul, which could help speed up evacuations of Americans and Afghan allies from the country.
“We will work hard to evacuate as many people as possible by the time we have to pull over,” Austin said, apparently referring to the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline. “If I am given more time, I will take more time. … We don’t know if we will be able to do it or not.
Biden suggested he would keep troops in Afghanistan beyond August 31 if the evacuations were not completed by then.
Austin also said the United States was not ruling out any options on the possibility of sending additional troops. Several thousand US troops have been dispatched to Kabul airport over the past week to assist with evacuations and maintain a perimeter around the airfield.
Biden said earlier that the United States “is considering every opportunity and every means by which we could get people to the airport,” amid documented efforts by the Taliban to prevent safe passage there. It is not known if this would result in sending US troops outside the perimeter of the airport.
While it is not clear whether troops or other military assets will be deployed beyond the airport perimeter, Milley told lawmakers that the United States is “pushing back and stopping the flow of vehicles in and around. highways ”and widened the perimeter itself.
Later in the appeal, Blinken told lawmakers that a new slice of country has offered to house Afghan evacuees, which will help clear a backlog that earlier Friday resulted in a seven-hour hiatus on flights from Kabul. Countries include Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Mexico, Romania, Qatar, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan and Ukraine.
This is in addition to nearly a dozen other countries that have already started transporting Americans and Afghans within their territory, Blinken said. They include Bahrain, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Qatar, Spain, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.
Flights from Kabul resumed earlier on Friday after a break due to a backlog at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, where passengers were flown for processing.
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