Up to 1,500 Americans await Afghanistan airlift

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as many as 1,500 Americans may be awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan, a figure that suggests the U.S. may accomplish its highest priority for the Kabul airlift — rescuing U.S. citizens — ahead of President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline despite growing warnings Thursday of terror threats targeting the airport.

Untold thousands of at-risk Afghans, however, were still struggling to get into the Kabul airport, even many thousands of other Afghans already had been flown to safety in nearly two weeks of round-the-clock flights.

Scene at Kabul Airport Turns Chaotic, as Afghans Attempt to Flee Taliban Takeover.A day after the capital city fell to the Taliban.Afghan residents stormed the Kabul International Airport by the thousands.President Joe Biden announced on Aug. 15 that an additional 1,000 U.S. troops would be deployed to the city.in order to facilitate the evacuation of thousands of U.S. officials and civilians.The "most vulnerable" Afghans will also be evacuated, though it was unclear exactly who would be included.While U.S. troops commanded control of the airport.Afghan civilians rushed entrances and boarding gates in an attempt to gain access to two civilian aircraft on the tarmac.Some attempted to grab onto U.S. military planes as they taxied the runway before take-off.According to the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority, all civilian air travel in and out of the city has been halted.It has pleaded with Kabul residents to stay away from the airport.The location is one of the few places that remains outside of Taliban control, .though photos showed armed Taliban members observing the airport chaos.The U.S. maintained a significant presence in Afghanistan for 20 years.Since the announcement of U.S. withdrawal, it has taken the Taliban roughly a month to seize every major city

Several of the Americans working phones and pulling strings to get out former Afghan colleagues, women’s advocates, journalists and other vulnerable Afghans said they were still waiting for U.S. action to get those remaining Afghans past Taliban checkpoints and through U.S-controlled airport gates to promised evacuation flights.

“It’s 100% up to the Afghans to take these risks and try to fight their way out,” said Sunil Varghese, policy director with the International Refugee Assistance Project.

ExploreWest warns of possible attack at Kabul airport amid airlift

Blinken, echoing Biden’s earlier declarations during the now 12-day-old evacuation, emphasized at a State Department briefing that " evacuating Americans is our top priority. "

He added, “We’re also committed to getting out as many Afghans at-risk as we can before the 31st,” when Biden plans to pull out the last of thousands of American troops.

Biden Defends U.S. Withdraw From Afghanistan:, ‘I Stand Squarely Behind My Decision’.On Monday, Biden delivered a speech addressing the recent turmoil in Afghanistan. .The Taliban seized control of Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital,marking the collapse of the nation’s government.Biden said that despitethe current chaos he stands “squarely behind[his] decision” to withdraw U.S. troops. .I stand squarely behind my decision …After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way thatthere was never a good time to withdraw, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'.He said to staywould be to “[lurch] into the third decade of conflict.”.The choice I had to make as your presidentwas either to follow through on the agreementto drawdown our forces … or escalatingthe conflict and sending thousands moreAmerican troops back into combat andlurching into the third decade of conflict, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'.Biden admitted that the Taliban’s retaking ofcontrol “unfold[ed] more quickly” than anticipated. .We were clear-eyed about the risks, weplanned for every contingency. But I alwayspromised the American people I would bestraight with you … The truth is, this didunfold more quickly than we had anticipated, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'.However, Biden insisted that the blame of the Talibantakeover lay on the country’s political leaders and military. .Afghanistan political leaders gave upand fled the country … If anything, thedevelopments of the past week reinforcethat ending U.S. military involvement inAfghanistan now was the right decision, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'.The U.S. military currently has control of Kabul’s airport andis evacuating embassy staffers and allied personnel.A total of 6,000 U.S. troops were authorizedfor deployment to Afghanistan by Biden on Saturday toassist in an “orderly and safe drawdown.”.… to make sure we can have an orderly andsafe drawdown of US personnel and other alliedpersonnel and an orderly and safe evacuationof Afghans who helped our troops duringour mission and those at special risk fromthe Taliban advance, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'

As more nations began shutting down their own evacuation flights and pulling out ahead of the United States’ troop withdrawal, there were new European warnings Thursday of terror threats. British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told the BBC on Thursday there was “very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack” at the airport, possibly within “hours.”

On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert warning American citizens away from three specific airport gates, but gave no further explanation. Senior U.S. officials said the warning was related to ongoing and specific threats involving the Islamic State and potential vehicle bombs, which have set U.S. officials on edge in the final days of the American drawdown. The officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing military operations.

Uganda Agrees to Take In 2,000 Refugees , Fleeing Afghanistan.Uganda Agrees to Take In 2,000 Refugees , Fleeing Afghanistan.On August 15, Taliban militants took power in Afghanistan. Days later, Uganda said it would take in 2,000 refugees fleeing the country. .On August 17, the first group of 500 Afghan refugees are expected to arrive at Entebbe Airport.On August 17, the first group of 500 Afghan refugees are expected to arrive at Entebbe Airport.Refugee Minister Esther Anyakun told the BBC that the deal came after a request from the US government.Refugee Minister Esther Anyakun told the BBC that the deal came after a request from the US government.On August 15, Kabul fell to Taliban control, prompting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country.On August 15, Kabul fell to Taliban control, prompting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country.Many desperate residents then headed to the airport where US troops were organising evacuations for foreigners and vulnerable Afghans.The rapid advance of the Taliban has caused tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.According to the BBC, Uganda is already currently home to around 1.3 million people who have fled conflict or other disasters.According to the BBC, Uganda is already currently home to around 1.3 million people who have fled conflict or other disasters.Uganda has the largest population of refugees in any country in Africa, and the third largest in the world.Uganda has the largest population of refugees in any country in Africa, and the third largest in the world.The BBC reports that over 90% of refugees living in Uganda originally fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.The BBC reports that over 90% of refugees living in Uganda originally fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.Refugees live in settlements or villages alongside local residents and some are given plots of land and allowed to work

Blinken said the State Department estimates there were about 6,000 Americans wanting to leave Afghanistan when the airlift began Aug. 14, as the Taliban took the capital after a stunning military conquest. About 4,500 Americans have been evacuated so far, Blinken said, and among the rest “some are understandably very scared.”

The 6,000 figure is the first firm estimate by the State Department of how many Americans were seeking to get out. U.S. officials early in the evacuation estimated as many as 15,000, including dual citizens, lived in Afghanistan. The figure does not include U.S. Green Card holders.

About 500 Americans have been contacted with instructions on when and how to get to the chaotic Kabul airport to catch evacuation flights.

In addition, 1,000 or perhaps fewer are being contacted to determine whether they still want to leave. Blinken said some of these may already have left the country, some may want to remain and some may not actually be American citizens.

“We are providing opportunity,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of those Afghans, who include dual Afghan-American citizens. “We are finding ways to get them to the airport and evacuate them, but it is also their personal decision on whether they want to depart.”

On a lighter note, the U.S. military said an Afghan baby girl born on a C-17 military aircraft during the massive evacuation will carry that experience with her. Her parents named her after the plane’s call sign: Reach.

She was born Saturday, and members of the 86th Medical Group helped in her birth aboard the plane that had taken the family from Kabul to Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Two other babies whose parents were evacuating from Afghanistan have been born over the past week at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the U.S. military hospital in Germany.

In Washington, Blinken emphasized that the U.S. and other governments plan to continue assisting Afghans and Americans who want to leave after next Tuesday, the deadline for Biden’s planned end to the evacuation and the two-decade U.S. military role in Afghanistan.

Biden has cited what he U.S. says are rising security threats to U.S. forces, including from an affiliate of the Islamic State terror group, for his determination to stick with Tuesday’s withdrawal deadline.

The U.S. Embassy has already been evacuated; staff are operating from the Kabul airport and the last are to leave by Tuesday.

Biden said this week he had asked his national security team for contingency plans in case he decides to extend the deadline. Taliban leaders who took control of Afghanistan this month say they will not tolerate any extensions to the Tuesday deadline. But Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweeted that “people with legal documents” will still be able to fly out via commercial flights after Tuesday.

U.S. troops are anchoring a multinational evacuation from the airport. The White House says the airlift overall has flown out 82,300 Afghans, Americans and others on a mix of U.S., international and private flights.

The withdrawal comes under a 2020 deal negotiated by President Donald Trump with the Taliban.

Refugee groups are describing a different picture than the Biden administration is when it comes to many Afghans: a disorganized, barely-there U.S. evacuation effort that leaves the most desperate to risk beatings and death at Taliban checkpoints. Some Afghans are reported being turned away from the Kabul airport by American forces controlling the gates, despite having approval for flights.

U.S. military and diplomatic officials appear to still be compiling lists of eligible Afghans but have yet to disclose how many may be evacuated — and how — private Americans and American organizations said.

“We still have 1,200 Afghans with visas that are outside the airport and haven’t got in,” said James Miervaldis with No One Left Behind, one of dozens of veterans groups working to get out Afghans who worked with the U.S. military during America’s nearly 20 years of combat in the country.. “We’re waiting to hear from the US. government and haven’t heard yet.”

U.S.-based organizations, speaking on background to discuss sensitive matters, cite accounts from witnesses on the ground as saying some American citizens, and family members of Afghans with green cards, still were having trouble pushing and talking their way into the Kabul airport for flights.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. military will preserve as much airlift capacity at the airport as possible in the coming days, ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. The military will “continue to evacuate needed populations all the way to the end,” he said. But he added that in the final days and hours there will have to be a balance in getting out U.S. troops and their equipment as well as evacuees.

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The Associated Press