The Fall Of Kabul To The Taliban

[KALI]

Humph. Like what? Spell it out jerk. We're taking our people out of your mess. Well, at least we'd better be.

Taliban warns of ‘consequences’ if US delays withdrawal

 

[KALI]

I find this hard to believe. Come on, who the heck flies in or out of any country without being monitored? Name one country that just anybody can fly into our out of without documentation.
I call this statement typical cya, smoke and mirrors by politicians.

White House explains why it can't pinpoint number of Americans still in Afghanistan

The Biden administration has struggled to offer a specific number of Americans still in Afghanistan in recent days, prompting criticism from conservatives and others about the administration's preparedness to evacuate U.S. citizens.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday the difficulty pinpointing an exact number was because some Americans did not notify the U.S. Embassy when they arrived in Afghanistan or when they left.

"Many people have asked, reasonably, why we can’t provide a precise number of American citizens still in country," Sullivan said at a White House press briefing.

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White House explains why it can't pinpoint number of Americans still in Afghanistan
[/QUOTE]

 

[ringbearer]

Watching all of this, I've truly learned to appreciate the USA's 2nd amendment.
Just my opinion.
As I feared and posted earlier, my concerns for lack of food seem to be happening.
All of this with the pandemic.
A very distressing situation.

Strange how there is zero evidence of Covid among an almost completely unvaccinated population. jmo

 

[ringbearer]

I find this hard to believe. Come on, who the heck flies in or out of any country without being monitored? Name one country that just anybody can fly into our out of without documentation.
I call this statement typical cya, smoke and mirrors by politicians.

White House explains why it can't pinpoint number of Americans still in Afghanistan

The Biden administration has struggled to offer a specific number of Americans still in Afghanistan in recent days, prompting criticism from conservatives and others about the administration's preparedness to evacuate U.S. citizens.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday the difficulty pinpointing an exact number was because some Americans did not notify the U.S. Embassy when they arrived in Afghanistan or when they left.

"Many people have asked, reasonably, why we can’t provide a precise number of American citizens still in country," Sullivan said at a White House press briefing.


more

White House explains why it can't pinpoint number of Americans still in Afghanistan

I thought the same thing. Every single American passport has a record of entering and/or leaving Afghanistan. There is a record of every American legally there, and of everyone who has legally left.

 

[Dontknow?]

All passports aren't the same...

Afghan passport - Wikipedia

 

[ringbearer]

All passports aren't the same...

Afghan passport - Wikipedia

American passports are all the same, and I'm talking about Americans.

 

[dotr]

U.S. Struggles to Count Its Citizens in Afghanistan as Biden Weighs Withdrawal Delay
''The State Department doesn’t know exactly how many Americans are left on the ground, although some have estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 were there when the evacuations began, several U.S. officials said..
On Sunday, Mr. Biden said he and his military advisers were discussing extending the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline.


In response, the Taliban, through direct talks with the U.S. in Kabul, said it wouldn’t recognize any extension, nor would it assure that forces that stay in Afghanistan beyond Aug. 31 wouldn’t be subject to attack.''

 

[dotr]

Aug 23, 2021
''With thousands of people massed at Kabul airport in the hope of fleeing Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers, President Joe Biden is expected to decide as soon as Tuesday on whether to extend an Aug. 31 deadline to airlift Americans and their allies to safety.''

 

[CrimeAway]

I thought the same thing. Every single American passport has a record of entering and/or leaving Afghanistan. There is a record of every American legally there, and of everyone who has legally left.

As I understand it, that information would be initially held by border control of the country entered. Given the chaos, it is conceivable, IMO, that the US government does not have access to that information. The US Embassy in Kabul also had staff destroy documents before they fled the Embassy building.

Finally, there is no requirement (AFIK & have read), for US citizens to register their presence with the US government, while they are in other countries. There is a voluntary "Smart Traveller," program, which Americans can sign up to. Here is some more general information about what the US government can/will do in normal times for citizens abroad.

What the Department of State Can and Can't Do in a Crisis

 

[ringbearer]

As I understand it, that information would be initially held by border control of the country entered. Given the chaos, it is conceivable, IMO, that the US government does not have access to that information. The US Embassy in Kabul also had staff destroy documents before they fled the Embassy building.

Finally, there is no requirement (AFIK & have read), for US citizens to register their presence with the US government, while they are in other countries. There is a voluntary "Smart Traveller," program, which Americans can sign up to. Here is some more general information about what the US government can/will do in normal times for citizens abroad.

What the Department of State Can and Can't Do in a Crisis

The withdrawal has been planned for enough time that all of the passport records were, or should have been, demanded (if necessary) and received. If that didn't happen, there's no excuse, imo.

 

[Sincerely]

This is behind a pay wall so I can't read the entire article. When Biden took office he whipped out his pen and undid everything that Trump did. I'm supposed to believe that Biden couldn't do the same here? You just do not pull out troops before your citizens are out. There are a lot of mental gymnastics needed to blame this on Trump, who hasn't been in office for 7 months. Who gave the order to pull out on July 2nd? Who ordered the air base to be closed? Who ignored Intel that the Taliban would swoop in and take over? And as far as State Department warnings to leave, those warnings happen so often all over the world it is merely crying wolf. I would ask my son about those when they would pop up when he would call home. What's going on? What does this mean? Is the situation getting worse? He would say it is just another day in the Middle East.

I agree 1000%. Leaders and former military officers are criticizing Joe and they know the process and why he should be criticized. IMO. I’ll look for links again but try to avoid the MSM as much as possible on this topic.

 

[Sincerely]

I don’t care what excuse anyone gives. Joe was allegedly put in place by Americans, for Americans. Americans should be given priority by American “leaders.” Apparently, after he was faced with harsh criticism he is now backtracking. I don’t trust him.

I understand getting Afghans out, after Americans are evacuated. I anticipate major security breaches that won’t be known until it’s too late. I agree with the U.S. withdrawing but it should have been handled better. What happened to America? That’s a deep question and VERY rhetorical.

Ocala Post - Joe Biden will not prioritize Americans when evacuating Afghan SIV applicants

 

[dotr]

US troops surge evacuations out of Kabul but threats persist
Aug 24 2021 rbbm.
''WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military pulled off its biggest day of evacuation flights out of Afghanistan by far on Monday, but deadly violence that has blocked many desperate evacuees from entering Kabul’s airport persisted, and the Taliban signaled they might soon seek to shut down the airlifts.

Twenty-eight U.S. military flights ferried about 10,400 people to safety out of Taliban-held Afghanistan over 24 hours that ended early Monday morning, and 15 C-17 flights over the next 12 hours brought out another 6,660, White House officials said. The chief Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, said the faster pace of evacuation was due in part to coordination with Taliban commanders on getting evacuees into the airport.

“Thus far, and going forward, it does require constant coordination and deconfliction with the Taliban,” Kirby said. “What we’ve seen is, this deconfliction has worked well in terms of allowing access and flow as well as reducing the overall size of the crowds just outside the airport.”

 

[GatorFL]

Biden sent the CIA Director to meet with the Taliban: CIA director met Taliban leader in Afghanistan on Monday -sources

 

[Sundog]

As I understand it, that information would be initially held by border control of the country entered. Given the chaos, it is conceivable, IMO, that the US government does not have access to that information. The US Embassy in Kabul also had staff destroy documents before they fled the Embassy building.

Finally, there is no requirement (AFIK & have read), for US citizens to register their presence with the US government, while they are in other countries. There is a voluntary "Smart Traveller," program, which Americans can sign up to. Here is some more general information about what the US government can/will do in normal times for citizens abroad.

What the Department of State Can and Can't Do in a Crisis

It's true, when Americans travel abroad, they are encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy in their destination country, but it is not required. In this case though, the U.S. Embassy should have started a communications campaign months ahead to let people know (i.e. Americans) that they should register with the Embassy ahead of time and that if they failed to do so, there would be no guarantee that they would be able to assist them in the event of a sudden, anticipated withdrawal, or something to that effect. Of course, they would have to find a way to communicate this in a sensitive way, but they could have found a way to do this and keep communicating it, to get Americans to register. They could have used the military to spread the word around the country, and get this done.

 

[sds71]

Hanzalah Shinwari, 17, was among a group of Afghan U.S. citizens who were on the arriving flights.
The teenager, who lives in Haymarket, Va., said he had traveled to Kabul to visit friends and family.
Before he realized what was happening, he said, the U.S. military had pulled out and the Taliban was taking over province after province before sweeping into Kabul last week.
The day he was scheduled to leave, the airport was shut down.

Afghan refugees arrive in U.S., relieved and exhausted

 

[shotgun09]

This from Reuter's Foreign Policy Pentagon reporter:

"U.S. officials say the military will have to begin its withdrawal from Afghanistan by Friday to meet the August 31 deadline."

https://twitter.com/idreesali114/status/1430149479295066112

From that statement, I am assuming that the CIA and taliban leader's meeting did not go as planned.
The deadline looms....and there still remain a very large ( unknown) number of people to get out safely, along with our military

 

[ringbearer]

Hanzalah Shinwari, 17, was among a group of Afghan U.S. citizens who were on the arriving flights.
The teenager, who lives in Haymarket, Va., said he had traveled to Kabul to visit friends and family.
Before he realized what was happening, he said, the U.S. military had pulled out and the Taliban was taking over province after province before sweeping into Kabul last week.
The day he was scheduled to leave, the airport was shut down.

Afghan refugees arrive in U.S., relieved and exhausted

Oh hey, so I hear the US military has made a deal with the Taliban to withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan after 20 years. I know what let's do...let's send our minor son to Kabul by himself to "visit friends and family." Yeah, that's the ticket.

 

[Skigh]

Ministers dismiss hopes of extending Kabul airlift beyond August 31 | Daily Mail Online


The Taliban flatly dismissed any extension of the August 31 deadline for troops leaving Afghanistan today despite secret talks between the group's chief and the head of the CIA.

As Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel use a G7 meeting to urge Joe Biden to keep the evacuation of Kabul going longer, the director the CIA was reported to have held discussions with the country's new de facto leader.

However, there is little sign of movement, with the Taliban repeating blood-curdling warnings of consequences if there is an attempt to cling on. 'All people should be removed prior to that date,' a spokesman told a press conference in the capital. 'After that we do not allow them. We will take a different stance.'

The thinly-veiled threat means that unless Mr Biden opts to use US military might to enforce control of the area, troops will have to abandon the humanitarian operation and start focusing on their own exit plan as soon as tomorrow.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned of the danger of a 'shooting war' at the airport as the deadline approaches, after the RAF extracted another 2,000 people in the past 24 hours. Berlin and and Paris have also been ramping up their evacuation, but there are still thousands of desperate people waiting to be taken to safety.

Efforts are continuing on both sides of the Atlantic to get Mr Biden to change his approach, after he faced a furious backlash for his hamfisted handling of the crisis. The US chair of the House Intelligence Committee has said the current timetable for evacuating America citizens and their allies is almost certain to fail.

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat – who served as an Army officer in Afghanistan – said all the UK could do was 'ask the Americans if they're willing to stand with us'.

He added: 'If they're not then we can't secure the perimeter and we can't manage air traffic control, so if the Americans decide to go now I'm afraid that is it. But we can ask.'

Mr Tugendhat said he understands Mr Biden has to make 'a very difficult decision', but said many families are struggling to get through the gate and 'a day, maybe two days longer, would help just a few more'.

 

[SuziQ]

Biden decides to keep August 31 deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan as evacuations accelerate - CNNPolitics