Biden says US-led evacuation from Kabul is accelerating

By ROBERT BURNS and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday the U.S.-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans and others from the Kabul airdrome accelerated this weekend, though it remains susceptible to threats posed by the Islamic State extremist group.

One week aft the Taliban completed its takeover of Afghanistan by capturing Kabul, Biden said discussions are underway among subject officials astir perchance extending the airlift beyond Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline. “Our anticipation is we volition not person to extend, but determination are discussions,” helium said, suggesting the anticipation that the Taliban volition beryllium consulted.

Since Aug. 14, 1 time earlier the Taliban entered Kabul, the airlift has evacuated 28,000 people, Biden said. He said that included 11,000 who had departed from Kabul successful a 36-hour play this weekend, but helium did not supply details. The fig appeared to see flights by charter and non-U.S. subject craft arsenic good arsenic the U.S. Air Force C-17 and C-130 transport planes that person been flying regular from the capital. The U.S. subject is controlling aerial postulation connected some the civilian and subject sides of the airport.

Tens of thousands of radical stay to articulation the airlift, which has been slowed by information issues and U.S. bureaucracy hurdles.

Biden asserted, without a afloat explanation, that U.S. forces person managed to amended entree to the airdrome for Americans and others seeking to get connected flights. He suggested that the perimeter had been extended, widening a “safe zone.”

“What I’m not going to bash is speech astir the tactical changes we’re making to marque definite we support arsenic overmuch information arsenic we can,” helium said. “We person constantly, however tin I accidental it, accrued rational entree to the airport, wherever much people tin get determination much safely. It’s inactive a unsafe cognition but I don’t privation to spell into the item of however we’re doing that.”

Later Biden added: “We’ve discussed a batch with the Taliban. They’ve been cooperative successful extending immoderate of the perimeter.”

He said groups of Americans successful Kabul are being moved much efficiently and safely to the airport, but helium provided nary details.

“Any American who wants to get home, volition get home,” helium asserted.

Earlier Sunday, medication officials said the U.S. subject is considering “creative ways” to get Americans and others into the Kabul airdrome for evacuation from Afghanistan amid “acute” information threats, and the Pentagon connected Sunday ordered six U.S. commercialized airlines to assistance determination evacuees from impermanent sites extracurricular of Afghanistan.

Addressing a disapproval cited by galore Republicans, Biden said nary Afghan evacuees are being flown straight to the United States from Afghanistan without anterior screening. He said they are being screened successful 3rd countries.

Biden and his apical aides person repeatedly cited their interest that extremist groups successful Afghanistan volition effort to exploit the chaos astir the Kabul airport.

“The menace is real, it is acute, it is persistent and thing we’re focused with each instrumentality successful our arsenal,” said Biden’s nationalist information adviser, Jake Sullivan.

Sullivan said connected CNN’s “State of the Union” that 3,900 radical had been airlifted retired of Kabul connected U.S. subject flights implicit the past 24 hours. A U.S. defence official, speaking connected information of anonymity to supply details not yet made public, said those radical were flown connected a full of 23 flights — 14 by C-17 transports and 9 aboard C-130 cargo planes.

That represents an summation from 1,600 flown retired aboard U.S. subject planes successful the erstwhile 24 hours, but remains acold beneath the 5,000 to 9,000 that the subject says it has the capableness to airlift daily. Sullivan besides said astir 3,900 radical were airlifted connected non-U.S. subject flights implicit the past 24 hours.

The Biden medication has fixed nary steadfast estimation of the fig of Americans seeking to permission Afghanistan. Some person enactment the full betwixt 10,000 and 15.000. Sullivan connected Sunday enactment it astatine “several thousand.”

Speaking connected ABC’s “This Week,” Austin said that arsenic Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline for ending the evacuation cognition approaches, helium volition urge whether to springiness it much time. Tens of thousands of Americans and others person yet to beryllium flown retired of the country.

Austin’s interrogation with ABC aired Sunday but was taped Saturday. In a announcement Sunday, the State Department urged radical seeking to permission Afghanistan arsenic portion of an organized backstage evacuation effort not travel to the Kabul airdrome “until you person received circumstantial instructions” to bash truthful from the U.S. Embassy’s formation organizer. The announcement said that others, including American citizens, who person received circumstantial instructions from the embassy to marque their mode to the airdrome should bash so.

Austin said the airlift would proceed for arsenic agelong arsenic possible.

“We’re gonna effort our precise champion to get everybody, each American national who wants to get out, out,” Austin said successful the interview. “And we’ve got — we proceed to look astatine antithetic ways to — successful originative ways — to scope retired and interaction American citizens and assistance them get into the airfield.”

The British subject said Sunday different 7 radical had been killed successful the unceasing crush of crowds extracurricular the airport.

Republicans successful Congress stepped up their disapproval of Biden’s response. “If the Taliban is saying that Americans tin question safely to the airport, past determination is nary amended mode to marque definite they get safely to the airdrome than to usage our subject to escort them,” GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, an Army veteran, said connected ABC’s “This Week.”

Ryan Crocker, who served arsenic U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan nether Presidents George W, Bush and Barack Obama, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Biden’s absorption of the withdrawal was “catastrophic” and had unleashed a “global crisis.”

A cardinal occupation successful the evacuation cognition is processing evacuees erstwhile they scope different countries successful the portion and successful Europe. Those impermanent waystations, including successful Qatar, Bahrain and Germany, are sometimes reaching capacity, though caller sites are being made available, including successful Spain.

In an effort to alleviate that, and to escaped up subject craft for missions from Kabul, the Pentagon connected Sunday activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. The Defense Department said 18 craft from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, Omni Air, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines volition beryllium directed to ferry evacuees from interim waystations. The airlines volition not alert into Afghanistan. The six participating airlines person agreed to assistance for a small little than 2 weeks, which astir coincides with the presently planned duration of the airlift, which is to extremity Aug. 31.

The civilian hose reserve strategy was past activated successful 2003 for the Iraq War. The commercialized airliners volition clasp their civilian presumption but the military’s Air Mobility Command volition power the flights.

___

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Lolita C. Baldor, Ellen Knickmeyer, Hope Yen and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.