Biden Administration “Can’t Guarantee Safety” Of 10,000 Americans Still In Afghanistan As Taliban Violence Escalates

The thousands of American citizens still in Afghanistan (there are more than 10K left in the country) are now officially S.O.L because while Democrats in Congress scramble to try and appropriate more money for refugees, the Biden Administration is warning that it can no longer guarantee the safety of Americans still in Afghanistan, as Taliban fighters form a ring of checkpoints around Kabul Airport.

According to Bloomberg, the new Taliban-manned checkpoints at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul (which is the last place under US control in the country) are only intended to ensure security and prevent people from rushing in after several people died during the chaotic scenes on Monday.

As the remaining Americans still in Afghanistan wonder whether they can trust the Taliban with their safety after 20 years of war with the US, the State Department sent the following message via text alert to every American in the country yesterday. The alert begins by advising the remaining AmCits that the US military and State Department “cannot guarantee your safety”, while directing them to the proper channels for any bureaucratic paperwork that still needs to be completed before they can leave.

The security breakdown is just another consequence of the Biden Administration’s disastrous pull-out from Afghanistan, which was supposed to happen far more slowly, since the Taliban weren’t supposed to conquer the entirety of the country for weeks.

A congressional aide tells @CBSNews we have no partners left in Afghanistan to safely get Americans in-country to Kabul. “There are 10-15k AmCits who still need to get out, and that obviously doesn’t include the tens of thousands of SIVs or P2 applicants trying to get out of Afg” https://t.co/SKw1FvXBCV

— Sara Cook (@saraecook) August 17, 2021

The below note went out this afternoon to American citizens requesting to be evacuated from Afghanistan, @alanacbs reports. It instructs people to come to Hamid Karzai Intl Airport in Kabul, but says the US govt cannot guarantee their safety as they make the trip. @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/rgEyjGup4K

— Sara Cook (@saraecook) August 17, 2021

Americans who haven’t yet received details about the departure of their flight should “shelter in place” until it’s time to leave.

A spokesperson for the Biden administration’s State Department told CNN, “The US message to Americans in Afghanistan right now is to shelter in place until they get communications from the US embassy which tell them when they should come to the airport and where exactly to go.”

The advisory comes as White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to commit to keeping troops on the ground past Aug. 31.

While the Taliban have apparently kept their promise not to mete out violence to Americans and anybody violating their strict version of Islamic law, Fox News reported overnight that a woman was killed by Taliban fighters for not wearing her head-covering in public. Surely, this isn’t part of the Taliban’s promise of a new day where women’s rights will be respected?

The Taliban has also “promised” to grant amnesty to Afghans who worked with the American government, but Afghanistan’s first female mayor says she’s simply waiting for the Taliban “to come kill me” since she has nowhere left to hide.

Meanwhile, Taliban fighters have violently suppressed the first protest against their rule. It occurred early Wednesday in Jalalabad; protesters took down the Taliban flag and replaced it with the flag of the Afghan Republic. The Taliban fighters responded by firing into the crowd. At least two were killed, and nearly a dozen were wounded by the gunfire.

Residents in Jalalabad took down the Taliban flag and replaced it with red, black and green flag. pic.twitter.com/AEQA8gjG3u

— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) August 18, 2021

Taliban soldiers did fire to disperse the crowds in Jalalabad city. There are repairs or injuries. pic.twitter.com/8ABTmuaind

— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) August 18, 2021

Another protest occurred in Asadabad, the capital of Kunar Province.

This is Asadabad , city the capital of Kunar province. pic.twitter.com/HSohtXK00h

— BILAL SARWARY (@bsarwary) August 18, 2021

At any rate, with the US troop presence expected to climb to 7,000 in the coming days, while other Nato partners – including Germany – send a few hundred additional troops to aid with the pull out – civilian and military flights have re-started, with more than 700 people moved out in a matter of 24 hours as of early Wednesday in New York.

As the House prepares to hold hearings on the Afghan pullout, lawmakers from both parties are urging President Biden to do what he can to ensure American troops remain on the ground long enough to finish evacuating all American citizens and Afghan allies with travel visas.

But now that the Taliban are ‘reformed’, we can’t help but wonder: what’s the rush?