News
Anger, anxiety as US military officials watch chaos unfolds in Kabul
Published
Some criticized the State Department, which has sole authority to grant visas to former interpreters and other US military support staff and their families, for waiting more than two months to begin the process for Afghans in fear of their lives.
Videos posted on social networks showed scenes of panic and fear in Kabul, including crowds running next to a US military transport plane as it taxies to take off, with some trying to desperately cling to its sides.
“We warned them for months, for months” that the situation was urgent, said one military official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“I am not angry, I am frustrated,” another officer remarked. “The process could have been handled so differently.”
Biden decided in mid-April that all US troops must be out of Afghanistan by September 11, though he later moved that date up to August 21.
The State Department however waited months to set up an ad hoc structure to get US allies to safety.
Another Pentagon official interviewed by AFP said that diplomats had tried to speed up the visa process — but the process was too long and complicated under the circumstances.
The Biden administration assumed that the US embassy in Kabul would remain open and that the Afghan government would retain control of the country for months after the US withdrawal, he said.
– It’s ‘personal’ –
As soon as Biden announced the withdrawal, the Pentagon said it was making preparations for a mass evacuation.
But by mid-June the administration still did not consider an evacuation necessary and favored the granting of special visas — a process that can take up to two years.
It was only at the end of June that the White House raised the possibility of evacuating the Afghan interpreters before the end of the military withdrawal, and asked for the Pentagon’s help.
A crisis cell was then set up to organize the reception of Afghan refugees on US bases as they waited for their visas to be issued.
Asked during a press briefing on Monday about the delay of more than two months between the announcement of the withdrawal and the creation of the crisis cell, its director Garry Reid stressed that the Pentagon could only act in “support of the State Department.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price said that, when the administration realized that the situation was “quickly evolving,” it launched what Operation Allied Refuge, which he described as “a gargantuan US effort not only to process, adjudicate and to grant visas to so-called Special Immigrants but to actually bring them to the United States with a massive airlift operation.”
He said 2,000 Afghans have been brought to the US through the airlift so far.
The action group, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, got stood up in July.
“But you can go back to the spring and hear the Secretary (of Defense Lloyd Austin) himself talk about interpreters and translators and the sacred obligation that we know that we have to them,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
“Everything that you’re seeing in the last 48-72 hours is personal for everybody here at the Pentagon,” Kirby added of the images coming out of Afghanistan.
“Many of us have spent time in Afghanistan over the years and feel a deep sense of connection to the current events,” General Hank Taylor, the US military’s chief of logistics, told the same news briefing.
But, he added, “we are focused on the safest evacuation of Americans and Afghans.”
AFP
You may like
-
Afghan Police detain 100 suspected criminal elements in Kabul
-
Afghan man rescued after 25 days in kidnappers’ den
-
Explosion heard in Afghan’s capital Kabul
-
Spain ends evacuations of Afghans from Kabul
-
I was lucky to get out alive, Afghan actor Aryana Sayeed recounts harrowing escape from Kabul
-
Taliban: Panic as Dutch diplomats flee Kabul, abandon Afghan staff
Three killed, two injured in Kano building collapse – NEMA
Mohbad’s widow gets court summon for DNA test
Army hails PawPaw for peace advocacy
Lagos shuts shops, church over noise pollution
Nollywood veteran Ogunjimi is dead
Pathologist interprets MohBad’s toxicology result
Tems samples Seyi Sodimu’s classic ‘Love Me Jeje’
Nigerian woman breaks GWR for 55-hour marathon interview
Osun group petitions Oyetola’s aide, alleges threat against Aregbesola
Ibori urges south-south leaders prioritize people’s needs
LP challenges NLC’s attempt to sack Abure
Aiyedatiwa pledges good governance in Ondo
Top Ten Richest Wrestlers in the World
South African policeman kills pregnant girlfriend
Father, son beat neighbour’s wife to death in Ogun
Premier league to use semi-automated offside tech
VIDEO: Thugs invade Osun APC secretariat
VIDEO: Strayed cow goes berserk inside NYSC orientation camp in Ogun
VIDEO: Are black cats bad luck?
VIDEO: Does COVID-19 only affect rich people?
VIDEO: Will I remain single if someone sweeps over my feet with a broom?
VIDEO: Gani Adams rallies Benin Republic monarchs for Sunday Igboho
FIDIO: Ǹjẹ́ Gbogbo Akitiyan Ìjọba Láti Mú Ẹ̀yìn Olóyè Sunday Ìgbòho Balẹ̀ Yìí Tọ́ Àbí Kò Tọ́?
VIDEO: Pastor Tunde Bakare declares National Movement
Trending
-
News22 hours ago
Active WWII bomb discovered near German stadium
-
Metro11 hours ago
Police foil kidnapping attempt, rescue three victims in Bauchi
-
News8 hours ago
Beware of fake students’ loan website, NELFUND warns Nigerians
-
News7 hours ago
EFCC: Abuja American School to refund Yahaya Bello’s $760k children’s fees
-
health11 hours ago
UK pledges £1b to support Nigeria’s fight against malaria
-
Economy11 hours ago
Good tax system will attract foreign investment – CITN
-
News11 hours ago
Tinubu mourns Enugu senator Ayogu Eze
-
News9 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg loses $18b as Meta stock drops
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest entertainment updates, celebrity news, lifestyle, health and fitness and so much more...
Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter!