If the Taliban is essentially calling the shots at this point, with the Biden administration too weak and nervous to resist or contradict them, we are officially in a race against the clock. Despite direct, private appeals from the CIA director, the terrorist group is very publicly rejecting any extension of America's self-imposed withdrawal deadline on August 31 -- adding that as of next Wednesday, they won't allow any Afghans out of the country, even if they have proper credentials from the United States. They're humiliating us, and they're enjoying it:
BREAKING: A Taliban spokesman says the U.S. must complete its evacuation of people from Afghanistan by the Aug. 31 date the Biden administration set for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops. The Taliban say they will accept “no extensions” to the deadline. https://t.co/Ic0QKX9Ec9
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 24, 2021
“We are not in favour of allowing Afghans to leave”
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) August 24, 2021
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid adds it would be a “violation” of the agreement to allow evacuations of foreign nationals beyond 31 August
Latest: https://t.co/PgvjrfQUeS pic.twitter.com/bs8TPYooZz
The group's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said foreign countries should stop "encouraging" Afghans to leave, as Afghanistan needs their talents. He said Afghan nationals should head back to their homes, jobs and normal life, as there is “no danger” to them. “Let’s live together. The war for us has finished," he added. As we reported earlier, the UN has said there are "credible" reports that the Taliban is carrying out summary executions.
And it looks like because his Taliban bosses have ruled out an extended deadline, Biden has "decided" he agrees:
Pentagon says number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will go to 'zero' at Aug. 31 deadline. Unclear who will protect last Americans leaving. 'There's no question,' Taliban will help complete evacuation, Kirby says. Months ago, plan was to keep 650 U.S. troops at U.S. Embassy Kabul.
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) August 24, 2021
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Biden said last week he would stay past August 31 if that was necessary to rescue any Americans trapped in Afghanistan.
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) August 24, 2021
He can't possibly be certain today that they'll all be out by August 31.
There are Americans outside of Kabul.https://t.co/dSVC5KkXrx
This comes despite our allies asking for an extension of the deadline, and as Leah noted earlier, even House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff seems to think 8/31 isn't workable:
“Given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of SIVs, the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders women leaders. It's hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and the end of the month,”
— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) August 24, 2021
Schiff also contradicted the Biden administration's line that the swiftness and nature of the current collapse was entirely unexpected, another blow to their 'planned for every contingency' claim:
...“Over the course of the last six months. And there were any number of warnings that the Taliban might take over, and some that included a potential of a very rapid, the Afghan government enforces."
— Ryan Nobles (@ryanobles) August 24, 2021
Schiff is hardly a paragon of credibility, but in this case, he's making a statement against partisan interest by undermining the White House spin. Another Democrat on the committee backed him up, saying the intelligence didn't fail on this front. This disaster falls squarely on the president and his team. The silver lining at the moment is that evacuation flights are being allowed to depart from Kabul, and that effort has really ramped up:
Largest 24-hour evacuation yet, per White House official:
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) August 24, 2021
-37 US military flights (32 C-17s and 5 C-130s) which carried approximately 12,700 evacuees (tops the 10,400 from the day prior)
-57 coalition flights which carried 8,900 people.
Total of 21,600
But this is hardly a well-oiled machine, as the desperate airlift intensifies. There are reports of chaos and bloodshed, including the Taliban murdering Afghan SIV applicants near the airport. This is sickening, and it only underscores the desperation of thousands of US citizens and allies who remain in-country with the apparently non-negotiable deadline drawing closer:
“In addition to a firefight that occurred at the airport Monday, it appeared that the Taliban shot and killed several SIV applicants nearby and were collecting information from Afghans in the crowd, said an official familiar with conditions on the ground”https://t.co/eVC2OYt4HX pic.twitter.com/NK8BtoT6u9
— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) August 24, 2021
Last evening, I commented on the Biden administration's reliance upon the will of the Taliban, their woefully poor planning stretching back months, and the White House Press Secretary's very strange choice to feign indignation over the word "stranded:"
On the WH’s mystifying decision to pick a fight over parsing the word “stranded” — plus a shout-out to @JaniceDean at the end: pic.twitter.com/PLpDp4z1uj
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) August 24, 2021
The Pentagon notably didn't object to that term in recent days, perhaps because it obviously applies. Do these people not count as stranded?
We just received this audio from an incredibly brave American in Kabul. She was attacked each time she tried to reach the airport. Despite the danger to herself, she wants us to share this. We must guarantee the safety of Americans and our allies before it is too late. pic.twitter.com/Oq6R7YuWuJ
— Rep. Carol Miller (@RepCarolMiller) August 21, 2021
An American woman is stranded in Kabul, all alone.
— Matthew Downer (@mpdowner) August 23, 2021
When she tried to get to the airport, the Taliban beat her for the crime of traveling without a male escort.
She has heard nothing from the State Department—only from free lance volunteers a world away.
Let's hope and pray that all Americans and other allies can be identified and evacuated within the next week. Let's hope and pray that Schiff and others are wrong about the deadline (or that the Taliban is bluffing, or that the president reverses course and defies them, without triggering an explosion of violence) -- and that President Obama's former Homeland Security chief is wrong about this:
MSNBC: Former DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson says Kabul airport situation "going to get a lot worse before it gets better"
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) August 23, 2021
Leave it to the Vice President to attempt this argument:
Asked about botched Afghanistan withdrawal, Kamala Harris brags about the “successful drawdown of the embassy.” pic.twitter.com/GgqTMmPKGY
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 23, 2021
We abandoned our embassy in a panic, mere weeks after Secretary of State Blinken said it would remain open and operational full-time, and the president said a total Taliban takeover of the country was "highly unlikely." But the "drawdown of the embassy" was "successful," you see. I'll leave you with these red flags about terrorism, the reason the United States entered Afghanistan in the first place:
The speedy Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has revived alarms about a resurgent al-Qaida. A June report from the U.N. Security Council said al-Qaida's senior leadership remains present inside Afghanistan, along with hundreds of armed operatives.https://t.co/ZNCCkbJ2Z9
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 23, 2021
The Taliban takeover is the biggest boost to Al Qaeda since 9/11 and a global game changer for jihadism generally, @Rita_Katz of@siteintelgroup tells @wrightr. There is “universal recognition” that Al Qaeda can now “reinvest” in Afghanistan as a haven. https://t.co/eB7GRjwZUc
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) August 23, 2021
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