CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward, while reporting live from Kabul, said President Joe Biden claiming the evacuation of Americans trapped in Afghanistan is not a failure does not match up what they are seeing on the ground as the Taliban takes over the country.
The State Department has told Americans to make their way to Hamid Karzai International Airport to be evacuated but added they could not guarantee their safety while en route since the Taliban have established checkpoints to prevent people from reaching the airport.
"We have seen and heard these reports and our British colleagues who are staying in the area where the British paratroopers are, have heard and spoken directly to British soldiers who say that they have seen people so desperate that they are passing and throwing their babies over the razor wire to try to get them into safety. I mean, I can’t fathom what level of desperation an individual needs to be at where they are literally throwing their baby over razor wire to get them to safety," Ward said.
"What that very clearly speaks to is the panic. The lack of clear information. The rumor mill is in overdrive. There’s hysteria. You have Taliban fighters with whips and guns. You have U.S. And U.K. soldiers who are not allowing people in. You have mixed messaging coming through about what kind of paperwork you need and how you can get on flight and where you can go. I mean, it is just an absolute mess. And we heard President Biden say yesterday in his comments to ABC News that this is not a failure," she continued. "I think a lot of people outside that airport, particularly those taking the kinds of extreme actions we’re just talking about, would like to know if this isn’t failure, what does failure look like exactly."
CNN reporter on situation in Afghanistan:
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) August 19, 2021
"If this isn't failure then what does failure look like?" pic.twitter.com/qg7uk7neQD
CNN: The Biden administration is “telling these Americans to go to the airport but they’re not telling them that they’ll necessarily get there safely.”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 19, 2021
“There hasn’t been safe passage” traveling to the Kabul airport. pic.twitter.com/BHmtIapboA
White House reporters have voiced their frustration in recent days for Biden not taking their questions about the unfolding situation in Afghanistan with his limited appearances at the White House in recent days.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member