Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that it is unlikely the United States will maintain an “on-the-ground diplomatic presence” in Afghanistan on September 1 but reaffirmed President Joe Biden‘s commitment to evacuate anyone who wants to leave the country past the troop withdrawal deadline.
In an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd on Meet the Press, Blinken defended the handling of the U.S. evacuation efforts in Kabul, pushing back against critics who claimed the Biden administration jeopardized the safety of Americans and allies during the process.
“First, in terms of having an on-the-ground diplomatic presence on September 1, that’s not likely to happen. But what is going to happen is that our commitment to continue to help people leave Afghanistan who want to leave and who are not out by September 1, that endures,” Blinken said.
“There’s no deadline on that effort. And we have ways, we have mechanisms to help facilitate the ongoing departure of people from Afghanistan if they choose to leave,” the secretary of state added.
US PROVIDED TALIBAN WITH LIST OF AMERICANS AND AFGHAN ALLIES: REPORT
NEW: Antony Blinken says that it is “not likely” that the U.S. will have a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan after September 1.@SecBlinken: “Our commitment to continue to help people leave Afghanistan who want to leave and who are not out by September 1st, that endures.” pic.twitter.com/sZmFPnbL3V
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 29, 2021
Blinken also denied allegations that the administration put lives at risk after a report from last week claimed the U.S. provided the Taliban with a list of people to grant entry at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
“The idea that we’ve done anything to put at further risk those that we’re trying to help leave the country is simply wrong. And the idea that we shared lists of Americans or others with the Taliban is simply wrong,” Blinken said.
Biden previously said he could not verify specific reports of civilian information being shared with the Taliban but said it does happen on “occasion,” explaining that the U.S. has informed the Taliban when there were evacuees who needed to be let through the airport gates.
“In specific instances when you’re trying to get a bus or a group of people through, and you need to show a manifest to do that, because particularly in cases where people don’t have the necessary credentials on them or documents on them, then you would — you’ll share names on a list of people on the bus so they can be assured that those are people that we’re looking to bring in. And by definition, that’s exactly what’s happened,” Blinken explained on Sunday.
The secretary of state said Sunday that 5,500 Americans have been evacuated from the country, adding “We have about 300 American citizens left, who have indicated to us that they want to leave.”
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More than 110,000 people have been evacuated from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, this month, with all but approximately 5,000 having come since August 14.
