Fewer than 1,000 U.S. citizens are “actively seeking assistance” in leaving Afghanistan, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said approximately 4,500 Americans have evacuated.
“Over the past 24 hours, we’ve been in direct contact with approximately 500 additional Americans and provided specific instructions on how to get to the airport safely,” Blinken told reporters Wednesday. “For the remaining roughly 1,000 contacts that we had who may be Americans seeking to leave Afghanistan, we’re aggressively reaching out to them multiple times a day … From this list of approximately 1,000, we believe the number of Americans actively seeking assistance to leave Afghanistan is lower — likely significantly lower.”
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President Joe Biden’s administration, along with other NATO allies and partner states, has scrambled to evacuate civilians from Afghanistan in a fraught security environment ever since Taliban forces swept through the country and up to the gates of Kabul’s international airport earlier this month. Taliban fighters have maintained a ceasefire with the United States under a 2020 peace deal, but they have demanded U.S. forces leave the country within weeks — putting evacuation operations under a strict deadline.
“The Taliban, whether we like it or not, is in control — largely in control of the country, certainly in control of the city of Kabul,” Blinken told reporters. “And it’s important to work with them to try and facilitate the departure of all those who want to leave.”
That tactical dynamic has empowered the militants to apply an extra level of scrutiny to people attempting to reach the airport, with consequences for Americans seeking to flee. Taliban officials are blocking the departure of Afghans who hold U.S. visas rather than the passports of a citizen, even if those visa holders are related to American citizens, administration officials told congressional staff in a briefing prior to Blinken’s public update.
Those restrictions have forced some American citizens to choose between abandoning their relatives or leaving the country.
“Some Americans may choose to stay in Afghanistan — some who are enrolled, and some who are not,” Blinken said. “Many of them are dual nationals who may consider Afghanistan their home, who’ve lived there for decades, or who want to stay close to extended family.”
Biden maintained any deadline for a departure of U.S. troops should not be regarded as a deadline for U.S. government assistance either to Afghans who seek to flee the country and are eligible for American support — but the process will depend on the Taliban keeping their promises to provide safe passage to Afghans who are otherwise expected to be “at risk” of violence from the group.
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“The Taliban have made public and private commitments to provide and permit safe passage for Americans, for third-country nationals, and Afghans at risk going forward past Aug. 31,” Blinken said. “And we certainly have points of incentive and points of leverage with a future Afghan government to help make sure that that happens. But I can tell you again — from my perspective, from the president’s perspective — this effort does not end on Aug. 31.”
