President Joe Biden vowed to bring all Americans home from Afghanistan but acknowledged that officials were still determining how many U.S. citizens remained inside the country after Taliban insurgents cemented control.
“Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home,” Biden said in remarks at the White House on Friday, but he said the “exact number” of Americans still in the country is unknown.
“We’re working on a way to verify that,” Biden said. He also said U.S. troops had left the airport perimeter to retrieve 169 Americans.
‘MISCALCULATION’: BIDEN STRATEGY TO EVACUATE AFGHAN REFUGEES UNDER FIRE
After sweeping through provincial capitols last week, the Taliban seized Kabul on Monday, prompting an urgent evacuation of thousands of vulnerable Americans and Afghan allies.
The United States has evacuated 5,700 people from the Kabul airport in the last 24 hours despite halting flights earlier in the day, according to a senior administration official. The number includes American citizens, embassy personnel, special visa applicants, and other evacuees. Some 350 Americans were evacuated on Thursday.
“We know of no circumstance where American citizens [holding an] American passport” attempted to reach the airport and haven’t, Biden said.
The president’s speech was his third attempt to allay concerns over the spiraling security situation inside the country and his first taking questions from reporters.
Biden also promised to evacuate Afghans who aided the U.S. military mission as concerns mount that thousands of interpreters, advisers, and locally employed embassy staff face Taliban retribution.
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Asked whether the administration would consider extending the Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawal, Biden said he believed they could complete the effort in time. “But we’re gonna make that judgment as we go,” Biden said.
