U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies to grant entry into the militant-controlled outer perimeter of the city’s airport, a choice that's prompted outrage behind the scenes from lawmakers and military officials.
The move, detailed to POLITICO by three U.S. and congressional officials, was designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan as chaos erupted in Afghanistan’s capital city last week after the Taliban seized control of the country. It also came as the Biden administration has been relying on the Taliban for security outside the airport.
One of the reasons why many military planners and several U.S. lawmakers with military and combat experience did not want Biden to collapse onto the airport at Kabul was because it was too difficult to defend, as we've seen. The better option, they said, would have been to keep enough U.S. forces at the massive Bagram Air Base, which was the nerve center for U.S. and NATO operations for two decades, because it would have been easier to defend.
Biden, mind-addled as he is, said no, however. No more troops.
In a press conference the day of the attack, Biden couldn't say for sure whether the list had been turned over to the Taliban but he didn't dispute the report, either.
"There have been occasions when our military has contacted their military counterparts in the Taliban and said this, for example, this bus is coming through with X number of people on it, made up of the following group of people. We want you to let that bus or that group through," he said. "So, yes there have been occasions like that. To the best of my knowledge, in those cases, the bulk of that has occurred and they have been let through.
"I can't tell you with any certitude that there's actually been a list of names," he added. "There may have been. But I know of no circumstance. It doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, that here's the names of 12 people, they're coming, let them through. It could very well have happened."
America's empire is collapsing and with it our country's pivotal, influential place in the world.
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