According to Associated Press reports, the U.S. military experienced its largest evacuation day from Afghanistan on Monday, transporting more than 10,000 people out of Afghanistan.
C-17 transport aircraft from various countries performing personnel evacuation missions at Kabul Airport
White House Officials said that in the past 24 hours as of early Monday morning, 28 U.S. military aircraft had evacuated about 10,400 people from Afghanistan through Kabul Airport, and in the subsequent Within 12 hours, 15 US military C-17 transport aircraft carried away another 6,660 people.
The U.S. Department of Defense stated on August 17 that it was working hard to evacuate 5,000 to 9,000 people from Afghanistan by air every day. This goal has apparently been achieved. In the past few days, due to the chaotic situation inside and outside Kabul Airport, the evacuation work was seriously hindered, and the airport even stopped operations for a time.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that the evacuation of personnel from Afghanistan is now faster, in part because the United States has coordinated with Taliban commanders to allow evacuees access to airports.
Evacuees are boarding a US military C-17 transport aircraft
However, Taliban spokesman Shaheen said in an interview with Sky News that August 31 is a "red line" that the United States cannot cross, and extending the presence of US troops in Afghanistan will "trigger reaction".
U.S. National Security Adviser Sullivan said at the White House that negotiations with the Taliban are continuing as the Biden administration is looking for other ways to safely transport more Americans and others to Kabul Airport. He also said it would be up to Biden to decide whether military-led evacuations ultimately continue beyond the Aug. 31 troop withdrawal deadline.
U.S. President Biden
A U.S. government official said on Monday that Biden will decide within 24 hours whether to extend the troop withdrawal timetable to give the Pentagon time to prepare. The day before, Biden had said he would not rule out extending the final date for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan beyond August 31.
But Taliban spokesman Shaheen said in an interview with Sky News that August 31 was a "red line" that the United States could not cross, and that extending the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan would "trigger a reaction."
The United States has been coordinating with the Taliban on evacuations since the Taliban captured Kabul on August 15, and the Taliban have not launched attacks on Americans under the terms of the 2020 peace agreement between the United States and the Taliban.
