No Taliban in control of any part of Kabul airport

August 19, 2021 02:08

Here are some salient points that highlight the mammoth task before the US troops on the ground in Afghanistan, and in control of Kabul Airport, that are overseeing the safe and secure evacuation of American citizens as well as of those Afghans with Special Immigration Visas, who have helped the US troops since they first landed in the country in the aftermath of 9/11.

This is what Pentagon Press Secretary John F Kirby told mediapersons during an off-camera interaction:

1. Currently, US military footprint in Afghanistan is approximately 4,500 total troops on the ground in Kabul, and when I say in Kabul I mean at the airport. We are not anticipating a big shift in personnel beyond that right now.

2. Non-combatant evacuation operation support is something that (US) Marines are well trained in and do well. So, we're glad to have them on the ground.

3. Kabul Airport remains secure and open for flight operations, military flights are arriving and departing consistently, and there is limited commercial flight operations as well as some foreign contracted flights that are coming and going.

4. 18 C-17s have departed in the last 24 hours. These flights have carried around 2,000 passengers. And I can confirm that 325 of those passengers are American citizens. The remainder of the number will include Afghans and some NATO personnel.

We got 1,100 US citizens out at the end of our day.

5. But we also want to point out that the -- the 621st Contingency Response Group out of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst arrived also in the last 24 hours. They were part of that flow-in.

This is a dynamic Air Force unit highly specialized in the rapid deployment of personnel to quickly open airfields and establish, expand, sustain, and coordinate air mobility operations. So, this is a group that knows how to run airfields. And can help with the -- the actual air operations on the ground.

6. The (Defense) Secretary (Lloyd J Austin) and the chairman are focused on what we're doing today and tomorrow and -- and trying to help get as many people out as safely and as efficiently as possible. That's the focus of the US military right now, and that is not changed.

7. (Defense) Secretary (Lloyd J) Austin authorized the use of Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort McCoy, Wisconsin to provide additional support in addition to Fort Lee to provide additional temporary housing and sustainment and support inside the United States for a number up to 22,000 of Special Immigrant Visa applicants.

8. US Northern Command will coordinate all the details with the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services as necessary.

We're simply trying to get as many people out (of Afghanistan) as quickly as we can.

Will be able to evacuate 5,000 to 9,000 people max per day when we reach at full throttle.

9. We are continuing to have communication with the Taliban about making sure we can continue that flow and that our special immigrant visa applicants are included in it.

10. I do not have a breakdown of foreign forces at the airport. But the Turks are still there and they have been very helpful in terms of helping us establish security at the airport.

11. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is reviewing the incident with that one C-17 that taxied in and took off with Afghans clinging to the airframe. Clearly we know just by visual evidence and by the Air Force's statement that there were at least several fatalities involved in that, but I don't want to get ahead of the Air Force's review in terms of hard numbers of what the total toll was.

12. When it comes to US-provided equipment that is still in Afghanistan and may not be in the hands of ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces), there are several options that we have at our disposal to try to deal with that problem set. We don't obviously want to see our equipment in the hands of those who would act against our interest or the interest of the Afghan people, and increase violence and insecurity inside Afghanistan.

The decisions about disposition of that level of equipment in Afghanistan haven't been made yet.

13. Some shots were fired largely around the (airport) gate areas, and it's our understanding that at least some of these -- I can't account for every bullet, but at least some of these were fired by US personnel on the airport side of the perimeter as crowd control measures, as non-lethal warnings if you will. No shots were fired by American troops at Afghans or anybody else.

None of these shots that we're aware of have anything to do with hostile intent or hostile activity. Simply used as crowd control.

14. The secretary has made clear, we want to assist all the brave Afghans who have helped us. And if these ANSF soldiers want to be a part of that process they will absolutely find us open and willing to do what we can to help them.

15. I don't know how many Americans are in Afghanistan. That's a question put to the State Department, not the Department of Defense. We don't have that kind of granularity.

16. There is constant communication with the Taliban commanders outside the field with respect to helping us with the flow (of people to the Kabul airport). And we are talking to them about the effect that their curfew and the limits that they're putting on flow outside the airport is having on our ability to accomplish the mission.

Commanders on the ground obviously have the authority to adjust the force posture as they see fit.

17. About expanding the perimeter (around Kabul airport). I'm just not going to talk about potential future operations one way or the other. The focus right now is on security at the airport on the airport premises itself and on assisting the State Department with the flow of people through the various gates at which they can enter the airport. That's our focus right now and I think I'd just leave it at that.

18. We're at 4,500 today, that number's going to go up. We've been talking about the authorization of up to 6,000 to go in there. And again, we'll make this adjustment day by day.

19. The (Kabul) airport is secure and it's being secured by US, Turkish and allied troops. There are no Taliban in control of any part of the airport. They do have positions outside the airport which is one of the reasons why we continue to communicate with them. But the airport is secure and is being secured by American and other foreign troops.

On your second question about the date. Again, the mandate by the president (of the United States of America Joe Biden) is to complete this mission by the 31st of August, and that's the target we're shooting for.

20. My understanding is that the individual that (Rear) Admiral (Peter) Vasely (the top US Commander in Kabul) is communicating with is designated by the Taliban as their appropriate commander for what they're doing at the airport. I confess to not knowing the Taliban order of battle or their organizational structure, but Admiral Vasely is coordinating with this individual, and it appears to be the appropriate level and the appropriate person with the appropriate authorities to command the Taliban elements that are outside the airport.

21. We have agreed to some safe passage arrangements with the Taliban. I'm not going to walk you away from the idea that that's not important. Of course, it's important. But to say that the evacuation all hinges on goodwill of the Taliban, I think, is to overstate all the efforts that have to go into this, including working with the State Department on the manifest list and their work to notify individuals when to get to the airport, as well as the military efforts to provide the airlift and to provide the security at the airport, and to make sure that the airport is up and running.

22. We do know some Afghan Air Force aircraft piloted by Afghan Air Force pilots did leave the country and went to third country locations that they flew them out. We do know that.

23. Admiral Vasely is in touch with his Taliban counterpart to try to make sure that doesn't happen and that those that we are trying to evacuate, the special immigrant visa applicants, the special Afghans at risk, that we're able to -- we're working very hard to make sure that they can get through safely so that they can be properly processed.

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