KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghans have rushed onto the tarmac of the capital’s airport, as thousands try to flee the country after the Taliban seized power. Some clung to the side of a U.S. military transport plane before takeoff Monday.
The widely shared image captured the sense of desperation as America’s 20-year war comes to a chaotic end. The Taliban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
That brought an end to a two-decade campaign in which the U.S. and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan. In the capital, a tense calm set in Monday, with most people hiding in their homes. Many fear chaos or a return to the kind of brutal rule the Taliban imposed when they were last in power.
We will update this story with new details as they unfold.
President Joe Biden says he stands “squarely behind” his decision for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan. Speaking about the chaotic situation in Kabul, Biden says he faced a choice between following an agreement to withdraw or sending thousands more U.S. troops for a “third decade” of war. Biden spoke Monday after the planned withdrawal of American forces turned deadly at Kabul’s airport as thousands tried to flee following the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country. Biden returned to the White House from the Camp David presidential retreat to deliver his first public remarks on the situation in nearly a week.
Joined by former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, Crow didn’t mince words about the current situation, expressing extreme concerns over the delayed nature of the evacuations.
“We didn’t need to be in this position,” Crow said. “We should have started this evacuation months ago, and had we done that, tens of thousands of folks could be brought to safety. It could have been done deliberately and methodically. We think that was a missed opportunity.”
As a veteran, Crow spoke directly to the service men and women who dedicated their livelihoods to the U.S. cause in Afghanistan.
“Your service mattered,” Crow said. “You stood in that long line of Americans who stood up generation after generation, take the oath, answered the call when your country called for it. You should be very proud of that because we are very proud of it.”
Full video of Crow and Albright conference can be seen here: https://tinyurl.com/yepedwez
President Biden is expected to address the nation and the world on the situation in Afghanistan momentarily. You can watch his comments live here when they begin: https://bit.ly/3g7mCwC
Chaos at the main airport in the Afghan capital has killed at least seven people. That’s according to U.S. officials at the scene in Kabul. Thousands of Afghans rushed onto the tarmac Monday, some so desperate to escape the Taliban capture of their country that they held onto an American military jet as it took off and plunged to their deaths. Witnesses said hundreds of people remained trapped Monday night between American forces trying to push them out of the airport and Taliban forces trying to keep them in. The crowds of people came as the Taliban enforced their rule over the wider capital after a lightning advance across the country.
Colorado representative Jason Crow will hold a news conference at 12:45 p.m. on Monday to discuss the developing situation in Afghanistan. Former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is expected to attend. You can watch it on FOX31 NOW.
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(AP) — US military officials: Kabul airport now closed to commercial flights as military evacuations continue.