Biden speech: Pentagon contradicts president and reveals Taliban beating Americans en route to airport
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US President Joe Biden delivered an address to the nation for the second time this week, as the evacuation of Americans and allies from Afghanistan continues.
Mr Biden, who said this week “chaos” was unavoidable with his country's withdrawal from Afghanistan, addressed concerns about the evacuation of Americans, allies, and Afghan refugees, amid reports that the effort is falling behind.
The president vowed to Americans in Kabul “we will get you home”, but is being criticised for saying that there were no reports of people being stopped from reaching the airport by the Taliban who took control of the city on Sunday.
Reporters on the ground have many examples of people held back from accessing the airport by Taliban fighters and there are reports of physical violence and intimidation. The Pentagon then appeared to contradict the president’s statement.
Senator Lindsey Graham has threatened the president with impeachment if one American or Afghan ally is left behind in Kabul.
It remains unclear exactly how many people are awaiting airlifts from the country before an agreed deadline of 31 August, after Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban last weekend.
The US military has evacuated 13,000 people since 14 August, and 18,000 since late July. In the past 24 hours 5,700 people have been airlifted as the operation begins to meet capacity levels of 5,000 to 9,000 per day as detailed by the Pentagon.
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President Biden says he is committing to getting Afghans who helped the US out of the country, just as he has committed to getting all Americans who want to evacuate out
A question about possibly staying longer for evacuations.
“I think we can get it done by” 31 August, says President Biden, “but we’re gonna make that judgment as we go.”
‘We will get you home’: Biden says 13,000 evacuated from Afghanistan and tells Americans
President Joe Biden said that the United States has evacuated 13,000 people from Afghanistan since 14 August and pledged to get every single American.
Mr Biden called it one of the largest and most difficult airlifts in the history of the United States.
“Any American who wants to come home we will get you home,” he said.
Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.
Biden pledges to get every American in Afghanistan home
President Biden: “We have no indication that they haven’t been able to get in Kabul through the airport. We’ve made an agreement with the Taliban... We know of no circumstance where American citizens are carrying an American passport are trying to get through to the airport.”
President Biden asked if he is weighing expanding the military circle into the city to help evacuate people stuck outside of the airport.
Mr Biden says all options are on the table, but they don’t want to move military into the city because of possible “unintended consequences”.
President Biden says that fifteen years ago or five years ago it would have been extremely difficult.
“There’s no way we would have been able to leave Afghanistan without some of what you’re seeing now.”
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