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.
What time will president speak to the nation today about Afghanistan?
President Joe Biden will deliver an address to the nation for the second time this week on Friday, before heading to his home state of Delaware for vacation.
Mr Biden is scheduled to speak on the situation in Afghanistan at 1pm EDT on Friday. Harrowing images of desperate Afghan civilians clinging to US military planes on the tarmac of Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul shocked the world and became a source of criticism for the Biden administration over the chaotic withdrawal.
When will Biden give his address to the nation today?
Biden is scheduled to speak on Afghanistan at 1pm EDT
US Marines confirm baby seen at Kabul airport cared for by medics
Marine Corps Maj Jim Stenger tells CBS News: “I can confirm the uniformed service member depicted in the video is a Marine with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The baby seen in the video was taken to a medical treatment facility on site and cared for by medical professionals.”
CNN: No US flights have departed Kabul in eight hours
CNN reporter Clarissa Ward, who is on the ground in Kabul, is reporting that she has not seen a US flight take off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in eight hours.
The White House reported overnight that 3,000 people were evacuated on Thursday on 16 flights, bringing the total number of airlifted people to 9,000 since 14 August, and 14,000 since the end of July.
Harris to depart on tour of southeast Asia on Friday evening
Vice President Kamala Harris will depart Washington, DC on a tour of southeast Asia on Friday night.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has given new urgency to the trip, with the vice president attempting to reassure allies of American resolve following the chaotic end of a two-decade war.
The tour includes stops in Singapore and Vietnam and will provide a forum for Harris to assert herself more directly in foreign affairs.
She will have opportunities to affirm what she and President Joe Biden view as core American values, including human rights. That’s especially important given concerns about the future for women and girls in Afghanistan with the return of the Taliban.
But there are also substantial risks. A longtime district attorney and former senator, Ms Harris is largely untested in international diplomacy and foreign policy.
Her swing through Vietnam could also draw unwanted comparisons between the humiliating withdrawal of US troops there in 1975 and the tumultuous effort this week to evacuate Americans and allies from Afghanistan.
This is all happening in the shadow of China, whose growing influence worries some US policymakers.
On Monday, Ms Harris will speak with Singapore President Halimah Yacob over the phone, participate in a bilateral meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and deliver remarks on a US combat ship visiting Singapore.
On Tuesday, she plans to deliver a speech outlining the US vision for engagement in the region, and participate in an event with business leaders focused on supply chain issues.
The vice president then heads to Vietnam, a country that holds both strategic and symbolic significance for the US. Leaders there have echoed US concerns about the rise of neighboring China and the potential threat that could pose to global security. But it’s also a nation etched into American history as the site of another bloody, costly war with an ignominious end.
During her visit to Vietnam, Ms Harris is planning to hold a virtual meeting with ASEAN health ministers and tout the launch of a regional office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With reporting from the Associated Press
Nato foreign ministers call on Taliban to ‘respect and facilitate' evacuations
Nato foreign ministers have released a joint statement on Afghanistan, calling on “those in positions of authority” to help facilitate the evacuation of civilians from Kabul’s international airport.
“Our immediate task is now to meet our commitments to continue the safe evacuation of our citizens, partner country nationals, and at-risk Afghans, in particular those who have assisted our efforts. We call on those in positions of authority in Afghanistan to respect and facilitate their safe and orderly departure, including through Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. As long as evacuation operations continue, we will maintain our close operational coordination through Allied military means at Hamid Karzai International Airport.”
US military evacuation flight set record for airplane load
The US military flight crew that helped hundreds of Afghan civilians escape from Kabul set a record for the load carried by a C-17 Globemaster III Air Force aircraft.
An image from inside the plane went viral, with Air Mobility Command initially estimating that 640 Afghans were included on the 15 August flight.
But the major command of the US Air Force revised that figure on Friday to say that the C-17 plane actually carried 823 people, setting a record for that type of aircraft.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
US military crew set record for airplane load during Afghan evacuation
‘Initial count of 640 inadvertently included only adults. 183 children were also aboard,’ Air Mobility Command says after revising figure of Afghans carried by single C-17 flight to 823 people
200 million Americans have now had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine
The US hit a milestone in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic on Friday — 200 million Americans have now had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
According to White House Covid-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar, 1.01 million doses were administered yesterday including 534,000 newly vaccinated people.
Biden cancels travel, will remain at White House tonight
Per the White House pool report:
President Biden will not be travelling to Wilmington as he had been scheduled to do so, per a White House official. He will instead remain at the White House tonight.
Former Pence aide takes dig at Biden administration’s Nato relationships
Alyssa Farah, the former spokesperson for former Vice President Mike Pence, took a dig at the Biden administration’s apparent lack of communication with the US’s Nato allies.
“We left our allies flat-footed, having to emergency evac their personnel. Disgraceful,” she tweeted.
Adding: “But hey, ‘diplomacy is back’.”
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