The Pentagon on Friday appeared to flatly contradict two claims just minutes after they were made by US President Joe Biden.
Flanked by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Biden delivered remarks on the US military’s ongoing evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.
In his speech from the East Room of the White House, the Commander-in-Chief declared success in ridding Afghanistan of Al Qaeda and dismissed earlier reports of Americans being prevented from reaching Kabul airport for evacuations.
When asked if US troops would be sent out of their base in Hamid Karzai International Airport to help Americans reach the evacuation site, Biden said:
“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 thus far, they’ve allowed them to go through, it’s in their interest for them to through.”
Minutes later, however, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, told House lawmakers in a briefing call that Americans trying to leave Afghanistan have been beaten by Taliban militants while trying to reach the sole evacuation point in Afghanistan that is not controlled by the Taliban, according to sources cited by Politico.
During the conference call with members of Congress, which also reportedly involved Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, Austin is cited as saying:
“We’re also aware that some people, including Americans, have been harassed and even beaten by the Taliban. This is unacceptable and [we] made it clear to the designated Taliban leader.”
However, Austin is described as having stopped short of clarifying what efforts would be made to ensure Americans’ safe passage to the airport in Afghanistan’s capital city. He purportedly declined to “rule in or out” the possibility of US troops moving beyond the airport to help Americans and others reach the airport.
Source: Agencies
