Biden Says U.S.-Led Evacuation From Kabul Is Accelerating

President Joe Biden said Sunday the US-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans, and others from Kabul accelerated this weekend, although it remains vulnerable to threats posed by the Islamic State, Robert Burns and Darlene Superville reported for the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Photo Insert: President Joe Biden has also announced that the U.S. will be taking in Afghan refugees.

One week after the Taliban completed its takeover of Afghanistan by capturing Kabul, Biden said discussions are underway among military officials about potentially extending the airlift beyond Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline.

“Our hope is we will not have to extend, but there are discussions,” he said, suggesting the possibility that the Taliban will be consulted.

Since Aug. 14, one day before the Taliban entered Kabul, the airlift has evacuated 28,000 people, Biden said. He said that included 11,000 who had departed from Kabul in a 36-hour period this weekend, but he did not provide details.

The number appeared to include flights by charter and non-U.S. military aircraft as well as the US Air Force C-17 and C-130 transport planes that have been flying daily from the capital. The US military is controlling air traffic on both the civilian and military sides of the airport.

A central problem in the evacuation operation is processing evacuees once they reach other countries in the region and in Europe. Those temporary waystations, including in Qatar, Bahrain, and Germany, are sometimes reaching capacity, although new sites are being made available, including in Spain.

In an attempt to alleviate that, and to free up military aircraft for missions from Kabul, the Pentagon on Sunday activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet.

The Defense Department said 18 aircraft from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, Omni Air, Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines will be directed to ferry evacuees from interim waystations. The airlines will not fly into Afghanistan.

The six participating airlines have agreed to assist for a little less than two weeks, which roughly coincides with the currently planned duration of the airlift, which is to end on Aug. 31.

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