After the Biden administration’s failed withdrawal, terrifying footage is now emerging from Afghanistan that shows the extent of the damage done by Joe Biden‘s failure.
With Democrats in charge for less than a year, U.S. foreign policy has already taken a major hit. Instead of initiating a strategic withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden decided to just pull troops out in the dead of night, leaving behind weapons and vehicles for the Taliban to seize, and leaving many Americans and allies inside the country in serious danger.
In the days since Biden’s cowardly withdrawal, the Taliban have taken over more than a dozen provincial capitals within Afghanistan.
In videos from the area posted to social media, thousands of people can be seen running towards the planes that the U.S. sent to evacuate personnel at the airport in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan.
According to reporting from the New York Times:
“Witnesses at the civilian domestic terminal said they had heard occasional gunshots and said thousands of people had crammed into the terminal and filled the parking lots, desperately seeking flights out. Late Sunday, the State and Defense Departments issued a statement saying the U.S. was working to secure control of the airport and to speed up the evacuation using civilian and military flights.”
One video posted to Twitter from The Post Millennial is captioned: “Thousands of frantic Afghans rush to Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul in an effort to escape the Taliban, amid sounds of gunfire.”
WATCH:
Thousands of frantic Afghans rush to Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul in an effort to escape the Taliban, amid sounds of gunfire. pic.twitter.com/pb1J8Z5BZw
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) August 15, 2021
Some Twitter users are comparing this failure to the Fall of Saigon.
“Another Saigon moment: chaotic scenes at Kabul International Airport. No security. None,” tweeted Saad Mohseni.
Another Saigon moment: chaotic scenes at Kabul International Airport. No security. None. pic.twitter.com/6BuXqBTHWk
— Saad Mohseni (@saadmohseni) August 15, 2021
People are still rushing to the airport as of the morning of August 16th, hoping to be allowed on the next flight out to escape the wrath of the Taliban.
WATCH:
Another day begins in Kabul, a sea of people rushing into the Kabul airport terminal. #AFG pic.twitter.com/UekpGJ2MWd
— Jawad Sukhanyar (@JawadSukhanyar) August 16, 2021
The Department of Defense and the State Department released a joint statement late in the evening on Sunday, August 15th, stating that they were working to secure the airport.
The statement read:
“At present we are completing a series of steps to secure the Hamid Karzai International Airport to enable the safe departure of U.S. and allied personnel from Afghanistan via civilian and military flights. Over the next 48 hours, we will have expanded our security presence to nearly 6,000 troops, with a mission focused solely on facilitating these efforts and will be taking over air traffic control. Tomorrow and over the coming days, we will be transferring out of the country thousands of American citizens who have been resident in Afghanistan, as well as locally employed staff of the U.S. mission in Kabul and their families and other particularly vulnerable Afghan nationals. And we will accelerate the evacuation of thousands of Afghans eligible for U.S. Special Immigrant Visas, nearly 2,000 of whom have already arrived in the United States over the past two weeks. For all categories, Afghans who have cleared security screening will continue to be transferred directly to the United States. And we will find additional locations for those yet to be screened.”
Finally — something on the record from the Pentagon: pic.twitter.com/23Z0Ey2rMi
— Kristina Wong 🇺🇸 (@kristina_wong) August 15, 2021
Republican Senator Tom Cotton has reportedly spoken with Americans trapped behind enemy lines within Afghanistan.
“Cotton spokesman says that their office has heard from multiple US citizens in Kabul trapped behind Taliban checkpoints, who can’t safely reach the US perimeter and have no clear option for what to do,” New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman wrote on Twitter.
Haberman’s tweet was in response to a previous tweet from Senator Cotton, which read: “If you’re an American stranded in Afghanistan, or know one who is, please contact my office immediately: (501) 223-9081 or [email protected] The situation is dire, but we’ll do everything in our power to help keep you informed and to help get you out.”
Cotton spokesman says that their office has heard from multiple US citizens in Kabul trapped behind Taliban checkpoints, who can’t safely reach the US perimeter and have no clear option for what to do. https://t.co/rY5QTSPLKd
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 16, 2021
