Taliban Letting Big Group of Americans Leave Today but There Are Questions About Move
By Nick Arama | Sep 09, 2021 7:45 AM ET
The Taliban have agreed to let “200 Americans and other civilians” leave Afghanistan from the Kabul Airport on Thursday on a flight to Qatar, according to a U.S. official.
The U.S. official said that this came after pressure from US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad who had been appointed a special envoy by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo but kept on by current Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The official did not clarify if this group of people included the people being kept from leaving by the Taliban in Mazar-i-Sharif. That group involved about 1,000 people including at least 142 Americans. One would have to think it’s from that group but then it’s not clear why they wouldn’t just allow them to fly out of Mazar-i-Sharif if they’re letting the planes that are there leave. We’ll have to see as more information emerges today.
There were at least six planes waiting to leave out of Mazar-i-Sharif for over a week. Initially, the planes were held up by the stupidity of the State Department refusing to clear people fast enough, to the great dismay of the private organizations trying to get the people out and to safety. Then the Taliban stepped in and prevented them from leaving, amid reports that the Taliban was asking for things from the United States in exchange.
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https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2021/09/09/taliban-letting-big-group-of-americans-leave-today-but-there-are-questions-about-move-n440218