Taliban Take Control Of Kabul, Target Evacuation Of 22,000 Afghans To The United States Is More Difficult To Realize

JAKARTA - The President of the United States (US) promised to evacuate thousands of Afghans who are at risk of facing threats, due to working for the US Government, insecurity throughout Afghanistan to logistical difficulties.

At least 22,000 applicants through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) mechanism of people in this category, along with their families and other at-risk persons, will be evacuated by the Pentagon, although one US official said 'too many things have to go 100 percent right' .

But officials and resettlement groups say the figures, while impressive, will be much more difficult to achieve now that the Taliban have seized the capital Kabul and much of the country.

Groups working with refugees vehemently disputed Biden's remarks in a speech on Monday that many applicants did not want to leave Afghanistan early.

President Joe Biden announced his intention to start evacuating Afghans at risk in July, despite calls from lawmakers and refugee groups to do so months earlier. Since July, only 2,000 Afghans have been flown to the United States.

"It's a great goal to have, but realistically it's going to be a challenge," the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said of the benchmark 22,000 people.

The hope is to fly between 5,000 and 9,000 per day, when the Pentagon reaches full capacity with 6,000 troops in Kabul. Only 4,000 troops have reached Kabul so far.

Evacuating the Afghans would require them to first get to Kabul, then to the airport through a series of Taliban checkpoints, officials said. The US military needs to maintain calm at airports to allow flights to take off and land, and it also needs the weather to cooperate.

There had been an incident that killed five people last Monday, after residents crowded into Kabul airport to be evacuated. The US military has temporarily suspended flights to clear the airfield, while the evacuation mission is due to end on August 31.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday the White House had received reports of people being beaten outside the airport, even though the Taliban had agreed to allow civilians to pass safely.

Ideally, officials said the White House would allow the Pentagon to begin evacuating people weeks in advance using military aircraft and moving them to bases in the United States.

In contrast, until last week SIV applicants were slowly being flown in via civilian aircraft and only one base in Virginia was tapped to house them.

The State Department did not formally request the use of more military bases in the United States to house Afghan applicants until Sunday, with the Taliban already in Kabul, another official said.

Separately, two US officials told Reuters President Biden was concerned about the political repercussions of the large numbers of Afghan refugees pouring into the United States and would prefer they be sent to a third country.

President Biden himself has faced intense political pressure over immigration from opposition Republicans, as arrests at the US-Mexico border have soared to a 20-year high in recent months.

Earlier this year, President Biden delayed a decision to raise the limit for accepting refugees due to political views, US officials told Reuters at the time.

Earlier, in a speech last Monday, President Biden acknowledged concerns about why Afghans had not been evacuated earlier, but said the Afghan government had prevented him from doing so. He also seemed to blame the suitors.

"Some Afghans don't want to leave early, still hope for their country," said President Biden.

The comments shocked officials and refugee groups, who have been working for years to complete the lengthy process of removing SIV applicants from Afghanistan.