The U.S. airlifted more than 21,000 people from Kabul, and Afghanistan’s withdrawal set a new record

The White House stated that the United States has set a record for evacuating people from Afghanistan and airlifted more than 21,000 people from Kabul.

In the 24 hours that ended early on Tuesday, about 21,600 people were safely evacuated from Afghanistan, compared with about 16,000 the day before. Approximately 12,700 evacuees were divided by 37 American armies In addition, 8,900 people flew on 57 U.S. allies’ flights.

The chief spokesperson of the Pentagon, John Kirby, attributed part of the reason for the rapid evacuation to Taliban leader.

“So far, looking to the future, it really needs to continuously coordinate and eliminate conflicts with the Taliban,” Kirby said. “What we are seeing is that this conflict works well in allowing entry and movement and reducing the overall size of people outside the airport.”

For more reports from the Associated Press, please see below.

The U.S. military canceled its flight from Afghanistan on the biggest day since the start of the operation on Tuesday. But the deadly violence preventing many desperate evacuees from entering the Kabul airport still exists, and the Taliban said they may soon seek to close airlifts.

In the tense act of getting people to go abroad, CIA An American official told the Associated Press that director William Burns secretly sneaked into Kabul on Monday to meet with the highest political leader of the Taliban.

CIA Director Burns and the highest political leader of the Taliban, Abdul Ghani Baradar, met in Kabul secretly on Monday, and the evacuation continues. The Washington Post first reported on Burns’s meeting. American officials later confirmed the Associated Press meeting.

Major General Peter Vasley, the senior U.S. military commander at Kabul Airport, communicates with the Taliban commander every day to facilitate the evacuation, but the last known contact between the military and Baradar was when Taliban Chairman General Mark Milli The Joint Chiefs of Staff flew to Doha, Qatar, in December last year to meet with him and other Taliban officials. Millai tried to persuade the Taliban to reduce their attacks on the Afghan army, but to no avail.

As access to the airport was still difficult on Monday, the U.S. military went beyond the border and conducted another helicopter search and rescue of the Americans. US officials said a military helicopter picked up 16 American citizens on Monday and took them to the airport for evacuation. This is at least the second such rescue mission outside the airport; Kirby said that last Thursday, three Army helicopters picked up 169 Americans near a hotel outside the airport gate and drove them to the airport.

President Joe BidenNational Security Advisor, Jack Sullivan, Said at the White House on Monday that negotiations with the Taliban are continuing because the government is looking for other ways to safely transfer more Americans and others to Kabul Airport before the deadline in August.

He said that it is up to Biden to decide whether to continue the military-led evacuation after August 31. That was the date set by Biden to complete the withdrawal.

California Democratic Representative Adam SchiffThe chairman of the House Intelligence Committee told reporters after a committee briefing on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan on Monday, “I can hardly imagine” the airlift will be completed before the end of this month. He also stated that it is clear that the Taliban “take over” the government “very quickly” and have received “any number of warnings.”

After more than a week of evacuation, plagued by major obstacles, including Taliban troops and the crowded crowds that made approaching the airport difficult and dangerous, the number of people flying out reached and exceeded the U.S. forecast for the first time.

General Stephen Lyons (Stephen Lyons) of the U.S. Transportation Command, who is responsible for managing military aircraft for the Kabul airlift, told reporters Pentagon The press conference said that more than 200 aircraft were involved, including aerial tankers, and that the arriving aircraft stayed on the tarmac in Kabul for less than an hour before loading and unloading. He said that uninterrupted flight missions caused losses to the crew.

“They are tired,” Leon said of the staff.

On the positive side, Leon said that in addition to the widely reported case of an Afghan woman giving birth on a U.S. evacuated plane, two other babies were born under similar circumstances. He did not provide details.

The Pentagon said it has added a fourth US military base in New Jersey and three other military bases-Virginia, Texas, and Wisconsin-and these bases are preparing to temporarily accommodate arriving Afghans. Major General Hank Williams, deputy director of the Joint Staff in charge of regional operations, told reporters that there are now approximately 1,200 Afghans on these military bases. Kirby said the four bases can accommodate up to 25,000 evacuees.

The Afghan evacuees continued to arrive at Dulles International Airport on the outskirts of Washington. Exhausted, many adults’ faces are cast a shadow. A reporter asked a man how he felt in the United States “We are safe,” and the man replied.

An older woman sat in the wheelchair provided with relief, and the little girl held by an older boy covered her eyes and looked around curiously. The hurried evacuation resulted in many arrivals carrying only a school bag or purse, or a plastic shopping bag with items. Some people come to their new lives empty-handed.

Biden said on Sunday that he did not rule out extending the evacuation time beyond August 31.British Prime Minister Boris JohnsonOn Tuesday, there will be a virtual meeting with Biden on the chaotic exit at the G7 summit. He is expected to pressure Biden to postpone it to withdraw as many foreigners and Afghan allies as possible.

U.S. lawmakers, veterans’ organizations, and refugee advocates also urged Biden to continue withdrawing American troops from Kabul Airport, as long as it not only airlifts Americans, but also Afghan allies and other Afghans most threatened by the Taliban.

However, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in an interview with Sky News that August 31 is a “red line” that the United States cannot cross, and that expanding the United States’ presence will “provoke a reaction.”

Monday’s warning indicated that the Taliban may insist on closing air transport at Kabul Airport for more than a week. Legislators, refugee groups, veterans’ organizations, and US allies say that ending the evacuation may put countless Afghans and foreigners who still want to leave by flight into trouble.

Since August 14, the US has evacuated and assisted in the evacuation of more than 58,000 people.