The Biden administration reportedly worked out a previously undisclosed arrangement with Taliban extremists to help bring U.S. citizens to the airport in Kabul.
“The U.S. military negotiated a secret arrangement with the Taliban that resulted in Taliban members escorting groups of Americans to the gates of the Kabul airport as they sought to escape Afghanistan,” CNN reported. “The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the arrangements, which have not been disclosed until now because the US was concerned about Taliban reaction to any publicity as well as the threat of attacks from ISIS-K if its operatives had realized Americans were being escorted in groups.”
The Taliban allegedly escorted some Americans a few times a day from a staging area near the airport to a gate that was manned by U.S. forces. U.S. forces were able to watch some of the escorts take place.
CNN’s report did not mention what, if anything, the Taliban received in exchange for their cooperation in the “secret arrangement” that was “negotiated” with the U.S.
“In another separate secret arrangement not disclosed until the operation was over, troops from the elite Joint Special Operations Command and other special operations units were also on the ground helping Americans escape by contacting them through ‘call centers,'” CNN added. “Special operations forces set up their own ‘secret gate’ at the airport and was at times in direct communication with Americans telling them exactly where to walk to find the gate and be able to get inside the airport.”
The report acknowledged that there have been numerous reports that the Taliban turned away Americans with passports from the airport.
The Biden administration has faced weeks of intense backlash over its disastrous handling of the situation in Afghanistan.
“Hundreds” of Americans remain trapped inside Afghanistan, despite Biden telling ABC News that he would leave U.S. troops on the ground until all Americans who wanted to leave were evacuated. More disastrous, an ISIS terrorist detonated a 25 pound suicide vest last week at the Abbey Gate, killing roughly 200 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members.
A report leaked by the U.S. to Politico pinned blame for the Abbey Gate remaining open on the British, claiming that the U.S. had to leave it open because the British were in the process of evacuating some of their people.
Dominic Raab, Britain’s Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State, forcefully pushed back on the claim, saying, “it’s just not true to suggest that other than securing our civilians staff inside the airport that we were pushing to leave the gate open.”
“In fact, and let me just be clear about this, we were issuing changes of travel advice before the bomb attack took place and saying to people in the crowd, which is what I was particularly concerned that certainly UK nationals and anyone else should leave because of the risk,” Raab added.