President Biden’s abrupt U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan has led to a dangerous new situation: A hostage crisis.
“CBS has learned multiple flights are being held on the ground at the Mazar-i-Sharif airport in Northern Afghanistan… by the Taliban,” Eena Ruffini reported. “An email from the State Department to members of congress — and viewed by CBS — acknowledged that charter flights are still on the ground at the Mazar-i-Sharif airstrip and have permission to land in Doha ‘if and when the Taliban agrees to takeoff’.’
“The Taliban is basically holding them hostage to get more out of the Americans,” a senior congressional source told CBS News. “The group Ascend, an NGO that teaches young women leadership through athletics, told CBS News they have two planes that have been waiting for six days ready to take between 600 and 1200 people — including 19 American citizens and two permanent residents. “The U.S. airfield in Qatar that has been standing by, ready to receive, is now beginning to pack up,” Marina LeGree, the executive director, told CBS News.
“We hope visibility will add pressure to force a solution. Six days of talks are not encouraging.”
“The State Department advised members of congress to tell groups seeking to evacuate out of Mazar-i-Sharif that the US does not have personnel on the ground in that location and does not control the airspace,” Ruffini added. “Congressional and NGO sources say here are at least two physical plans on the ground and six more with approved clearance. The obstacle is the Taliban — which controls the airport and is not letting people board or the planes take off.”
Republican lawmakers have sounded alarms about the hostage situation. McCaul told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that no Americans have been allowed to leave the nation since the fall of Afghanistan.
STUCK ON PLANES: @RepMcCaul says Americans and Afghan interpreters have been held hostage by the Taliban for days at the Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport in Afghanistan. #FoxNewsSunday pic.twitter.com/2gJfxNTIfJ
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) September 5, 2021
“In fact, we have six airplanes at Mazar-i-Sharif airport, six airplanes, with American citizens on them as I speak, also with these interpreters, and the Taliban is holding them hostage for demands right now,” McCaul, the lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said.
“State has cleared these flights, and the Taliban will not let them leave the airport,” he continued.
Wallace asked McCaul if it was “turning into a hostage situation.”
“Well, they are not clearing airplanes to depart. They’ve sat at the airport for the last couple days, these planes, and they’re not allowed to leave,” McCaul added.
“We know the reason why is because the Taliban want something in exchange,” he continued.
Six commercial airplanes are seen near the main terminal of the Mazar-i-Sharif airport, in northern Afghanistan, September 3 2021.
“Well, they are not clearing airplanes to depart. They’ve sat at the airport for the last couple days, these planes, and they’re not allowed to leave,” McCaul added.
“We know the reason why is because the Taliban want something in exchange,” he continued.
Rep. Ronny Jackson, in a Friday interview with Newsmax TV, said the Taliban was blocking Americans from leaving on flights.
“The airplanes are there. Everything is ready to go. They can’t get out, and the reason they can’t get out is because the Taliban won’t release the flight until Sept. 9 because they want to be recognized as an official government,” Jackson said.
“They want to be officially recognized as a legitimate government,” he continued.
“And I guarantee you these hostages, they’re hostages right now, are being held until the American, until the United States, until the Biden administration recognizes the Taliban as a government,” Jackson added.
“This is not going to be the first nor the last lie that we’ve heard from the Biden administration,” Jackson went on.
“This entire thing is just a web of lies. We’re working today. We still, both of us, we still have people over there,” he noted, confirming that he knows Texas constitutents who are “trapped.”
“I have American citizens, citizens, at least seven of them, probably more from my district right now, that are trapped over there right now,” he said.
”They cannot get out. And you know what we were told? We were told today, I was told, that the State Department has some of them, and I won’t say where, that are [in] pretty big danger,” he added.
However, the State Department has been implicated repeatedly in stopping humanitarian flights out of Afghanistan, as Becker News first reported. The Taliban hostage situation is a plausible explanation, or excuse, for why Americans have not left since the last military plane out of Kabul.
Before the Aug. 31 “deadline,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the U.S. would be “looking to” the Taliban to provide safe passage for Americans exiting the country.
“You may have seen that just yesterday, a very senior Taliban official went on television and radio across the country and repeatedly assured people in Afghanistan that they would have the freedom to travel after August 31,” Blinken said.
“He even specifically said, those that work for the Americans and those that want to leave for whatever reason will have that freedom,” he continued.
“Now, of course, we don’t take the Taliban at their word,” he added. “We take them by their deed. And that is what we are going to be looking to.”
At the Aug. 31 “deadline,” U.S. General Kenneth McKenzie gave an update on the Biden administration’s evacuation effort to get Americans out of Afghanistan.
“Can you, give us a sense of whether or not they were any American citizens or any other civilians who were taken out on any of those last couple of C-17s that flew out this afternoon?” a reporte asked. “And can you give us a picture of what you saw with equipment and other things getting either destroyed or removed at the airport before they left?
“It was… no American citizens came out on the last what we call ‘the joint tactical expatriation,” Gen. McKenzie said. “The last five jets to leave.”
“We maintain the ability to bring them in up until immediately before departure, but we were not able to bring any Americans out,” Gen. McKenzie admitted. “That activity ended probably about twelve hours before our exit. Although we continue the outreach and would have been prepared to bring them ont until the very last minute. But none of them made it to the a
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, President Joe Biden gave his word that he was committed to getting all Americans ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline.
“If there’s American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” Biden promised.
That broken promise has now resulted in an American “hostage” crisis.
Feature image: Taliban fighters in Ghazni.
NOW READ:
"*" indicates required fields
OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author's opinion.