U.S. Embassy tells Americans NOT to go to Kabul airport due to ‘security threats’

The U.S. Embassy told Americans on Saturday not to go to Kabul airport – which is the only way out of the country – because of ‘security threats’ outside its gates.

‘Because of potential security threats outside the gates at the Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so,’ the Embassy warning says. 

This was issued less than 24 hours after President Joe Biden said there was ‘no indication’ that the Taliban was stopping Americans and their allies from reaching the airport and promised to get everyone home.  

That was part of Biden’s speech on Friday, which was the first time in nine days the president answered any questions about the chaos in Afghanistan. 

He was contradicted by Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby who said he was aware of reports of Americans being beaten by the Taliban as they tried to reach safety. 

The point was furthered over the last 12 hours as videos depicting pandemonium and occasional violence outside the airport have surfaced. 

Vulnerable Afghans, who fear the Taliban’s retaliation, sent desperate pleas not to be left behind. 

No one knows how many U.S. citizens remain in Afghanistan, but estimates have ranged as high as 15,000. 

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There are still tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan – US citizens, Afghans and people who helped America during the war – who are waiting to see if Biden will deliver on his promise. 

But the August 31 troop withdrawal deadline is fast approaching, and the president hasn’t committed to extending the deadline. 

Meanwhile, evacuation efforts can be described – at best – as chaotic. 

Some outgoing flights were far from full because of Taliban checkpoints and bureaucratic challenges. 

Then a backlog at the transit facility in Qatar, which is one of the main countries welcoming refugees, stalled flights for hours on Friday. 

A defense official said about 5,7000 people, including about 250 Americans, were flown out of Kabul in 16 C-17 transport planes. The previous two days, about 2,000 people were airlifted.  

‘This is one of the largest difficult airlifts in history and the only country in the world capable of projecting this much power on the far side of the world with this degree of precision is the United States of America,’ Biden said on Friday.