Inside State Department officials' scramble to rescue Americans, Afghan partners.
"Everybody who lived it is haunted by the choices we had to make and by the people we were not able to help depart in this first phase of the operation," said the senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity at the State Department's request.
But with the collapse of the Afghan government - the speed of which surprised even U.S. officials - they scrambled to get out, the family. They said they received instructions from the U.S. embassy in Kabul on how to approach the airport, but were beaten back and blocked by Taliban fighters - too fearful to attempt again.
The State Department's operation also struggled to provide detailed instructions on how to access the airport to Americans and Afghan partners that wouldn't end up spreading through the massive crowds. Instead, any unique credential was quickly shared and became useless for U.S. and allied service members manning the fortified walls of Kabul airport.
Operations to rescue Americans, Afghan partners, and other foreigners also became increasingly dangerous as the operation stretched on. The threat from ISIS-K became horribly real when a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside Abbey Gate last Thursday, killing at least 182 people, including 13 U.S. service members.But officials were also concerned about the crowds themselves, especially as desperation grew with the clock ticking down to President Biden's Aug. 31 deadline.
In some cases, those individual calls provided personalized instructions for U.S. citizens and residents or at-risk Afghans to access Kabul airport, including a rally point to meet before approaching the gates amid the high threat of attack. "The unwillingness of the U.S. government to protect these trusted allies is an unconscionable failure that could have been avoided," Adam Bates, policy counsel at the International Refugee Assistance Project, or IRAP, said Tuesday."The United States not only has an ongoing moral, but also a legal obligation to protect them and all Afghan allies."
Warning shots were being fired"constantly" by Afghan and Taliban troops on the perimeter, per the official, with the use of flash bangs and at least one instance of tear gas as well. Most people waited three to five days just to get inside, they added -- calling it"horrendous.
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