Thousands of terrorists from ISIS-K, the group responsible for the attack at the airport, escaped from Bagram prison earlier this summer after Biden's troops cleared out from the base, leaving it to outnumbered Afghan forces to supervise them.
US troops suddenly abandoned the base overnight on July 2. The prisoners were filmed being freed by the Taliban on August 15. Military experts have pinpointed the sudden, overnight withdrawal of US troops from Bagram on July 2 as the moment the US gave Afghanistan away.
Since Thursday, the US has only evacuated 300 Americans from Kabul but up to 1,000 remain stranded. The government claims not everyone wants to leave but they can't get in touch with everyone to check.
 |
| Bagram prison |
General Taylor also revealed on Friday that the US is sharing the names of citizens and Afghan allies with the Taliban, but claims it is so the fighters ensure they can get through to the airport.
Former President Donald Trump said on Thursday night that it equates to giving them a 'kill list' of enemies and where to find them.
There is growing frustration among DC politicians who are now calling for Biden to be impeached or resign.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Friday the President must face a 'day of reckoning' for how he has handled the situation. He said a president needs to have 'the faith, the trust, and the confidence' of Americans - which he said Biden lost on Thursday after a devastating attack on Kabul airport slaughtered at least 170 people and 13 US troops.
On Thursday, General Kenneth McKenzie, the commanding general on the ground, said he expected more bomb attacks at the airport, but that the mission would continue despite the threat.
President Biden has been widely condemned for creating the crowds at the airport that ISIS attacked by failing to get everyone out of the region before withdrawing his troops abruptly earlier this year.
It took just 11 days for the Taliban to sweep through the country that the US maintained peace in for nearly 20 years.
Thousands of men, women and children are still trying to flee the Taliban, but their hopes are fading fast as the US and its allies are packing up their rescue operations ahead of the Tuesday deadline.
People are still pouring into the canal which surrounds the perimeter of the airport, standing in waters which were yesterday filled with the blood of scores of people after a bomb tore through the crowd.
Footage from the ground revealed a scene of utter despair, with shouts and cries among the Afghans, some seen clambering up walls out of the canal and others wading through with luggage atop their heads.
In one location, dozens of Taliban members with heavy weapons about 500 yards from the airport were preventing anyone from venturing forward.
US special forces vets launch mission to get Afghan allies out amid Biden's chaotic withdrawal
As the US fumbles to get the remaining citizens out, a group of American war veterans in Kabul are secretly saving hundreds of Afghan Special Forces troops and their families who helped them in the war but have now been left for dead as the US withdraws from Afghanistan.
The group of special op soldiers includes retired Green Berets and SEAL Team commanders who launched the mission, which they are calling Pineapple Express, after one of the Afghan commandos they served with contacted them to say he was on the run from the Taliban. His visa had not been approved when the Taliban took over on August 14 and thousands ran for the airport.
The special ops soldiers first devised a system with US troops at the airport where they sent their comrades to a gate and told them to identify themselves with the password 'pineapple' to be put on a plane by the Marines on the ground. Some also showed the troops pictures of pineapples on their phones.
After successfully getting hundreds through that way, the special ops teams started going in
'When that day passes, we can take up anything that - to hold accountable for the actions that have been taken, the lies that have been given, the mis-decisions that put Americans in harm's way, and the decision to leave Americans behind,' he said.
'That choice and that answer should never be given by the president of the United States.'
He also criticized Biden over his August 31 deadline for a full withdrawal - a decision that came despite pleas from fellow heads of state and lawmakers here at home.
'Why would President Biden pick the Taliban over our allies ands over Americans?' he questioned.
Republican Rep. Peter Meijer also heckled Biden's handling of the chaos in Afghanistan late Thursday night, and urged Congress to reclaim its war powers authority to prevent future crises.
After the deadly blasts at Kabul airport Meijer posted on Twitter grieving the loss of 13 US service members in the 'horrific attack' on Kabul airport Thursday.
He said his 'heart is absolutely broken' for the families of the fallen troops and their fellow troops.
'On Tuesday I saw Marines bravely managing chaos at Abbey Gate. Today, the grave risk they took to save countless lives was made terribly clear,' Meijer wrote on Twitter, referencing a widely criticized trip he and Rep. Seth Moulton took to the airport amid the evacuation effort.
'This was a position they should not have been in, but President Biden’s reckless withdrawal gave them no other choice.'
'Congress needs to reclaim its authority over war powers to ensure such a catastrophe never happens again.'
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby confirmed there were two blasts, tweeting on Thursday: 'We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties.
We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate. We will continue to update.'
The disastrous government rescue mission became even more tragic on Thursday when ISIS bombers targeted the crowds at the airport, slaughtering 170 people with a suicide bomb that also killed 13 US troops.
It has since emerged that Biden's administration also gave a list of Afghan allies' names to the Taliban in the naïve hope they would then help get them out.
Former President Donald Trump called it a 'kill list' that all but guaranteed their deaths.
The US now one of the only nations still evacuating from Kabul amid increasing threats of another ISIS attack.
Western countries have been scrambling for the last two weeks to get their people out of Afghanistan before the deadline and their missions were hurried even more when President Joe Biden refused to extend it this week. Thursday's suicide attacks - which claimed the lives of 13 US troops and 90 Afghans - were the final nail in the coffin for many. Britain's evacuation flights will finish on Friday, despite there being dual nationality citizens still stuck along with some allies.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday: 'It is with deep regret that not everyone has been able to be evacuated during this process.
'The threat is obviously going to grow the closer we get to leaving.
'The narrative is always going to be, as we leave, certain groups such as ISIS will want to stake a claim that they have driven out the U.S. or the UK.'
Canada has also halted flights, leaving some citizens behind.
'The government of Canada recognizes that there are a number of people in Afghanistan, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents, their families, and applicants under programs for Afghans, a government notice sent out last night, that was obtained by CBC News, said.
Gen. Wayne Eyre, the acting chief of the defense staff, said most of the Canadian personnel still in the country left but a small contingent stayed behind to support allies on the ground who have no hope of getting out.
Biden - who crumbled under questioning on Thursday night when confronted with the airport attack death toll - refused to push back the deadline to give allied countries more time to get their people out.
'It is in our interest to leave on time, on target,' Biden said on Thursday night.
The US is relying on the Taliban's cooperation to let people through to the airport.
U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies to grant entry into the airport's outer perimeter.
The move was described as a gross security lapse, with one defense source telling Politico: 'Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list.'
Trump told Fox News: 'Now we're giving lists of Americans to the Taliban so now you just knock on the door and grab them and take them out...
'What you are watching now is only going to get worse, it can only go one way. We look like fools all over the world. We are weak, we are pathetic, we are being led by people that have no idea what they are doing,' he added.
Only US citizens and visa holders are being removed, and in the next few days, the focus will turn to removing troops and equipment.
