"The situation is close to panic": how Western countries are trying to ensure the evacuation of civilians from Afghanistan

US President Joe Biden discussed the evacuation of civilians from Afghanistan with the head of the State Department Anthony Blinken, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

This was reported on the White House Facebook page.

"President Biden today discussed with Secretary of State Blinken, Secretary of Defense Austin and National Security Adviser Sullivan about ongoing efforts to safely reduce the civilian presence in Afghanistan," the statement said.

"Those who helped are abandoned"

Against the background of the rapid advance of the Taliban troops * the United States is trying to solve the problems associated with the reduction of the staff of the diplomatic mission in Kabul and the evacuation of Afghans who cooperated with the American authorities and now may fall under the repression of the Taliban.

Holders of American passports who are now in Afghanistan are advised to leave the republic immediately.

True, the US Embassy offers them to use commercial flights.

At the same time, in order to communicate with the diplomatic mission in an emergency, Americans must register in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

Ensuring the safe evacuation of civilians served as a pretext for the deployment of additional US troops to Afghanistan.

On August 15, three army units numbering about 3 thousand people will be deployed in Kabul.

Another brigade (about 4 thousand troops) of the Armed Forces will be redeployed from North Carolina to Kuwait to help the contingent in the event of a worsening of the situation.

In addition, about 1,000 servicemen will arrive in Afghanistan to obtain special immigrant visas (SIV - Special Immigrant Visa).

These documents will allow the transfer of translators, embassy personnel and other Afghans who have assisted the US military and diplomats since 2001 to the United States.

According to Reuters, in order to evacuate Afghan citizens who may be persecuted by the Taliban, Washington is conducting Operation Shelter for Allies.

At the moment, the United States has removed about 1.2 thousand Afghans from the war-torn republic.

Another 3.5 thousand people are planned to be evacuated in the coming weeks.

Citing sources, the agency reports that the Biden administration previously held secret negotiations with a large number of countries over the temporary placement of Afghans who applied for SIV.

However, attempts to conclude such deals have been unsuccessful.

In particular, Washington was unable to achieve the consent of such states as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The main reason for the refusal was the difficulty of verifying the data on migrants whom the United States proposes to place on the territory of these states.

• Central part of Kabul

• Reuters

• © Omar Sobhani

As a senior State Department official explained in a conversation with Reuters, the authorities of foreign countries doubt the existence of reliable information about the persons whom the United States is offering to accept.

Also unanswered are questions related to the detention of Afghan migrants and the consequences if they flee from their places of stay.

In turn, Krish O'Mara Vinyaraja, head of a non-profit organization that deals with the resettlement of refugees and migrants in the United States, believes that the White House has delayed negotiations on the placement of Afghan migrants in other countries and generally does not have a specific plan for the evacuation of people who helped troops and diplomats. for almost two decades.

She told about this in an interview with Reuters.

In an interview with RT, Dmitry Egorchenkov, director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, said that the United States does not have the resources to export all Afghan citizens who collaborated with them.

And if these people cannot leave the republic on their own, then their fate will be in the hands of the Taliban.

“There are a lot of Afghans who worked for the Americans.

In fact, these are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people.

There is really nowhere to put them now.

With its hasty departure, the United States is effectively abandoning those who helped them.

If these people are captured by the Taliban, then, most likely, they will be judged as accomplices of the enemy, ”Yegorchenkov explained.

In turn, the Taliban have so far denied the likelihood of reprisals against Afghans who collaborated with the United States.

As a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar, Muhammad Naim, said in an August 12 interview with RT Arabic, the movement forgives "everything in the past."

According to him, translators who worked for the Americans also fall under the amnesty.

“We have announced an amnesty.

In the future, we want to create an independent Islamic regime.

We want all sectors of society to be represented in the regime and in government in the future.

We do not want a monopoly of power.

We want the entire spectrum of society and all people to have the opportunity to serve their people and their country, ”explained Muhammad Naim.

"Urgent evacuation"

In a RT commentary, Vladimir Stol, Doctor of Political Science, did not rule out that in order to accommodate Afghan refugees, the United States would try to put pressure on its NATO allies.

However, as the expert predicts, Western states are unlikely to agree to accept the required number of Afghan citizens.

“In the United States and other Western countries that have participated in operations against the Taliban, the situation is close to panic.

All of them are absorbed in the urgent evacuation of people and property.

There is a certain coordination, of course, between them, but, in fact, everyone is trying to save himself and leave Afghanistan as soon as possible, "Vladimir Shtol emphasized in an interview with RT.

Thus, according to sources in a number of Western media outlets, Canada plans to remove its diplomats and about 20 thousand local residents from among those who are threatened by the Taliban coming to power from the republic.

We are talking about translators, human rights defenders, journalists, representatives of a number of religious minorities and the local LGBT community.

To this end, Ottawa is also deploying additional troops to Afghanistan.

• Kabul airport

• Reuters

• © Ahmad Masood

Another US ally, Great Britain, is hatching similar plans.

London, following Washington, also decided to send additional forces in the amount of 600 troops to Afghanistan.

With their help, the British plan to take out representatives of their diplomatic department and up to 4 thousand Afghans who collaborated with the British authorities.

The German authorities are also busy solving problems related to the evacuation of their citizens and Afghan allies.

Berlin intends to reduce the staff of the embassy in Kabul to a minimum.

Initially, the German Foreign Ministry was going to start this process at the end of August, but due to the onset of the Taliban, the departure dates of evacuation flights were shifted to earlier dates.

Sweden has also announced a reduction in its diplomatic presence.

The plans to withdraw diplomatic personnel and Afghans who worked for it from Afghanistan were also announced by the authorities of Denmark, Norway and the Czech Republic.

However, Western states may not have time to implement plans to evacuate people from Afghanistan, said Vladimir Shtol.

According to him, the removal of people, property and documents exclusively by aviation is a "technically difficult operation."

“The evacuation that Western countries are doing is not easy.

A lot of people and cargo will not fit on the plane.

In addition, it is required to prepare a lot of documents and draw up an adequate flight schedule.

The plans of the United States and its allies are designed for several weeks, but they may not have this time, ”says Stoll.

As the expert explained, Kabul is rapidly turning into a front-line city.

To date, the Taliban have captured about two-thirds of Afghanistan's provinces.

The Pentagon fears that the attack on Kabul may begin in the coming days.

According to CNN sources, the capital of the republic may be surrounded by the Taliban within a week or even earlier.

Citing a notice from the American embassy in Kabul, reporters say diplomats have been ordered to begin destroying documents, electronic equipment, government logos and flags.

As the document explains, all these items can be used by the Taliban "for propaganda purposes."

• Taliban militants

• Reuters

• © Jalil Ahmad

“The situation in Afghanistan is completely unpredictable.

If Kabul is captured in the coming days, and this cannot be ruled out, then neither the United States nor other countries will simply have time to evacuate the planned number of people and property - they will have to enter into negotiations with the Taliban, ”Stoll said.

Dmitry Egorchenkov adheres to a similar point of view.

According to the expert, Washington's policy has created enormous risks for the staff of the US Embassy, ​​diplomats of Western countries and the civilian population of Afghanistan.

At the same time, according to the expert, the American allies are not able to independently evacuate all people in the coming days.

“Meanwhile, the Taliban are approaching Kabul, and government forces often surrender without a fight.

But the military can be understood - they have to live in this country, and the Americans are abandoning them.

It is quite possible that the United States will eventually close the diplomatic mission in Kabul.

The flight that we are now witnessing is the surrender of the allies, the shame and failure of the entire system that the Americans have been building for the past 20 years, ”concluded Yegorchenkov.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.