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Pentagon Gives Update on Afghanistan Withdrawal and Evacuations; Biden Faces Deadline Today on Extending Afghan Rescue Mission. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 24, 2021 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[10:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: I'll take you live right to the Pentagon. That is Major General Hank Taylor giving an update on evacuations from Afghanistan.

MAJ. GEN. HANK TAYLOR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, JOINT STAFF REGIONAL OPERATIONS: -- left Kabul aircraft with 8,900 personnel. This tremendous display of a team work and focus resulted in a passenger count of 21,600 individuals leaving Afghanistan in just 24 hours.

To date 63,900 American citizens, NATO and other partners, personnel, Afghan, SIV applicants and vulnerable Afghans have out of harm's way, now safer and on their journey to a better life. And a majority of these people, approximately 5,000 -- or 58,700 of them have left just since August 14th.

[10:35:03]

I want to reiterate that we're able to achieve this level of increased departures because of U.S. military personnel and our partners work around the clock to conduct this highly important mission, including airport security and flight operations. To that end, we're seeing increased pace and increased pace in the flight schedule at Kabul. As of yesterday, in that last 24-hour period, one aircraft left on or about every 45 minutes.

As we look beyond Kabul, and in order to maintain a steady flow out of Afghanistan, we rely on the intermediate staging bases and safe havens in both CENTCOM and the UCOM AORs. We've been focused on building capacity while also rapidly processing and facilitating onward movement. It has been challenging to keep up with the flow but we have made progress in caring for and safeguarding these vulnerable individuals and getting them moving onward.

We are committed to doing more and to continue to expand and improve our facilities, from adding shelter to additional sanitation, hand washing stations, refrigerator trucks, providing cold water and the appropriate food and we're working with our partners to increase this capacity as soon as possible.

In the UCOM AOR, Afghans transitioning through Ramstein Air Base Germany, have started departing to onward destinations. So far, 500 aircraft and more than 800 travelers who have been screened and cleared for entry departed for the United States. UCOM has received nearly 8,000 evacuees since August 20th and is considering installations in Germany, Italy and Spain in preparation to receive more flights to allow greater throughput to the United States.

As I mentioned yesterday, the number of temporary safe haven locations across Europe and the Middle East now stands at 14. This allows us to expedite movement out of Kabul and gives us flexibility from these intermediate staging bases. We're appreciative of the support and this global effort from our allies and partners. We remain focused on the mission of bringing as many people home as we can and as quickly as we can.

An update on North Com operations. In the past 24 hours, four flights landed at Dulles International Airport with more than a thousand passengers. Again, these passengers and their families will go to one of the four military instillations designated as processing locations. All of this progress stems from the team work and professionalism, and especially of our interagency partners here in the states.

We know more hard work remains, that our personnel in Afghanistan remain vigilant and we share the sense of urgency in this effort. We'll continue to keep you updated on Afghanistan through the week.

Lastly, as we look at Haiti, the Department of Defense continues to support the USAID relief efforts in Haiti. Over the last 24 hours, Joint Task Force Haiti conducted 56 missions, assisted in the saving of 40 lives and delivered more than 35,000 pounds of good supplies and medical supplies to the people affected by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Haiti. Four United States Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys arrived to provide additional options for personnel and supply. These air assets are in addition to 18 U.S. military and Coast Guard aircraft already supporting humanitarian relief operations. U.S. maritime vessels continue to support also. That concludes my update.

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Thank you, General. Okay. Before we get to questions I have a slight update on the baby count. As the general let you know yesterday, three babies total, just to clarify, one was born on the C-17. That is the one I think you guys know about. The two other were born shortly after arrival at Ramstein in the Landstuhl Hospital there on-base. So, two were born at the -- in the hospital shortly after arrival.

I am told that moms and dads and babies are all fine and healthy and all is looking good there. And if we can get more information on this, I'll be able to provide it a little bit later.

Leta (ph)?

REPORTER: John, a couple of questions. I know that you are not going to be able to answer whether or not the deadline is going to be extended beyond the 31st, but can you give us some perspective from the military?

[10:40:01] Can you get all Americans out in the next several days by the 31st? Do you need more military bases in the United States to house them? Do you need more throughputs in order to get that done? And do you need to increase the pace? And one -- go ahead.

KIRBY: No, no, go ahead, keep going.

REPORTER: And the other day, the general told us that there were about 2,500, I think, Americans that had gotten out but that number has increased over the last several days. About how many have gotten out so far?

KIRBY: About how many --

REPORTER: Americans.

KIRBY: Okay. So all the deadline -- I'm going to miss some of these, Leta, so just walk me back. You're right, there has been no change to the timeline of the mission, which is to have this completed by the end of month. We continue to make progress every day in getting Americans, as well as SIV applicants and vulnerable Afghans out. And you heard the number that the general briefed just a minute ago and the vast, vast majority of these individuals are Afghans.

So, we are remaining committed to getting any and all Americans that want to leave to get them out. And we still believe certainly now that we have been able to increase the capacity in the flow. We believe that we have that -- that we have the capability, the ability to get that done by the end of the month.

You asked for, I think, bases. Here in the United States was another one of your questions.

REPORTER: Do you believe you need to increase the number?

KIRBY: It's possible that we might be looking at additional U.S. military installations here in the United States. Right now, we are looking -- we're working with four of them, Fort Lee, Fort McCoy, Fort Bliss and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. Those are the four that are operating now and are beginning to see a flow of SIV applicants.

It is very well possible that we could need to use additional U.S. military installations here stateside. And as we make those decisions and as we're able to announce them, we certainly will. But we want to make sure that just like we wanted to make sure in Kabul, that airlift wasn't a limiting factor. We want to make sure that when we get these individuals to the United States, that temporary, safe, secure and accessible temporary lodging is not the limiting factor to their ability to get on with their new lives and to finish the process.

I'm sure you had like three other ones that I forgot.

REPORTER: The general, at one point, told us that 2,500 have gotten out. What is your assessment now as to the number that have gotten out of Afghanistan. And do you think you can get all of them out? KIRBY: I think I answered the second part of that. I think, for all Americans who want to leave, the State Department is working very hard to contact them and we are getting them out every day. And that is not going to change. And I understand the question about the specific detail. I would just tell you that several thousand, we know several thousand Americans have been safely evacuated from Afghanistan. I understand that is not the degree of specificity that you want but that is as far as I'm going to be able to go today, several thousand.

And to include, I would -- several hundred just yesterday were able to get on to the airport for follow-on transportation. So it is every day we are moving Americans out of the country.

Tara?

REPORTER: Barring any factors besides like whether -- do you anticipate that you will be able to keep this pace up, another 20,000 in the next couple of days to maybe have 100,000 evacuated before the end of the week?

KIRBY: That is definitely the plan, Tara. But, as you know, the throughput is a function of many different factors, including even weather. So, our plan is to continue this pace as aggressively as we can. You heard General Lyon speak to that, I think, very specifically yesterday. That is the goal. That is the intention.

REPORTER: One final one for you. The babies that were born on the aircraft and on the -- at the U.S. side of the military base, are they considered American citizens? We've gotten that question a lot.

KIRBY: Yes, it's a good question. I do not know the answer to that. I'm probably going to have to punt to my colleagues at the State Department or immigration. I don't know the answer to that. And just to remind, it was born on the aircraft, actually in flight, two born at Lundstuhl shortly after the flight arrived into Ramstein. If I can get you any more details, I certainly will.

REPORTER: One last, in the expansion effort. And there is an opportunity for now seeking party (ph) and (INAUDIBLE) speakers for Keesler Air Force Base. Is Keesler going to be one of the expansion --

[10:45:00]

KIRBY: I don't have any announcements on future possible installations that might be of use. We will do this in a rolling fashion, Tara. As if and when we decide we need additional installations, we'll let you guys know as soon as we possibly can.

REPORTER: John, has the U.S. started preparations to leave in order to leave by August 31st? When does the U.S. military have to begin making those preps? When does that decision have to be made?

KIRBY: I'm not going to get into a specific TikTok here. Just as when we were talking about the retrograde out of Afghanistan, writ large for the military, we were very careful about the details we provided. The threat environment is very real around the airport, so I am going to be equally as judicious about the kind of information that we give out. But roughly speaking, you need at least several days to get the amount of forces and equipment that we have at the airport to get that safely and effectively retrograded. I won't get into a specific TikTok.

And this is going to be the pace and whatever the daily extraction is going to be, that is going to be up to the commanders on the ground to determine what they are going to move and how and when they are going to do it because we have a commitment mission all the way through to continue these evacuations. So you have to be able to do both and it is a balance. And the secretary is going to trust the judgment of our commanders on the ground to properly meet that balance.

REPORTER: But it sounds like you're still working on an August 31st deadline.

KIRBY: We're absolutely still aiming towards the end of the month.

REPORTER: And are the public statements by the Taliban the same as the private statements being made to U.S. officials about the deadline and when U.S. should leave?

KIRBY: I can tell you is that the Taliban have been very clear about what they're expectations are as well.

REPORTER: But the public and private statements are the same?

KIRBY: Without getting into details, I'm not seeing much dissonance.

REPORTER: And can you give any more details about the firefight that took place today, a second firefight outside the airport and that there were some arrests by the -- by the Taliban of some so-called ISIS people taking videos of the airport?

TAYLOR: I don't have those details. We're working with CENTCOM as that is currently ongoing. So I know that CENTCOM has continued to do that. And there is no security, if you would, breach or any problems there at the security of the airfield.

REPORTER: Is the U.S. providing any intel to the Taliban about an ISIS threat?

TAYLOR: I know the commanders on the ground continue to communicate to ensure that the safety of not only around the gates but the other checkpoints so that he we can continue to process vulnerable Afghans, other coalition folks and American citizens in.

REPORTER: When this evacuation began, there were already close to a thousand U.S. troops at that airport. So, just to be clear, when we're talking about pulling U.S. troops out, we're talking about pulling all of the troops. So, you go to zero at the embassy, is that correct?

KIRBY: That's correct. No, I followed the question. That is correct.

REPORTER: So you have to take out more than you put in?

KIRBY: Yes. Yes I'm --

REPORTER: So, how does that happen without the active cooperation of the Taliban to keep the crowds away as U.S. troops first thin out their perimeter and then pull back?

KIRBY: How about the general take that in just a second because I think he's much more informed than I am. But we just make the larger issue that any retrograde out of -- or drawdown, if you will, out of an environment that you can't assume that is always going to be permissive, is one that has to be done very carefully and it has to be sequenced in a very methodical way so that the safety and security of our people and the people who we are trying to protect is considered of paramount importance.

And so we aren't going to -- and I'll level set with you now, we're going to be able to tell you, once we start to effect this withdrawal, and like I say we're still planning on end of the month, whenever we start, we're not going to provide a TikTok every day of exactly what we're moving out and at what pace so that we could limit vulnerabilities in the information space and in the actual physical space of the airport as we move out.

[10:50:00]

But it is all done in a very careful, methodical way so that you can preserve as much capability to the very end that you need and as well as security, and not just the security for our folks but security for the people that we are trying to safely evacuate. But I'll turn it over to the general in case he has more --

TAYLOR: Mr. Kirby, I mean, you covered that very well. I just would add to that is security is paramount during any phase of an operation. So, as you look at, as we go forward here, the commanders are going to continually communicate, coordinate to ensure that security is set to allow all of those flight operations, all of those things to continue to the end.

REPORTER: Does the methodical and orderly withdrawal that he just referred to, does that require the assistance of the Taliban?

TAYLOR: I mean, it requires the coordination that I think we're doing right now to maintain that security.

KIRBY: Yes, there is no question that, David, as we work through this, the daily communication with Taliban commanders is going to have to continue. That is just a hard fact.

REPORTER: Does their promise of cooperation expire on August 31st?

KIRBY: I'm not going to speculate about or even speak for them or for their intentions. That we are -- again, we are the -- the mission has been to end on the 31st. That is the assumption that we are working towards. And we'll just have to keep moving forward.

Carla? REPORTER: Thank you. Are there any additional air evacuations in the city of Kabul? Has the U.S. military done any evacuations of any sort outside of the city of Kabul because there are still lots of Americans not in Kabul?

KIRBY: I'll let the general take that.

TAYLOR: So, when you talk about evacuations, you mean going out and -- we continue to closely coordinate to ensure the safe arrival of Americans and others on HKIA. So we have not gone any further air operations this time. But as I said earlier, we continue to ensure the capabilities that we've had and as required that we're able to do so.

REPORTER: Is there a plan in place to help extract Americans who are outside of Kabul at this point?

TAYLOR: We are always planning and assessing what needs to be done to help Americans get to HKIA, to Kabul airport.

KIRBY: I haven't gotten to the phones at all. So, let me start doing that. I need my glasses again. Jack, Jack Detsch from Foreign Policy.

REPORTER: Thanks, John. I'm just wondering, do you have a specific update on the throughput now? Obviously, you've obviated the 5,000 and 9,000 number. I know you mentioned the 30 C-17 evac flights but just wondering if there is a specific update on what your goals for daily throughput.

TAYLOR: I think as you go back to what General Lyon said last night and for those that right now the pace, the throughput that we're able to maintain, as I said earlier, is about a plane every 45 minutes. But also, that is also driven upon the requirement of what needs to be taken out. So, right now, we assess that we have the required air flow, not only U.S. military, but, as you said, you saw the numbers of our coalition or our other partners that are coming in. We assess that we will be able to maintain the throughput that we've seen in the last two days and then we will continue to assess what the requirements are from here forward of what we have to get that throughput into Kabul.

REPORTER: So you're looking at about 20,000 per day?

KIRBY: I actually, I -- we're trying to get as many out as we can. And so if we can exceed what our previous expectations were, and we have over the last couple of days, that is a good thing and we're going to continue to drive at that.

REPORTER: Two quick questions. Firstly, is the intention to get every American out who wants to live, plus as many SIV holders or applicants, or is it to get out all Americans plus as many Afghans out as possible by the August 31st --

KIRBY: As many Americans that we can get out as fast as possible, as many of our SIV applicants who we can get to the airport and get them out as fast as possible, as many vulnerable Afghans that we can also work towards getting. But it's -- we understand the challenges of time and space here. [10:55:00]

We're mindful of that. That is why we are trying to continue to keep up this capacity and even improve it if we can.

REPORTER: And just to follow-up to the question. You said you have the ability to get all Americans out who want to leave and you said several thousand. Do you have a percentage for how many Americans have been removed, without giving a number, more than half have been removed?

KIRBY: Can't give you that number, Adris (ph), because I don't think is a perfect number that we know with certainty of all Americans in Afghanistan. There is no requirement. You can't force an American when they go to a foreign country to tell you that they're there, and we encourage them to do that. The State Department has a robust set of communication vehicles at their disposal, especially in a country like Afghanistan. We want to know when Americans are there. But they don't have to tell us.

So that is why it is difficult for us to give you, you know, the denominator there, how many are there. And what I can tell you, and this is out of my lane but I'll do it anyway, I mean, the State Department has been working very hard to reach out to those who they know are there or even who they hear are there, to communicate to them, let them know what evacuation plans are possible and achievable for them. So they're working very hard at this.

Our job at the Defense Department is to help facilitate them, their safe passage to the airport and then getting them manifested and getting them on a plane out.

REPORTER: But the ones who have registered, have more on less than half of the Americans who have registered, have they been evacuated?

KIRBY: I don't know. You have to go for the State Department for what they think they have on the registry. But I think even they would tell you, Adris (ph), that that is an imperfect database because not every American has to register. So it is perfectly conceivable that you might have an American who nobody knew is in Afghanistan but still pipes up on the net (ph) and says, I want to get out. And we're going to help that person get out to the best ability that we can.

Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I don't really understand. This is the answer we've gotten for days and days and days from every podium in this town. Even if this administration does not have the denominator, that is not my question. My question is can this administration tell the American people how many Americans it has evacuated from Afghanistan? And if you cannot, can you please explain not the denominators, why can't you just say the number?

KIRBY: Barbara, I think we're going to leave it at several thousand right now. And I understand that is not a satisfying answer to you. I would tell you that the number literally changes almost by the hour. STARR: But so does everything else.

KIRBY: I understand, Barbara. We're going to leave it at several thousand right now.

STARR: May I have a follow up since everybody else asked like eight questions? Thank you. I have two other follow-ups, if I may. Just to clarify General Taylor's answer, if there had been no missions outside of Kabul, can you tell us about missions that have taken place at least outside essentially the fence line of the airport?

And my other follow-up is, as you prepare to depart, whenever that happens, your previous retrograde, as you called it, included provisions for destruction of weapons in place, can we assume that this part of the effort to leave Afghanistan will also include that what you cannot put on an airplane, any weapons you can't put an on airplane or dangerous items, you would destroy in place?

KIRBY: I think the general answered your first question. There is no other additional operations to speak to. We continue to facilitate safe passage --

STARR: I mean, outside of Kabul, I believe.

KIRBY: There are no additional operations to speak to that I'm aware of.

TAYLOR: Outside.

KIRBY: Outside of the airport either. But we continue to facilitate a safe passage for Americans and SIVs as they need to get to the airport. And as I mentioned to Leta just in the last 24 hours, I can tell you that several hundred Americans have made it safely to airport gates for further on transportation.

STARR: With U.S. government assistance then?

KIRBY: I'm just going to leave it at that, Barb.

And as for your question on retrograde, the short answer is yes, as a part of any retrograde, and I know that is a technical Pentagon term that the drawdown of both people and equipment will be done in the same manner that we would do it anywhere else. And, obviously, there is a strong bias to be able to get our material out with our people.

[11:00:00]

If there needs to be destruction or other disposition of equipment there at Hamid Karzai International --