Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Afghanistan: Pentagon rebuffs question on why UK are doing more to rescue citizens than US

Maj Gen Hank Taylor says the main goal is to allow American citizens and immigrant visa applicants to be processed at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

Eric Garcia
Thursday 19 August 2021 16:51 BST
Comments
(EPA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Pentagon rebuffed a question Thursday when asked why the United States was not doing as much as the United Kingdom was doing to rescue its citizens from Afghanistan.

During a press conference on Thursday, Army Major General Hank Taylor was asked about British paratroopers being dropped into Kabul and leaving Hamid Karzai International Airport, also known as HKIA, to evacuate its citizens who couldn’t leave because of the Taliban. He was then asked why the United States wasn’t doing the same.

“Our main mission continues to be to secure HKIA to allow those American citizens and other SIVs to be processed at the airfield,” he said, in reference to those who applied for special immigrant visas since they assisted the US mission in Afghanistan.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in