Taliban claims control of Panjshir province; resistance leader calls for more fight: LIVE UPDATES
Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, said in an audio released Monday that his group will continue the fight despite the Taliban's claim that they’ve taken control of Panjshir province.
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American soldiers arrive back on U.S. soil
Greg Gutfeld
Afghanistan is under Taliban control and "The Five" co-host Greg Gutfeld argued it’s not the time to infer that the world has its eyes on the evolving disaster when nothing is being done to mend it.
"Can we ban the phrase, finally, ‘the world is watching’?" he proposed. "Because nobody cares if the world is watching."
Gutfeld pointed out that the current Taliban government continues to beat, abuse and oppress Afghan citizens without any consequences.
"So ‘the whole world is watching’ means nothing if you’re not doing anything after watching," he said. "It’s like people hold up smartphones while you’re being attacked, it’s like, could you help me? Put down the phone and help me!"
At three U.S. military bases in Europe: Ramstein, Germany; Sigonella, Italy and Rota, Spain, the FBI, Customs and Border Protection and NCIS have hundreds of agents overseeing the screening of about 17,000 Afghan evacuees.
"I'm very comfortable that, you know, these folks are being properly cleared through the FBI," General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told Fox News in an exclusive interview at Ramstein after he thanked the troops who built from scratch an overnight makeshift TSA to screen the thousands of evacuees.
"I talked to the security folks," Milley said after walking through the screening process. "They're getting their names registered. They're doing biometrics. They check their irises, they do their fingerprints. They take a full facial photo. They run that against the 20 years of databases that we have."
A State Department spokesperson reacted to the the Taliban's caretaker government while vowing to hold the organization to its commitments for inclusive government and safe passage out of the country.
"We have seen the announcement and are assessing it. We note the announced list of names consists exclusively of individuals who are members of the Taliban or their close associates and no women. We also are concerned by the affiliations and track records of some of the individuals. We understand that the Taliban has presented this as a caretaker cabinet. However, we will judge the Taliban by its actions, not words. We have made clear our expectation that the Afghan people deserve an inclusive government.
We will continue to hold the Taliban to their commitments to allow safe passage for foreign nationals and Afghans with travel documents, including permitting flights currently ready to fly out of Afghanistan to agreed-upon onward destinations.
We also reiterate our clear expectation that the Taliban ensure that Afghan soil is not used to threaten any other countries and allow humanitarian access in support of the Afghan people. The world is watching closely."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed in a recent interview that "all" of the Americans who wanted to leave Afghanistan are already out, contradicting statements by the State Department that a small number of U.S. citizens are still trying to flee the Taliban-controlled country.
During an interview with ABC-affiliated WSYR at the New York State Fair on Friday, Schumer, D-N.Y., was asked how President Biden’s widely criticized ending to the U.S. war in Afghanistan might affect Democrats’ chances in the 2022 midterm elections.
President Joe Biden addressed hecklers who shouted at him about his chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, claiming that they don’t actually live in the area he was touring and suggesting that they were upset about his climate change position.
After New York Sen. Chuck Schumer introduced Biden as the man who will "lead us out of darkness in this present moment," the president began his remarks in New York City by saying he received a warm reception in the area he had been touring.
"None of them were shouting or complaining," Biden said. "Every one of them were thanking me as if it was something special… that I was here."
Former President Donald Trump
On the heels of President Biden being heavily criticized since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan during a botched withdrawal last month, former President Donald Trump doubled down on Tuesday - arguing it was the "dumbest and most embarrassing thing that ever happened in the U.S."
On Fox Nation's "The Dan Bongino Show," Trump first chimed in on ongoing issues at the southern border - where an unprecedented surge of migrants are flooding the region, overwhelming border patrol, and local law enforcement.
Four out of five Guantanamo detainees whom former President Barack Obama released in exchange for former U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in 2014 now hold senior positions in the interim government created by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
According to the Afghan television network TOLOnews, the Taliban-formed government gave leadership positions to Mohammad Nabi Omari, Khairullah Khairkhwa, Norullah Noori, Abdul Haq Wasiq, and Mohammad Fazl; all of whom were released in a 2014 deal between the Obama administration and the Taliban to free Bergdahl, whom the Taliban had held as a prisoner since 2009.
President Biden was heckled for stranding Americans in Afghanistan while he surveyed the damage from Hurricane Ida in New Jersey on Tuesday.
Biden was visiting a neighborhood in Manville and speaking to police when onlookers erupted over the president’s handling of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"My country is going to s--- and you're allowing it!" one woman yelled off camera, according to C-SPAN’s footage of the encounter. "And I’m an immigrant and I’m proud of this country! I’d give my life for this country. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves."
"All this for a f--- photo-op?" one man scoffed off camera. "You ain't gonna do s---!"
FILE: Photo from an Arabic language Web site shows a man identified as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and four other high-profile detainees at the United State's detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, resumed pretrial headings Tuesday.
The five detainees appeared in court together, smiling and in an apparently jovial mood, for the first time in 500 days due delays brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mohammed and his co-defendants are charged with crimes including terrorism, hijacking and 2,976 counts of murder for their alleged roles planning and providing logistical support to the Sept. 11 plot. They could get the death penalty if convicted at the military commission, which combines elements of civilian and military law.
EXCLUSIVE: The State Department refused to grant official approval for private evacuation flights from Afghanistan to land in third countries, even though the department conceded that official authorization would likely be needed for planes to land in those nations, an email reviewed by Fox News shows.
Furthermore, the State Department explicitly stated that charter flights, even those containing American citizens, would not be allowed to land at Defense Department (DOD) airbases.
The Biden administration's delaying of private evacuation efforts has been a widespread source of frustration, infuriating rescue organizers and even a prominent Democratic senator.
Arizona GOP Rep. Andy Biggs joined "The Faulkner Focus" Tuesday, and posed many questions for Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The nation's top diplomat will testify in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week following the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal.
REP. BIGGS: Secretary Blinken will have to answer what was their plans and why were they executed so poorly? Was he listening to intelligence? The intelligence community from what I have understood from briefings that I’ve heard, they were giving the correct information. That is that the Taliban would come in and overrun the country immediately. Why were they not listening to the intelligence community? What did they think was going to happen differently?
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is predicting that the American military "will" return to Afghanistan due to the high terror threat in the country.
Graham made the prediction during a Monday interview with the BBC while comparing the situation to former President Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq and the resulting rise of the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The Republican senator spoke on how former President Trump destroyed the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria after its rise under Obama and then-Vice President Biden.
Afghans shout slogans during an anti-Pakistan demonstration, near the Pakistan embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. Sign in Persian reads, "Pakistan Pakistan Get out of Afghanistan." Credit: AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that there is "no rush" to recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan as the group announced the formation of its new government.
"There's no rush to recognition, and that will be planned dependent on what steps the Taliban takes," she said. "The world will be watching whether they allow for American citizens, whether they allow individuals to leave who want to, and how they treat women and girls around the country."
"I don't have a timeline for you," Psaki added.
Psaki's comments echoed the President Joe Biden who said Monday that recognition of the Taliban government was "a long way off."
On Tuesday, the Taliban announced a caretaker Cabinet – one that paid homage to the old guard of the group, giving top posts to Taliban personalities who dominated the 20-year fight against the U.S.-led coalition and its allies in the Afghan government.
There was no evidence of non-Taliban in the lineup, a big demand of the international community, and not one woman was named despite demands for "inclusivity."
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, when announcing the Cabinet, said the appointments were for an interim government.
However, Mujahid did not elaborate on how long the members would serve.
So far, the Taliban have shown no indications that they will hold elections.
Fox News' Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Afghan women shout slogans during an anti-Pakistan demonstration, near the Pakistan embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon
The Taliban are reportedly blocking an Afghan employee of an American organization in Afghanistan and hundreds of others from boarding charter evacuation flights out of Afghanistan.
The woman, who spoke to The Associated Press anonymously on Tuesday, is among several hundred people including American citizens and green card holders who say they have been waiting in large residence halls and hotels for more than a week for permission to board waiting charter flights out of the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
“We think we are in some kind of jail,” the Ascend employee told The Associated Press.
She said some American citizens in the group are vulnerable people in their 70s: the parents of Afghan Americans in the U.S.
Taliban officials say they will allow travelers with the proper passports and other documentation to leave.
The Afghan woman said her group has proper passports and visas, but the Taliban are still blocking them from entering the airport.
She recalled fleeing to the women’s side of her hotel last week when word spread that the Taliban were searching the would-be evacuees and had already taken some away.
“I am scared if they split us’ up ’and not let us leave,” she said. “If we can’t get out of here, something wrong will happen. And I am afraid of that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaks during a joint press conference with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, and Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. Credit: Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the State Department is doing "accountings on the back end" as Afghan evacuees arrive in the United States.
Blinken , during a Tuesday press conference in Qatar, said the Biden administration was focused on getting individuals out of Kabul and planned to shift its attention to the vetting process after safely evacuating Afghanistan.
"In our effort to get as many people out as fast as we can while we had the airport functioning, we focused on doing just that," he said.
"My expectation is we will have a breakdown of the numbers of people who left Afghanistan, including not just American citizens, but green card holders, SIV applicants, SIV visa holders, Afghans at risk, those eligible for P-1 and P-2 visas," said the secretary. "All of that will be forthcoming in the days and weeks ahead as we're able to break down the numbers."
Last week, following the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the White House said intelligence and counterterrorism officials were "working around the clock" to "vet all Afghans" before allowing them to enter the United States.
Fox News' Brooke Singman, Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) departs the carriage entrance as the U.S. Senate appears on track for passage of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. August 9, 2021. Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., criticized President Joe Biden Monday for leaving Americans in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover on "Fox News Live," saying the United States should not have let a calendar dictate the timing of the troop withdrawal.
SENATOR BILL HAGERTY: "You know, this is a product of this evacuation that has been handled in such a haphazard fashion. I think the State Department is really incapable of assessing the situation on the ground right now because they’ve evacuated. What’s happened though is we’ve left American citizens behind just as you’ve noted here and that is extremely concerning. I’ve just returned from a trip to London and to Brussels, meeting with allies in the U.K. and at NATO. We’ve got British citizens that have been left behind too. This activity that is taking place is not just with Americans but it's also with our allies who are suffering in exactly the same means and we have left them in this condition. I mean, the frustration that they conveyed to me was palpable. What they talked about was a situation where we let a calendar drive our approach to Afghanistan rather than the conditions on the ground and that’s what yields a situation precisely like the one that you just showed with this lady whose expecting a child trying to get out and not knowing what her future may be. We should have never let a calendar drive it. We shouldn’t let local domestic politics drive it. That’s the perception overseas. We should have been driving this based on the conditions on the ground and that’s not what happened here."
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, and Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, right, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. Credit: Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP
Speaking in Doha at a Tuesday news conference with Qatar's top diplomats and defense officials, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Biden administration would work with Persian Gulf allies on diplomatic approaches to security threats in the region.
Austin cited what he called Iran's support for extremists and said that the country is supplying “increasingly lethal weapons” to what he called terrorist groups.
Both the defense secretary and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked Qatar for helping with the transit of tens of thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaks during a joint press conference with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, and Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. Credit: Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP
Speaking at a joint press conference in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the State Department is working in coordination with the Taliban to facilitate additional charter flights from Kabul for people seeking to leave Afghanistan after the American military and diplomatic departure.
Blinken said that the U.S. had been in contact with the Taliban “in recent hours” to work out arrangements and that the group had given assurances of safe passage for all those seeking to leave Afghanistan with proper travel documents.
The secretary said that America would hold the Taliban to that pledge and that the U.S. believes there are “somewhere around 100” American citizens still in Afghanistan who want to leave.
The State Department had previously estimated that number was between 100 and 200 U.S. citizens.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, arrives at Old Doha Airport in Qatar's capital Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. Blinken is meeting with Qatari leaders to thank the nation for its support in the Afghanistan evacuation efforts and to discuss the future of US-Afghanistan relations. Credit: Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP
The Taliban fired gunshots on Tuesday to break up a rally in Kabul and arrested several Afghan journalists covering the demonstration, according to witnesses and Afghan media outlets.
The protest began outside the Pakistan Embassy to denounce what protesters claim is Pakistan's interference in Afghanistan -- in particular, Islamabad's alleged support for the Taliban's fight in Panjshir province.
An Afghan journalist who was arrested during the rally later told The Associated Press that he was punished by the Taliban.
“They made me rub my nose on the ground and apologize for covering the protest,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Journalism is Afghanistan is getting harder," he added.
Afghanistan's TOLOnews TV channel said its cameraman Wahid Ahmadi was among those arrested.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. officials in Washington have identified a "relatively" small number of Americans seeking to depart Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday while in Qatar, Reuters reported.
Blinken says the State Department is working with the Taliban to facilitate additional charter flights from Kabul for people seeking to leave Afghanistan after the American military and diplomatic departure.
It appeared to be the first time that the Biden administration confirmed that there were Americans at the airport after several reports that Taliban fighters had blocked Americans aboard six planes at the airport. Three Americans involved in the private evacuations blasted the State Department over the weekend for preventing the evacuation flights from leaving the country.
Ahmad Massoud, son of the slain hero of the anti-Soviet resistance, Ahmad Shah Massoud, speaks during an interview at his house in Bazarak, Panjshir province Afghanistan September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail/File Photo
Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, said in an audio released Monday that his group will continue the fight despite the Taliban's claim that they’ve taken control of Panjshir province.
“Wherever you are, inside or outside, I call on you to begin a national uprising for the dignity, freedom and prosperity of our country,” he said, according to the BBC.
He said his forces include members of the Afghan army and other militias. He said he is safe, Reuters reported.
“We are in Panjshir and our Resistance will continue,” he said.
The Taliban issued a statement Monday claiming that they have taken control of Panjshir province, which is located north of Kabul that served as the staging ground of the country’s last resistance force.
Al Jazeera reported that there are concerns about the 130,000 people believed trapped there. Taliban forces have essentially sealed off the area from the rest of the country and there is a food shortage, the report said.
“Whatever food people had in their houses, that’s what they’ve been eating for weeks now, the stores and bazaars are all empty,” one Panjshiri civilian told the news outlet. “I have sick people in my family and I have no way of helping them.”
The organizer of a private mission to rescue an American mom, Mariam, and her three children from Afghanistan says the U.S. State Department is now trying to insert itself into the story of her evacuation, despite playing little to no role for much of the rescue effort.
Senior State Department officials on Monday announced that the "U.S. has facilitated the safe departure of four US citizens by overland route from Afghanistan. Embassy staff was present upon their arrival."
But those actually involved in the dangerous rescue operation say the State Department deserves little to no credit for Mariam's escape from Afghanistan.
The White House and U.S. State Department are holding up charter planes at an airport in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif that would transport 19 Americans and 40 SIV holders to Albania, David Rohde, the executive editor at NewYorker.com said in an interview Monday.
"I want to repeat that," he said. "It is the State Department and the White House" holding up the planes.
He said the civilian effort has been "far more ambitious, far more dynamic and far more successful than what the administration has been doing."
On Sunday, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, told Fox News that the Taliban has blocked Americans aboard six planes at Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport. Three Americans involved in the private evacuation of those still in the country also blasted the State Department for preventing the evacuation flights from leaving the country.
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