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Exclusive

U.S. OFFICIALS PROVIDED TALIBAN WITH NAMES OF AMERICANS, AFGHAN ALLIES TO
EVACUATE

The White House contends that limited information sharing with the Taliban is
saving lives; critics argue it's putting Afghan allies in harm's way.

The decision to provide specific names to the Taliban, which has a history of
brutally murdering Afghans who collaborated with the U.S. and other coalition
forces during the conflict, has angered lawmakers and military officials. |
Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Force via AP

By LARA SELIGMAN, ALEXANDER WARD and ANDREW DESIDERIO

08/26/2021 03:28 PM EDT

Updated: 08/26/2021 09:48 PM EDT

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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 militant-controlled
outer perimeter of the city’s airport, a choice that's prompted outrage behind
the scenes from lawmakers and military officials.

The move, detailed to POLITICO by three U.S. and congressional officials, was
designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from
Afghanistan as chaos erupted in Afghanistan’s capital city last week after the
Taliban seized control of the country. It also came as the Biden administration
has been relying on the Taliban for security outside the airport.

Since the fall of Kabul in mid-August, nearly 100,000 people have been
evacuated, most of whom had to pass through the Taliban's many checkpoints. But
the decision to provide specific names to the Taliban, which has a history of
brutally murdering Afghans who collaborated with the U.S. and other coalition
forces during the conflict, has angered lawmakers and military officials.

“Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense
official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive
topic. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.”

Asked about POLITICO's reporting during a Thursday news conference, President
Joe Biden said he wasn't sure there were such lists, but also didn't deny that
sometimes the U.S. hands over names to the Taliban.

"There have been occasions when our military has contacted their military
counterparts in the Taliban and said this, for example, this bus is coming
through with X number of people on it, made up of the following group of people.
We want you to let that bus or that group through," he said. "So, yes there have
been occasions like that. To the best of my knowledge, in those cases, the bulk
of that has occurred and they have been let through.

"I can't tell you with any certitude that there's actually been a list of
names," he added. "There may have been. But I know of no circumstance. It
doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, that here's the names of 12 people, they're
coming, let them through. It could very well have happened."

NSC spokesperson Emily Horne added: “It is unfortunate that the White House was
not asked for comment or explanation on such a serious issue. Had Politico asked
us we would have given the same answer the President shared with the nation
today: that in limited cases we have shared information with the Taliban that
has successfully facilitated evacuations from Kabul.”

A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command declined to comment.

Pentagon briefs press on ISIS attacks in Kabul

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The list issue came up during a classified briefing on Capitol Hill this week,
which turned contentious after top Biden administration officials defended their
close coordination with the Taliban. Biden officials contended that it was the
best way to keep Americans and Afghans safe and prevent a shooting war between
Taliban fighters and the thousands of U.S. troops stationed at the airport.

After the fall of Kabul, in the earliest days of the evacuation, the joint U.S.
military and diplomatic coordination team at the airport provided the Taliban
with a list of people the U.S. aimed to evacuate. Those names included Afghans
who served alongside the U.S. during the 20-year war and sought special
immigrant visas to America. U.S. citizens, dual nationals and lawful permanent
residents were also listed.

Footage of Kabul airport suicide attack

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“They had to do that because of the security situation the White House created
by allowing the Taliban to control everything outside the airport,” one U.S.
official said.

But after thousands of visa applicants arrived at the airport, overwhelming the
capacity of the U.S. to process them, the State Department changed course —
asking the applicants not to come to the airport and instead requesting they
wait until they were cleared for entry. From then on, the list fed to the
Taliban didn’t include those Afghan names.

As of Aug. 25, only U.S. passport and green card holders were being accepted as
eligible for evacuation, the defense official said.

OUR LATEST COVERAGE OF AFGHANISTAN

1. Biden to those wishing harm on Americans: 'We will hunt you down and make
you pay'
2. ‘We will hunt you down and make you pay’: Biden vows retribution for deadly
attack on U.S. forces in Kabul
3. The darkest day of Joe Biden’s presidency

Still, that U.S. officials handed over a list of Afghan allies and American
citizens and residents shows the extent to which they outsourced security of the
airport’s outer perimeter to the Taliban. The Taliban has gone door-to-door in
search of Afghan interpreters and others who helped U.S. and Western forces.

In written and verbal communications, Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S.
Central Command, and Rear Adm. Peter Vasely, head of U.S. forces on the ground
in Afghanistan, have referred to the Taliban as “our Afghan partners,” according
to two defense officials.

The Biden administration has been coordinating the evacuation effort and airport
security with the Taliban, which is running the checkpoints outside the
airport’s outer perimeter. Officials have been “in daily communication” with
Taliban commanders about who to let in, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told
reporters this week.

The news comes just hours after two Islamic State terrorist attacks rocked the
area just outside the airport, killing at least four U.S. Marines and wounding
dozens more. A number of Afghans were also killed in the bombings.

After the attacks, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez
(D-N.J.) appeared to criticize the Biden administration’s strategy of
coordinating with the Taliban, writing in a statement: “As we wait for more
details to come in, one thing is clear: We can’t trust the Taliban with
Americans’ security.”

MOST READ

1. U.S. OFFICIALS PROVIDED TALIBAN WITH NAMES OF AMERICANS, AFGHAN ALLIES TO
EVACUATE

2. THE DARKEST DAY OF JOE BIDEN’S PRESIDENCY

3. MIKE POMPEO TAKES HIS OWN ARROWS OVER THE AFGHANISTAN COLLAPSE

4. DEMOCRATS SWEAT TURNOUT DISASTER IN CALIFORNIA WITHOUT TRUMP TO RUN AGAINST

5. 13 U.S. TROOPS KILLED IN ISIS ATTACKS ON KABUL AIRPORT

* Filed Under:
* Afghanistan,
* Taliban,
* Bob Menendez,
* U.S. Central Command,
* Kabul

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