Washington DC: As the final five U.S. military transport aircraft lifted off out of Afghanistan, they left behind up to 200 Americans and thousands of desperate Afghans who couldn't get out and now must rely on the Taliban to allow their departure.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will continue to try to get Americans and Afghans out of the country, and will work with Afghanistan's neighbors to secure their departure either over land or by charter flight once the Kabul airport reopens.
We have no illusion that any of this will be easy, or rapid, said Blinken, adding that the total number of Americans who are in Afghanistan and still want to leave may be closer to 100.
Speaking shortly after the Pentagon announced the completion of the U.S. military pullout Monday, Blinken said the U.S. Embassy in Kabul will remain shuttered and vacant for the foreseeable future. American diplomats, he said, will be based in Doha, Qatar.
We will continue our relentless efforts to help Americans, foreign nationals and Afghans leave Afghanistan if they choose, Blinken said in an address from the State Department. "Our commitment to them holds no deadline.
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters the U.S. military was able to get as many as 1,500 Afghans out in the final hours of the American evacuation mission. But now it will be up to the State Department working with the Taliban to get any more people out.
McKenzie said there were no citizens left stranded at the airport and none were on the final few military flights out. He said the U.S. military maintained the ability to get Americans out right up until just before the end, but none of them made it to the airport.
There's a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure," said McKenzie. "We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out. But I think if we'd stayed another 10 days we wouldn't have gotten everybody out that we wanted to get out.
McKenzie and other officials painted a vivid picture of the final hours U.S. troops were on the ground, and the preparations they took to ensure that the Taliban and Islamic State group militants did not get functioning U.S. military weapons systems and other equipment.
Meanwhile, the United States says its mission to get Americans out of Afghanistan will continue after Monday's withdrawal.
Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, says it's just that the evacuation effort has shifted from a military mission to a diplomatic mission. He cited considerable leverage the U.S. has over the Taliban to get out any remaining Americans a number that U.S. official have said is under 200.
Sullivan says the U.S. intends to continue sending health, food and other forms of humanitarian aid to the Afghan people. He says that other forms of aid, including economic and developmental, would depend on Taliban actions and adherence to publicly stated commitments.
American forces helped evacuate over 120,000 U.S. citizens, foreigners and Afghans after the Taliban regained control of the country, according to the White House.
Coalition forces also evacuated their citizens and Afghans. But foreign nations and the U.S. government acknowledged they didn't evacuate all who wanted to go.