Can the U.S. do anything to speed up the stalled Afghanistan evacuation?

The Taliban at the airport
(Image credit: AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)

The Taliban has halted the departure of at least four chartered flights out of Afghanistan's Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport, stranding around 1,000 people, including Americans, seeking to flee the militant group's takeover, The Associated Press reports. Pressure is building for the United States to step in and help with the stalled evacuation, but is there anything the Biden administration can actually do?

Maybe not. An unnamed spokesperson for the State Department told numerous outlets Sunday that since the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan officially ended on Aug. 30, the military does not "have personnel on the ground, we do not have air assets in the country, we do not control the airspace — whether over Afghanistan or elsewhere in the region." The spokesperson also indicated the administration was essentially in the dark about the specifics regarding the flights, unable to confirm "basic details" like how many U.S. citizens are on board, who chartered the planes, or even where they're supposed to land.

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Jessica Hullinger

Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.