In Kabul, a fearful wait for US to deliver on evacuation vow

Tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan are waiting nervously to see whether the United States will deliver on President Joe Biden’s new pledge to evacuate all Americans and all Afghans who aided the war effort

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan waited nervously on Saturday to see whether the United States would deliver on President Joe Biden’s new pledge to evacuate all Americans and all Afghans who aided the war effort, as U.S. helicopters plucked people from locations beyond the teeming, chaotic Kabul airport and its Taliban checkpoints. Time is running out ahead of Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw most remaining U.S. troops, and the president on Friday night did not commit to extending it. He faces growing criticism as videos depict pandemonium and occasional violence outside the airport, and as vulnerable Afghans who fear the Taliban's retaliation send desperate pleas not to be left behind. The Gulf nation of Bahrain on Saturday announced it was allowing flights to use its transit facilities for the evacuation, an option that should ease pressure after the U.S. faced issues Friday with its facilities at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar rapidly filling up. The backlog forced flights from the Kabul international airport to stop for several hours. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, said Saturday it would host up to 5,000 Afghans “prior to their departure to other countries.”