Blinken lands in Qatar to thank nation for help with Afghan evacuations as 200 Americans and thousands of allies remain stranded and Taliban 'take control' of entire country
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Qatar on Monday as Washington seeks support for the evacuation of stranded Americans and at-risk Afghans left behind and after the Taliban said they had taken control of the entire country.
A senior State Department official told reporters on Blinken's flight that Washington has facilitated the safe departure of four more Americans overland from Afghanistan, while up to 200 are still on the ground and struggling to get out.
'This is the first overland evacuation facilitated by the State Department,' the official said, adding that the Taliban were aware of the operation and did not impede safe passage of the individuals. The official did not name the country they transited to.
Dubbed as a 'thank you' tour to Qatar and Germany, Blinken will meet with senior Qatari and German officials. In Germany he will also co-host a ministerial meeting on Afghanistan.
Hours after Blinken landed in Qatar, the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations announced that Blinken will testify on America's withdrawal from Afghanistan before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 14.
As Blinken began his trip, President Biden continued his long weekend in Delaware with a surprise trip to union workers to eat a sandwich and take selfies.
Blinken has been under intense scrutiny for his role in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan where 13 American service members died and thousands of Afghan allies were left behind.
Republicans, former White House officials and ex-members of the military have called on him to resign over the chaos.
Tennessee GOP Senator Marsha Blackburn told him to step down on Monday in a tweet saying: 'These 'extremely complex logistical issues' to evacuate our citizens and Afghan partners should have been worked out before all our troops left. It's time for Secretary Blinken to resign.'
On Monday the Taliban claimed they had taken total control of Afghanistan with the capture of the Panjshir Valley.
The Islamists released footage of their white banner flying over the provincial capital of Bazarak on Monday after a swift battle which saw them overwhelm the resistance with high-tech weaponry abandoned by the Americans.
Resistance leader Ahmad Massoud appeared to admit defeat in an audio message sent to the media in which he called on Afghans for a 'a national uprising for the dignity, freedom and prosperity of our country.'
There were also reports that the State Department had delayed six flights from the city of Mazar-i-Sharif with at least 142 Americans on board.
The fleet of two Airbus 340s and four Boeing 737s, which was also due to have hundreds of Afghan allies on board, was funded Mercury One, a charity founded by right-wing commentator Glenn Beck.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal tore into the Biden administration's delays of flights getting Americans out of Afghanistan in a blistering statement on Monday.
'I have been deeply frustrated, even furious, at our government's delay and inaction,' he said.
'There will be plenty of time to seek accountability for the inexcusable bureaucratic red tape that stranded so many of our Afghan allies,' added Blumenthal.
'For now, my singular focus remains getting these planes in the air and safely to our airbase in Doha, where they have already been cleared to land.'
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Qatar on Monday as Washington seeks support for the evacuation of stranded Americans and at-risk Afghans left behind and after the Taliban said they had taken control of the entire country
Dubbed as a 'thank you' tour to Qatar and Germany, Blinken will meet with senior Qatari and German officials. In Germany he will also co-host a ministerial meeting on Afghanistan
Blinken is pictured with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday after he touched down in the Middle Eastern nation to discuss the ongoing Afghanistan crisis
President Biden eats a sandwich and takes a selfie as he visits union workers at the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) Local 313 in Newcastle, Delaware
Biden made the surprise stop during his long weekend in Wilmington, Delaware, over the Labor Day weekend
Qatar has emerged as the main mediator between the Taliban, who swept into Kabul on Aug. 15, and Western countries following the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Doha said on Saturday it had reopened Kabul airport for humanitarian aid and domestic flights in coordination with the hardline Islamist group. Other international flights are expected to resume soon, it said.
Daily flights have been scheduled from Doha to Kabul to deliver aid.
About 124,000 people were evacuated last month from Kabul in a U.S.-led airlift of U.S. and other foreign citizens as well as vulnerable Afghans as the Taliban took control of the country.
The evacuation was one of the largest airlifts in history but thousands of at-risk Afghans and about 100 U.S. citizens have remained behind. Blinken has vowed to continue efforts to get them out and also hold the Taliban to their commitment to provide safe passage to anyone who wishes to leave.
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is travelling to the Gulf on a separate trip, will also visit Qatar on Tuesday. Austin's visit also includes Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
A House Republican lawmaker called for President Biden's impeachment on Monday morning as he vacations in Delaware over Labor Day weekend while anywhere between 100 and 200 Americans are still stranded in Afghanistan amid a reported breakdown in negotiations between the Taliban and State Department.
'He's prioritizing his vacation over the lives of American citizens,' Tennessee Rep. Diana Harshbarger said of Biden on Fox News.
'He kept his promises to the Taliban and he's breaking his promises to Americans to get them out, and god only knows what will happen if they can't get out.'
Biden is scheduled to return to DC tonight after spending two full days in Delaware with no public events. He flew back to his home state Friday night after touring Hurricane Ida damage in Louisiana.
Meanwhile, the US military withdrawal from Kabul was completed a week ago, and efforts to rescue American citizens still stuck in Afghanistan has reached an impasse with reports that six private charter planes sent there to evacuate at least 1,000 people have been grounded in an Afghan city 260 miles north of Kabul.
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