‘Hundreds’ of Americans Still in Afghanistan After Last Military Flight: CENTCOM

(The Epoch Times, Aug 31, 2021)

The Pentagon has admitted that “hundreds” of Americans seeking evacuation have been left in Afghanistan, after the last U.S. military plane departed Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai International Airport a few hours before dawn.

In announcing that the United States has officially ended its military presence in Afghanistan, hours before President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) head Gen. Frank McKenzie said that there are still Americans who remain in Afghanistan “in the low hundreds.”

He made the remarks during a televised address in response to a reporter’s question, adding that the military and State Department will work to evacuate those individuals.

“There’s a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure. We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out,” said McKenzie, adding that it is a “tough situation.”

The head of U.S. Central Command added that he believed if U.S. troops remained in Afghanistan for a further 10 days, “we wouldn’t have gotten everybody out … and there still would’ve been people who would’ve been disappointed.”