U.S. Embassy warns of security threats at airport as Taliban co-founder arrives in Kabul
21 August 2021
The U.S. Embassy warned Americans not to go to the Kabul airport on Saturday "because of potential security threats."
The big picture: The guidance comes a day after President Biden reiterated his commitment to considering "every opportunity and every means" to get Americans and Afghan allies through Taliban checkpoints and into the airport
- "Because of potential security threats outside the gates at the Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so, " according to the embassy guidance.
- On Friday, Biden said his administration has been in "constant contact" with the Taliban to "ensure that civilians have safe passage to the airport."
- “We’ve made it clear to the Taliban that any attack, any attack on our forces or disruption of our operations at the airport will be met with swift and forceful response."
Why it matters: Biden on Friday also reiterated that "this evacuation mission is dangerous," adding: "It involves risks to our armed forces, and it's being conducted under difficult circumstances."
- But critics and some journalists viewed the commander-in-chief's comments as painting an inaccurate picture of continued chaos on the ground.
What else is happening: The Taliban's political leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, arrived in Kabul on Saturday to meet with senior leaders of the militant group about forming their new government.
- It's still unclear who will lead what the militants call the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as president, but Baradar is widely viewed as the public face of the movement.
Go deeper:The cases for and against Biden's key decisions on Afghanistan
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.