The US military negotiated a secret arrangement with the Taliban that resulted in Taliban members escorting groups of Americans to the gates of the Kabul airport as they sought to escape Afghanistan, according to two defense officials.
One of the officials also revealed that US special operations forces set up a "secret gate" at the airport and established "call centers" to guide Americans through the evacuation process. The officials said Americans were notified to gather at pre-set "muster points" close to the airport where the Taliban would gather the Americans, check their credentials and take them a short distance to a gate manned by American forces who were standing by to let them inside amid huge crowds of Afghans seeking to flee.
The Taliban escort missions happened "several times a day" according to one of the officials. One of the key muster points was a Ministry of Interior building just outside on of the airport's gates where nearby US forces were readily able to observe the Americans approach. Americans were notified by various messages about where to gather.
"It worked, it worked beautifully," one official said of the arrangement.
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The US military negotiated a secret arrangement with the Taliban that
resulted in Taliban members escorting groups of Americans to the gates of
the Kabul airport as they sought to escape Afghanistan, according to two
defense officials.
One of the officials also revealed that US special operations forces set up a "secret gate" at the airport and established "call centers" to guide
Americans through the evacuation process.
The officials said Americans were notified to gather at pre-set "muster
points" close to the airport where the Taliban would gather the Americans,
check their credentials and take them a short distance to a gate manned by
American forces who were standing by to let them inside amid huge crowds of Afghans seeking to flee.
The Taliban escort missions happened "several times a day" according to one of the officials. One of the key muster points was a Ministry of Interior
building just outside on of the airport's gates where nearby US forces were readily able to observe the Americans approach. Americans were notified by
various messages about where to gather.
"It worked, it worked beautifully," one official said of the arrangement.