„Most of all, I want to thank these brave Afghans for standing with the United States,“ President Joe Biden said.
Fifty-seven children and 15 infants were among the 221 Afghans evacuated to the U.S. on the first flight under a special visa program, according to an internal U.S. government document obtained by the Associated Press. The flight, which landed Friday in Dulles, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., was the first evacuation flight for Afghans who worked alongside American servicemembers and civilians in Afghanistan and now fear retaliation from the Taliban. „Most of all, I want to thank these brave Afghans for standing with the United States, and today, I am proud to say to them: ‚Welcome home,'“ President Joe Biden said in a statement. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below. The evacuation flights highlight American uncertainty about how Afghanistan’s government and military will fare after the last U.S. combat forces leave that country in the coming weeks. Family members are accompanying the interpreters, translators and others on the flights out. Biden called the flight „an important milestone as we continue to fulfill our promise to the thousands of Afghan nationals who served shoulder-to-shoulder with American troops and diplomats over the last 20 years in Afghanistan.
