The Pentagon said Saturday morning at a briefing that as of August 14, about 117,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul, including 5,400 Americans.
That number is far short of the 11,000 Americans who were estimated to still be inside Afghanistan given by White House press secretary Jen Psaki last week.
In this handout provided by the U.S. Air Force, an air crew assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron assists evacuees aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 21, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force via Getty Images)
Psaki said on August 17 during a briefing:
We are — there have been — how the process works, I should say — I’ll tell you — is that there are individuals who will self-identify as American citizens — that number is around 11,000. Beyond that — around the country — beyond that, though, there are individuals who may not have self-identified, who may come and request assistance and come to the airport.
We’re going to work to assist, of course, American citizens, but we also have a responsibility and an obligation to help the men and women who served by our sides, many of your — the sides of your colleagues, as translators, and as interpreters, and our locally employed staff, and others.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that only about 1,500 Americans were left in the country.
Biden administration officials have said it is difficult to know exactly how many Americans are left in Afghanistan, since not everyone registers with the State Department upon entering or exiting.
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