A startling photo has emerged of hundreds of Afghans crammed into a U.S. military C-17 that took off from Kabul amid the chaos and landed in Qatar, suggesting that the military was forced to make decisions to take off with refugees aboard, in the wake of a complete lack of any contingency from the hapless Biden administration.
Here’s the photo of the inside of the plane:
JUST IN: "The Crew made the decision to go" — Inside RCH 871, which saved 640 from the Taliban … from @TaraCopp and me https://t.co/r4YvGqJZ4b pic.twitter.com/CI1mAmqjHT
— Marcus Weisgerber (@MarcusReports) August 16, 2021
Will Joe Biden still insist this can’t be compared to the fall of Saigon?
The linked article from Defense One notes that it’s “believed to be among the most people ever flown in the C-17” which belongs to the 436th Air Wing, based at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Defense officials said that the pilots had to make a decision to go with people onboard after they clambered up the ramp.
Leaked audio from the crew also revealed that they thought there were 800 people on the plane:
Exact recording found here https://t.co/aPsylMRhS3
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 15, 2021
The flight was one of multiple C-17s that took off with hundreds of people inside, according to reports.
Footage we highlighted yesterday captured people desperately cramming into the planes, with some even clinging to the outside of the craft:
Scenes from #Kabul Airport, #Afghanistan showing people boarding what appears to a C17 (please correct me if wrong) and what appears to be gunfire in the air in the distance. pic.twitter.com/p3l7zrVu77
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) August 15, 2021
Absolute scenes at Kabul airport pic.twitter.com/XsrWBv7zhY
— Campbell MacDiarmid (@CampbellMacD) August 16, 2021
There were even reports of people falling to their deaths after the planes had taken off:
Locals near #Kabul airport claim that three young men who were holding themselves tightly on to the tires of a plane fell on top of people's houses. One of the locals said that the fall of these people made a terrifying noise. pic.twitter.com/wTWRkRCTSG
— NewsBlog (@newsblogmedia) August 16, 2021
Reports also emerged of remains found in the wheel well of one of the C-17s:
It is not clear if this plane is the same one depicted in viral video that appeared to show two Afghans falling from a C-17 as it reached altitude after departing from Kabul airport, where thousands of Afghans were on the airfield. But it seems possible.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) August 17, 2021
GRAPHIC FOOTAGE, which is at this time unverified, claimed to show the trapped person filmed from inside the craft:
For those that don’t realize how bad Taliban control is, this is the body of an afghan caught in a C-17 landing gear door that attempted to climb on to escape Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/4IoPIxcxR6
— John Burk (@sergeantsavage) August 17, 2021
Of those who did make it onto planes, it is not clear where they will end up, but Biden announced last week plans to to allow thousands more Afghans to relocate to the U.S. as refugees, as well as “holding secret talks with more countries than previously known in a desperate attempt to secure deals to temporarily house at-risk Afghans who worked for the U.S. government,” Reuters reports.
There are reports that thousands of Americans are still trapped in Afghanistan, including journalists.
Army veteran Matt Zeller said Monday that he is “appalled” at Biden and has a list of 14,000 names of people who are desperate to get out of the country:
U.S. Army veteran Matt Zeller goes off on MSNBC about Biden’s remarks on Afghanistan:
Zeller: “I feel like I watched a different speech than the rest of you guys. I was appalled.” pic.twitter.com/eGC5tMBvy4
— Whitney Robertson (@whitneyleerob) August 16, 2021
Meanwhile, sources say that the Taliban has begun door to door “retribution” searches for those who worked with America and its allies:
FOX NEWS: Taliban now going door-to-door seeking "retribution" on American allies, credible sources say pic.twitter.com/Ru22eyvNs0
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) August 16, 2021
Some have been taken away, family members say. In other cases, houses have been searched and documents/weapons confiscated. Taliban also recording names/addresses.
— Frud Bezhan فرود بيژن (@FrudBezhan) August 16, 2021
Public executions are also underway:
#BREAKING: #Taliban has started public executions. Two indviduals were executed in Cricket stadium of #Kandahar today. They also have started executing #Afghanistan Army commanders & high ranking officers despite they surrendered to Taliban! pic.twitter.com/Hf0IVMAJlm
— Babak Taghvaee – Μπάπακ Τακβαίε – بابک تقوایی (@BabakTaghvaee) August 15, 2021
Via Summit News