U.S. troops do not currently have the capability to help people reach Kabul airport to be evacuated from Afghanistan because they are focused on securing the airfield, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday.
The speed with which Taliban forces retook Afghanistan, as U.S. and other foreign forces withdrew after a 20-year war, has led to chaotic scenes at the airport with diplomats, foreign citizens and Afghans trying to flee but they are being impeded by crowds and Taliban checkpoints.