Natasha Bertrand

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

RT @jmhansler: "THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CANNOT ENSURE SAFE PASSAGE TO THE HAMID KARZAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT," says US Embassy Kabul s… — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

There were roughly 20,000 applicants in the Special Immigrant Visa program pipeline as of mid-July, in addition to their families and other vulnerable Afghans seeking to escape. About 2k have been moved out since July, none on Tuesday. — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

About 330 US citizens and permanent residents were flown out yesterday, according to the White House and State Dept., with about 770 non-American family members. For perspective, there are an estimated 10-15,000 U.S. citizens in Afghanistan. https://t.co/jZWWCaUVMT — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

If you are a foreigner, she says, the Taliban will largely let you pass through to the airport. Not so much if you are Afghan. — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

Clarissa also says her producer Brent Swailes was almost pistol-wipped by Taliban fighters as he tried to take video of the scene. — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

.@clarissaward on the scene just outside Kabul airport: "I've covered all sorts of crazy situations. This was mayhem. This was nuts. This was impossible for an ordinary civilian, even if they had their paperwork...There's no coherent system for processing people." https://t.co/hbg82Md4ZZ — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

RT @rabrowne75: For the second day in a row my interpreter’s brother, a US green card holder, was unable to get into the airport in Kabul.… — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

RT @kylieatwood: This is incredible reporting on the outskirts of the Kabul airport by @clarissaward that shows the disconnect btw what the… — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

RT @brikeilarcnn: Shots ring out behind @clarissaward - as she stands less than 200 yards from the entrance of the Kabul airport. "It's d… — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

RT @farnazfassihi: Khadija Amin the new anchor on state TV last week. Taliban taking over her seat as of Monday. Ms. Amin told us her boss… — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

“U.S. armed forces securing the airport did not allow any Afghans to enter the gates even if they had the right credentials, and the plane was only on the ground in Kabul for about half an hour, Kaag said.” https://t.co/WktAMuJXGi — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

RT @yamphoto: *GRAPHIC WARNING* Taliban fighters use gunfire, whips, sticks and sharp objects to maintain crowd control over thousands of A… — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

RT @wesleysmorgan: Taliban searching my former interpreter’s house (he’s hiding out elsewhere and can see it via the app on his phone from… — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

Reporting w/@kylieatwood — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

In many cases we know their contact information and their phone numbers and that is how we will have to identify them. Any Afghans braving the trip to the airport will not have wanted to go there with identifying documents, anyway,” Malinowski told CNN. — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

Rep. Tom Malinowski said that the US will have to come up with ways to verify the identity of Afghans whose passports were burned. “We are going to have to take people without passports and vet them in other ways, like with their phone numbers for example. 1/ — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

New: US personnel destroyed passports of some Afghans when they were getting rid of sensitive materials at the US embassy in Kabul in preparation for a full evacuation, according an update that Rep. Andy Kim’s office is sharing with people who request assistance w/evacuations. — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

White House readout of President Biden's call with UK PM Boris Johnson: "They agreed to hold a virtual G7 leaders’ meeting next week to discuss a common strategy and approach" to Afghanistan. https://t.co/qSYRdHt6s2 — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

@Fritschner Not my intention! — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

@Fritschner They’re not scare quotes. They’re direct quotes. — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

Those Americans are spread out all over the country, and the officials said it is now up to those citizens to find their own way to Kabul airport – the officials insisted they had been “messaging” to US citizens to depart Afghanistan “for a long time." — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

Congressional aides, briefed on Tuesday by State Department and Defense Department officials, were told that the estimated number of US citizens still in Afghanistan is actually between 10,000 and 15,000, according to three sources familiar with the briefing. 1/ — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

"A fair amount" of US defense equipment has fallen into the hands of the Taliban, Sullivan says, and the US doesn't expect them to "readily" hand it over. — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

POTUS has not yet spoken to any other world leaders since Kabul fell, Sullivan says. — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

Sullivan says they have received reports of people being turned away and sometimes even beaten by the Taliban at checkpoints as they try to reach Kabul airport. He says US is raising that w/ the Taliban in internal channels. — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

NSA Sullivan says US is still negotiating with the Taliban on a timeline for how long Taliban will allow for safe passage of civilians to the Kabul airport. Believes it could go through Aug 31 but still in talks, he says — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

RT @ZcohenCNN: This echoes our reporting from July on intel assessments indicating Taliban fighters could move on Kabul once they were conf… — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

Sen. Menendez says he is "disappointed that the Biden administration clearly did not accurately assess the implications of a rapid US withdrawal. We are now witnessing the horrifying results of many years of policy and intelligence failure," also blames Trump for deal w/Taliban: https://t.co/PB6pGjqF7a — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

"My assessment is, in conversations with Afghan officials, that one of the key factors was a complete collapse of morale. If you're going to fight for your government and your country, and you're willing to die for it, you're going to have to think there's a chance of winning." — PolitiTweet.org

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand

Multiple sources told CNN US officials overestimated the Afghan security forces' will to fight and the risk of a full psychological collapse once US troops withdrew. And that psychological element is difficult for the IC to measure in advance, said one. https://t.co/XRkeBwXvEf — PolitiTweet.org