Over 1,24,000 people airlifted from Afghanistan in largest air evacuation in American history: Pentagon

Briefing on the conclusion of the "largest air evacuations of civilians in American history," US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that he is "proud" of how military members have welcomed Afghan refugees to the United States.

Terming the US evacuations "heroic and historic", Lloyd Austin informed, "US evacuated some 6,000 American citizens, and a total of more than 124,000 civilians".

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"And we did it all in the midst of a pandemic and in the face of grave and growing threats," Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin added.

.@SecDef: The United States evacuated some 6,000 American citizens, and a total of more than 124,000 civilians. And we did it all in the midst of a pandemic and in the face of grave and growing threats. pic.twitter.com/TjkdXyYooQ — Department of Defense (@DeptofDefense) September 1, 2021

Austin took a minute during the briefing to remember the service members who died in Afghanistan during the conflict and those who were wounded, "some still carrying the scars that you can't see on the outside," he said.

"I hope that all Americans will unite to thank our service members for their courage and compassion. They were operating in an immensely dangerous and dynamic environment. But our troops were tireless, fearless and selfless. Our commanders never flinched. And our allies and partners were extraordinary," Austin said.

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"Some of those brave Afghans will be coming to make new lives with their families in America, after careful screening & security vetting run by our interagency partners. I’m proud of the way that our military communities have welcomed them," Austin added.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden defended his decision to end America’s longest war and withdraw all US troops ahead of an August 31 deadline, saying: "I was not going to extend this "forever war".

I was not going to extend this forever war. pic.twitter.com/QoDLRA4Hqr — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 1, 2021

"I was not going to extend this "forever war", US President Joe Biden declared from the White House, while calling the US airlift to extract over 1,24,000 Americans, Afghans and other allies from Afghanistan to end a 20-year war an “extraordinary success.”

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