Afghans plead for faster US evacuation from Taliban rule

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Educated young women, former U.S. military translators and other Afghans most at-risk from the Taliban are appealing to the Biden administration to get them on evacuation flights. President Joe Biden and his top officials say the U.S. is working to speed up the evacuation, but they’re making no promises about how long it will last or how many desperate people it will fly to safety. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says evacuations will continue “until the clock runs out or we run out of capability.” The White House said Wednesday night that nearly 6,000 people had been evacuated so far.