Joe Biden's national security adviser warned the Taliban on Sunday that the U.S. will issue a 'forceful' response if they interfere in American evacuation efforts from Afghanistan – and he doesn't rule out sending in more troops.
'If in the end Americans are blocked from getting to the airport, blocked from leaving the country, or our operations are disrupted or our evacuations are in some way interfered with, we have explained to them that there will be a swift and forceful response,' Jake Sullivan told NBC News host Chuck Todd during an interview on Meet the Press.
Sullivan detailed that Washington has an agreement with the Taliban that they will allow all American citizens passage to the Kabul airport – including through any checkpoints along their travel to the Hamid Karzai International Airport.
He admitted Sunday that the airport is dangerous and faces 'threats from ISIS.'
'I know that the scenes around the airport are heartbreaking, large crowds of people wanting to leave,' Sullivan said. 'I know that there is complexity and there is turbulence on the ground and in Kabul, and it's very risky and dangerous because there's a genuine threat from ISIS-K. That is the reality of what we are up against, and I'm not going to sugarcoat that reality.'
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned the Taliban on Sunday of a 'forceful response' if they prevent Americans from evacuating from the Kabul airport – he also admitted the scene at the airport is dangerous with 'threats from ISIS'
The Taliban has an agreement with Washington to let Americans through checkpoints to the airport. Taliban fighters stand guard as Afghans gather to try and get into Hamid Karzai International Airport to evacuate the country on Saturday
This comment runs counter to Biden's messaging on Friday that Americans are not being blocked from getting to the airport.
'We have no indication that they haven't been able to get, in Kabul, through the airport,' Biden said in his first press conference since the bundled withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He cited the agreement Sullivan was referencing where the Taliban have vowed to let people with an American passport through checkpoints. Many critics have questioned why the administration would take the word of the militant group.
'We know of no circumstance where American citizens, carrying an American passport, are trying to get through to the airport [and can't],' Biden continued in his press conference. 'But we will do whatever needs to be done to see to it they get there.'
The president will give on Sunday afternoon an update to the nation on the evacuation efforts of Americans and allies from Afghanistan.
Republican Representative Liz Cheney pushed back against these comments on Sunday, claiming the administration is 'denying' the facts of what's actually happening in the Middle East.
'The White House is denying what we know is happening on the ground: That Americans are being beaten, they're being prevented
