As President Biden and Defense Secretary Austin stick to their shameful plan to only secure Kabul airport and not send U.S. forces into greater Kabul to get U.S. personnel and Afghan helpers to safety, British and French forces are doing just that to rescue their citizens. And they are doing it with far less troops than the U.S. has available.

The Daily Mail reported that earlier in the week, following reports of Taliban hunting down former Afghan government officials and Brits stuck behind Taliban checkpoints, the UK sent another 300 troops to Kabul specifically to extract trapped British nationals, for a total of just under 1,000 soldiers.

And within hours of arriving, these British troops had rescued 200 British nationals from around Kabul.

According to former Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger the British military has even stepped in to evacuate some American citizens who were left behind in Afghanistan following the Biden administration’s chaotic pullout of U.S. forces and the nation’s quick fall to Taliban terrorists.

“The United Kingdom right now, I know that they’re running patrols into Kabul to get British citizens, Afghans and in some cases Americans that they encounter, and helping bring them to safety,” Pottinger, a former Marine, told FOX Business  on Thursday.

He added that NATO allies “in some cases, at the risk of the lives of their own diplomats, have been arranging for Americans and students, journalists, Afghan staff who have been working at the American university in Kabul, for example” to flee the war-torn nation amidst Biden’s disastrous withdrawal.

France has also responded with a similar rescue operation, France 24 reports. French President Emmanuel Macron thanked French security forces on Twitter for executing a ‘sensitive operation’ which evacuated more than 200 French and Afghans.

Nearly 200 Afghans who worked for France or who are threatened have just been evacuated from Kabul. As well as French and foreign nationals. To our armies, police officers and diplomatic teams who organize these sensitive operations, thank you. We continue.

Près de 200 Afghans qui ont travaillé pour la France ou qui sont menacés viennent d’être évacués de Kaboul. Ainsi que des Français et des ressortissants étrangers. À nos armées, policiers et équipes diplomatiques qui organisent ces opérations sensibles, merci. On continue. pic.twitter.com/xHSreTLOLI

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 18, 2021

News of these allied rescue operations is angering many Americans who are demanding answers as to why the U.S. isn’t doing the same. On Thursday the Pentagon was pressed to explain why the U.S. isn’t rescuing Americans outside of the Kabul airport as the British and French are doing for their citizens.

At a press briefing, Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin said: “General Taylor, British paratroopers are leaving the airport, going into Kabul to rescue and evacuate some of their citizens who are trapped [and] can’t get to the airport because of the Taliban.”

“Why isn’t the U.S. doing that?” she asked. Fox News reported that:

Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor, who serves as deputy director of the Joint Staff Regional Operations, replied that the U.S.’ focus was on securing Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA).

“At this time, our main mission continues to be to secure HKIA, to allow those American citizens and other SIVs to come in and be processed at the airfield.”

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby was asked during the same press conference whether he knows how many Americans remain stuck in Afghanistan. He replied: “I don’t know.”

Earlier this week, another 1,000 paratroopers were sent to help evacuate U.S. personnel and Afghans who provided assistance during the war. ADN

Paul Crespo

Paul Crespo is the Managing Editor of American Defense News. A defense and national security expert, he served as a Marine Corps officer and as a military attaché with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at US embassies worldwide. Paul holds degrees from Georgetown, London, and Cambridge Universities. He is also CEO of SPECTRE Global Risk, a security advisory firm, and President of the Center for American Defense Studies, a national security think tank.