Biden Adviser Warns of Threat; G7 to Convene: Afghanistan Update

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden’s national security adviser said there’s an “acute” threat that Islamic State will mount a terror attack on Kabul airport, as the Pentagon is set to mobilize civilian U.S. jetliners’ help to evacuate Americans and others from Afghanistan.

Another 7,800 people were evacuated by the U.S. and its partners in the latest day, even as the capital’s airport remained chaotic. Seven Afghan civilians were reportedly killed in a stampede. 

Biden and other G7 leaders plan to meet virtually on Tuesday, a gathering convened by U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. One of his predecessors, Tony Blair, issued a blistering criticism of what he called Afghanistan’s “abandonment.” 

Senior Taliban leaders, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, are in Kabul to take control. 

Key stories and developments:

Afghan Woman Gives Birth on U.S. Plane (3:10 p.m.)

An Afghan woman gave birth to a girl in the cargo bay of a U.S. evacuation plane on Saturday, moments after landing at Ramstein airbase in Germany,  Air Mobility Command said on Twitter.

She went into labor during the flight and began having complications, prompting the aircraft commander to reduce altitude and increase air pressure in the plane, thereby saving the mother’s life. 

UN Agencies Call for Humanitarian Airbridge (3 p.m. ET)

The World Health Organization and Unicef called for immediate and unimpeded access to deliver medicines and other supplies to millions of Afghan citizens.

“The massive humanitarian needs facing the majority of the population should not -- and cannot –- be neglected,” the agencies said in a joint statement.

Even before the crisis, Afghanistan represented the world’s third-largest humanitarian operation. -- James Ludden

Johnson Speaks to Qatari, Turkish Leaders (2:30 p.m. ET)

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as he sought to coordinate responses to the crisis.

Erdogan and Johnson “shared the view that any new government must be representative of Afghanistan’s diverse population and protect the rights of women and minorities, and that the Taliban would be judged by their actions not their words on this,” Johnson’s office said in a statement. They also agreed countries should share the burden on aid and refugees.

Johnson and al-Thani agreed on the need for an “inclusive” Afghan government and that the Afghan people should continue to be supported with access to schools, hospitals and aid. -- Alex Morales

U.S., Partners Fly Another 7,800 Out of Kabul (11:37 a.m. ET)

The U.S. and its partners flew another 7,800 people out of Kabul in the 24 hours through 3 a.m. EDT on Sunday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN. 

The U.S. military evacuated about 3,900 people, Sullivan said. A White House official said the military flew 23 flights (14 C-17s, nine C-130s) to make those evacuations. Sullivan said coalition aircraft operated by partners, foreign military, and commercial airlines flew out another 3,900 more. 

“They are moving out to multiple different bases in multiple different countries. And that will continue as this operation unfolds,” Sullivan said.  

Johnson Convenes G7 for ‘Urgent Talks’ (10:15 a.m. ET) 

Boris Johnson said he’ll convene G7 leaders on Tuesday for “urgent talks” on Afghanistan, according to a Twitter post. 

“It is vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years,” Johnson said. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Biden’s attendance in a brief statement, and said the virtual gathering would build on calls made over the past week. 

“The leaders will discuss continuing our close coordination on Afghanistan policy and evacuating our citizens” as well as plans to provide humanitarian assistance and support for Afghan refugees, she said. -- Colin Keatinge

Pentagon Drafts U.S. Airlines (8:00 a.m. ET) 

The U.S. military told U.S. airlines to provide a total of 18 planes to aid in the Afghanistan evacuation effort, saying the extra capacity will help military aircraft focus on operations in and out of Kabul.

Activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program involves four planes from United Airlines, three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air, and two from Hawaiian Airlines, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. 

The aircraft won’t fly into the Kabul. They’ll be used for onward movement of passengers from temporary safe havens and interim staging bases, Kirby said. The Pentagon doesn’t anticipate a major impact on commercial flights. 

U.S. carriers were told Friday night of the possible activation of the reserve fleet, a program in which airlines commit planes to be available for military airlifts in an emergency. Similar activations were made during Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990-91, and for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2002-03. -- Tony Czuczka   

Tony Blair Laments Afghan ‘Abandonment’ (5:30 a.m. ET) 

“The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours,” Tony Blair wrote on the website of his eponymous Institute for Global Change. 

Blair was U.K. prime minister when the U.S. invaded in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. to remove the Taliban from power, and committed British troops to the coalition effort. 

Leaving Afghanistan was a move made “in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending ‘the forever wars,’” Blair wrote. 

At stake now, Blair said, are “gains in living standards, education particularly of girls, gains in freedom,”

The progress of the past 20 years, Blair said, fell short of earlier hopes but were “not nothing. Something worth defending, worth protecting.” -- Ros Krasny  

Austria’s Leader Says He Won’t Take Refugees (4:30 a.m. ET)

Austria won’t accept Afghan asylum seekers and will instead focus on assisting them locally, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, according to excerpts of an interview published by broadcaster Puls 24. 

The ruling People’s Party has taken a hard line on immigration amid international calls to help Afghans at risk of persecution after the U.S. troop withdrawal. Kurz said Austria had already made a disproportionately high contribution, with more than 40,000 Afghans accepted in the past. The nation’s responsibility lies with helping improving security and women’s rights locally, he said. -- Marton Eder

Swiss Consider Summit (4 a.m. ET)

Switzerland’s government is examining the possibility of hosting a summit on Afghanistan on Swiss soil, the Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources. The government is evaluating its contribution to solving the crisis, and possibilities include a donor conference to negotiate humanitarian aid, creating a humanitarian corridor out of Afghanistan, or hosting diplomatic talks between the Taliban and Afghanistan’s former government, the paper reported. -- Marion Halftermeyer

France Urges Coordination (3 a.m. ET)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged the U.S. to do more to facilitate evacuations from Kabul and improve coordination with allies. In an interview with the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Le Drian said he and “many” fellow foreign ministers have asked the U.S. to “take its responsibilities” to allow the airlifting of French nationals and Afghans who have either worked for France or are under Taliban threat. 

The minister stressed that American coordination with allies must be more efficient and stronger. He said ongoing operations in Kabul should continue for “as long as needed.”

While Le Drian repeated that France has no plans to recognize the Taliban government, he said the G-7 and NATO should discuss Afghanistan with Russia, Iran and China. -- Samy Adghirni

IMF Evacuates Employees (9:53 p.m. ET)

Local employees of the International Monetary Fund were successfully evacuated from Afghanistan on Saturday, according to a spokesman for the fund. Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva took to Twitter to thank Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for assisting in the airlifting of IMF staff, without elaborating. 

The news came a day after the World Bank said in an internal staff memo that its staff and their immediate families were moved safely to Islamabad, Pakistan.

The safety and security of staff in Afghanistan has been a particular focus for the IMF since 2014, when the nation’s senior official for the nation and four United Nations workers were among 21 people killed in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul. -- Eric Martin

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