At least 50,000 Afghan refugees expected to be admitted into US, Mayorkas says: LIVE UPDATES

In an exclusive television interview with Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, General Mark Milley said that one of the "lessons learned" from the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was the pitfalls realized in the Afghan security forces.  

"The Army itself – the army and the police forces were a mirror image in many ways – and we created and developed forces that looked like Western forces," Milley explained. "I think one of the big lessons learned here is maybe those forces were not designed appropriately for the type of mission."

The general, who spoke to Fox News at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, said the fall of the Afghan government occurred much sooner than officials had expected, despite thorough planning in the withdrawal of U.S. forces.  

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Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report

Republicans on Friday and Saturday criticized President Biden for spending his Labor Day weekend in Delaware amid the chaos unfolding after the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

The president on Friday flew from Louisiana, where he surveyed devastation to New Orleans suburbs after Hurricane Ida, to his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

The president is expected to survey hurricane damage in New York and New Jersey on Tuesday." American citizens are still stranded behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, and meanwhile Joe Biden is vacationing in Delaware," Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said in a Saturday tweet.

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Audrey Conklin contributed to this report

In an exclusive television interview with Fox’s Jennifer Griffin in Ramstein where he traveled to inspect the military operation to process 17,000 Afghan evacuees and to thank the troops from U.S. European Command who scrambled to set up the massive tent city on the tarmac of the largest U.S. Airbase and transport hub in Europe, Gen. Mark Milley was asked whether the U.S. is safer following the complete withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"My military estimate is…that the conditions are likely to develop of a civil war," Milley said.  "I don't know if the Taliban is going to [be] able to consolidate power and establish governance."

The general’s premonition was followed by his concern that the terrorist organizations could use the disorder in Afghanistan as an opportunity to find gains."I think there's at least a very good probability of a broader civil war and that will then, in turn, lead to conditions that could, in fact, lead to a reconstitution of al-Qaeda or a growth of ISIS or other myriad of terrorist groups," he told Fox News. 

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Fox News' Caitlin McFall contributed to this report

Veteran-led rescue groups say the Biden administration’s estimate that no more than 200 U.S. citizens were left behind in Afghanistan is too low and also overlooks hundreds of other people they consider to be equally American: permanent legal residents with green cards.

Some groups say they continue to be contacted by American citizens in Afghanistan who did not register with the U.S. Embassy before it closed and by others not included in previous counts because they expressed misgivings about leaving loved ones behind.

Associated Press contributed to this report

Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, a Pakistani intelligence chief, arrived in Kabul on Saturday along with other Pakistani officials.

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency has been accused by the U.S. and Afghanistan's former U.S.-backed government of supporting the Taliban and giving the group military aid, which it denies.

The Taliban leadership had its headquarters in Pakistan and were often said to be in direct contact with the powerful agency.

Hameed visited the country at the invitation of the Taliban ahead of its new government formation, the Times of India reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In this Aug. 24, 2021, file photo, provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, families walk towards their flight during ongoing evacuations at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan. A school district in a San Diego suburb that is home to a large refugee population says many of its families who had taken summer trips to Afghanistan to see their relatives have gotten stuck there with the chaos following the withdrawal of U.S. troops. (Sgt. Samuel Ruiz/U.S. Marine Corps via AP, File)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday requested $16.7 million in state money to help resettle Afghan evacuees in the state.

"California stands ready to assist those in need," Newsom said in a statement. “As the nation’s most diverse state, we don’t simply tolerate diversity, we celebrate it."

The request will likely be considered in next week's legislative session.

The money would provide cash assistance and other help for refugees who don't qualify for certain federal refugee benefits and public assistance programs because they don't hold special visas but are being admitted into the United States on humanitarian grounds, Newsom said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Women gather to demand their rights under the Taliban rule during a protest in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. As the world watches intently for clues on how the Taliban will govern, their treatment of the media will be a key indicator, along with their policies toward women. When they ruled Afghanistan between 1996-2001, they enforced a harsh interpretation of Islam, barring girls and women from schools and public life, and brutally suppressing dissent. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)

Taliban fighters who fired their weapons into the air in celebration over battlefield gains Friday night killed at least two people and left a dozen others wounded, a Kabul hospital official said.

The fighters were celebrating advances in Afghanistan's Panjshir province, which still remains under the control of anti-Taliban fighters.

On Twitter, a Taliban spokesman called on the fighters to stop the practice of shooting into the air.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Google has temporarily locked some Afghan government email accounts in an apparent attempt to head off the Taliban’s hunt for the identities of former officials who worked with the recently collapsed US-backed administration.

"In consultation with experts, we are continuously assessing the situation in Afghanistan. We are taking temporary actions to secure relevant accounts, as information continues to come in," a Google spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Post.

It was not immediately clear how many accounts were affected by the tech giant’s action, which was first reported by Reuters.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Texas this week to tout health care aspects of the Biden administration’s "Build Back Better" agenda – but a Republican spokeswoman said her timing was all wrong.

After a deadly Kabul airport attack in Afghanistan left 13 U.S. service members dead last month, the San Francisco Democrat’s services were needed more in Washington than in Austin, the GOP spokeswoman said.

"It’s inappropriate and insensitive for Nancy Pelosi to be promoting the Democrats’ agenda when Americans are still stranded in Afghanistan," said Macarena Martinez of the Republican National Committee (RNC), according to KXAN-TV of Austin.

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Families evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, walk through the terminal before boarding a bus after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

At least 50,000 Afghan evacuees are expected to be admitted into the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Friday.

Tens of thousands have already arrived after being evacuated from Kabul following the Taliban's takeover of the country.

The refugees are mainly those who helped the U.S. during the war in Afghanistan or who are vulnerable to Taliban rule - like journalists and employees of nongovernmental organizations.

“Our commitment is an enduring one,” Mayorkas told reporters. “This is not just a matter of the next several weeks. We will not rest until we have accomplished the ultimate goal.”

The effort is being called "Operation Allies Welcome."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A female Afghan judge who fled the country following the Taliban’s takeover said she was hunted by militants she had previously jailed prior to her escape, according to a report Friday.

The judge spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity after reaching Europe.

Her account followed reports that Taliban fighters freed thousands of prisoners as U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan.

"Four or five Taliban members came and asked people in my house: 'Where is this woman judge?' These were people who I had put in jail," the judge said.

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