Who will ultimately run the airport in Kabul after US forces leave? That question — a vital one for Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers but also for Western nations still hoping to evacuate everyone eligible — is the subject of intense and complex talks.
Next week, on September 1, Hamid Karzai International Airport will be under the control of the hardline Islamists, who already on Friday claimed to have moved into certain areas of the military side of the facility.
“We are departing by August 31. Upon that date, we are delivering — we’re essentially giving the airport back to the Afghan people,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday, cutting off speculation about the possibility of it falling into international hands.
