Politico | Hundreds of US citizens, Afghan commandos successfully evacuated through secret CIA base
- Clandestine operation resulted in the successful evacuation of Americans and Afghans
- Secret compound, known as Eagle Base, was located less than 5km north of Kabul’s airport
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Lara Seligman, Andrew Desiderio and Erin Banco on politico.com on September 1, 2021.
As the Biden administration scrambled to conduct a massive evacuation effort from Afghanistan, American officials quietly instructed US citizens and at-risk Afghans, including Afghan commandos, to head to a secret CIA base outside Kabul to secure safe passage to the US amid increased risks of a terrorist attack on the capital city’s main airport.
The clandestine operation, which took place over several weeks in August, resulted in the successful evacuation of hundreds of American citizens and vulnerable Afghans, including members of the elite Afghan special forces and their family members. At least 1,000 Afghan commandos and their family members were evacuated in the overall US effort.
The details of the operation are based on documents provided to POLITICO and conversations with a senior administration official, a defence official and a congressional official, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
A US official confirmed the CIA’s involvement in the evacuation, noting that the agency “worked closely with other agencies to facilitate in various ways access to the airport for American citizens and Afghans at risk”.
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At least some of the evacuees were taken by air from the secret compound, known as Eagle Base, to the airport in order to bypass the chaotic crowds and terror threat around the gates. Several helicopter flights operated by a US company flew from an area around Eagle Base to the Kabul airport beginning on August 15, when the Taliban took control of the city, according to flight data obtained by POLITICO.
