WAR Kabul Rescue Animal Evacuations updates - also other privately funded evacuations being stopped by the UK and US Governments

[Melodi]

OK, I am going to give this topic its own thread at least for now - feel free to include other rescue attempts by private organizations and others in this mix. But this is now headline news in the UK and everyone I know is just sick - this is obviously becoming a "power play" by someone with a rather large ego. Not only is there the remark about "not prioritizing pets over people" (even though the plane is there and will also carry 70 people) but then told the former British Marine that heads the charity basically we gave your staff visas but we may not be able ot get you out during "this window." Which probably translates as "stay and die with them if you like.."

Ben Wallace rebukes 'confused' Pen Farthing over Kabul plane bid

Ben Wallace insisted he will not 'prioritise pets over people' after Paul Farthing - known as Pen - vented fury that he was being prevented from using the privately-funded plane.

www.dailymail.co.uk

'I'm not prepared to prioritise pets over people': Ben Wallace rebukes 'confused' Pen Farthing after former Royal Marine complained that charter flight to take his staff and rescue animals out of Kabul is being blocked

• Pen Farthing complained that he has been 'left to fend for myself' in Afghanistan after 'MoD blocked flight'
• The former Royal Marine had privately funded a commercial flight but says he now can't get it into Kabul
• Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insisted he is not prepared to 'prioritise pets over people' in the evacuation

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 09:24 BST, 24 August 2021 | UPDATED: 10:36 BST, 24 August 2021


Ben Wallace today rebuked a former Royal Marine for complaining that UK forces are blocking a charter flight from taking his staff and rescue dogs out of Kabul.

The Defence Secretary insisted he will not 'prioritize
pets over people' after Paul Farthing - known as Pen - vented fury that he was being prevented from using the privately-funded plane. [funded by people all over the world via voluntary donations]

The 52-year-old said he had been 'left to fend for myself' after organising the flight for his 25 Afghan staff as well as the charity's dogs and cats. He announced the UK Government granted visas for all of his staff and their dependents.

But in a round of interviews a clearly frustrated Mr Wallace while Mr Farthing had done 'amazing' work, all the plane would achieve if it landed in Kabul was to 'block the airfield' and 'sit there empty'.

'There is a confusion, I am afraid some of the campaigners have latched on to the fact they have chartered a plane, as if this somehow is the magic wand,' he said.

'The magic wand is whether people can get through Kabul through the Taliban checkpoints and then through the 3,000-plus people, some of whom are waiting in front of the queue because they are under real threat, direct threat right now from the Taliban.'

He added: 'I am not prepared to prioritise, for example, pets over people.'
Mr Wallace said that Mr Farthing himself could get through the gates and his staff were entitled to refuge in the UK, but he could not 'guarantee' they would be airlifted 'in this window'.

Ben Wallace: 'I'm not prepared to prioritise pets over people'

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Paul 'Pen' Farthing, 52, said he has been 'left to fend for myself' after the MoD allegedly stopped his privately rented plane from taking off

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Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insisted he will not 'prioritise pets over people' in the evacuation

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Pen Farthing is founder of the Nowzad charity which he set up after befriending a stray dog while serving in Helmand in 2006

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Former Royal Marine Commando Pen Farthing has been working with his Norwegian wife Kaisa Helene (above) and their team in Kabul

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Mr Farthing with dogs RPG and Jena, who were destined to die from starvation or dog fights in Afghanistan until he stepped in

Former Royal Marine based in Afghanistan 'cut off from MoD helpline'

• • 
    Ministers have dismissed hopes that Joe Biden will extend the August 31 deadline for withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan as the UK, France and Germany prepare to make a last-ditch plea in G7 talks today.
    Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel are expected to push the case for keeping the evacuation operation in place longer with thousands of desperate people still flocking to Kabul airport.
    However, Mr Johnson and Mr Biden discussed the airlift in a call last night without making any progress, and the Taliban has warned of 'consequences' if there is an attempt to cling on.
    Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said this morning it is 'unlikely' the deadline will be extended, after the RAF extracted another 2,000 people in the past 24 hours.
    'I think it is unlikely. Not only because of what the Taliban has said but if you look at the public statements of President Biden I think it is unlikely,' Mr Wallace said.
    'It is definitely worth us all trying, and we will.'
    With the prospects of maintaining the military action receding, attention is turning to plans after August 31, with suggestions the Taliban could allow civilian evacuation flights to continue.

The comments came after Mr Farthing told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'Today we still do not have anything from the MoD, in fact they cut me off.

'I did have an emergency line that I could call if I was in trouble or needed to report something that's going on but that's been cut so I've been literally left now on my own in enemy-held territory. I just can't get my head around that.

'We've got a privately-funded plane that can take 250 passengers out, 69 of them would be me and the staff, but we've got an empty cargo hold. I don't understand the problems here, I'm not asking the MoD to give me a plane I just need to have a call sign.'

Mr Farthing claimed he had not received documents from the Home Office that would allow his staff to get past Taliban checkpoints and leave the country.

But Mr Wallace told Sky News: 'He could get through the gates as a British passport holder. He was called forward on Friday and I recommend he takes that. [alone and without his staff]

'His workforce have been offered, as entitled personnel, places and they will be able to be called forward, but I can't guarantee in this window they will be processed onto aircraft, all I can say is they qualify.'

He added on LBC radio: 'I have some really desperate people in that queue who are really under threat of life and death, and if we don't get them out their future is very, very bleak.
'I simply have to prioritise those people over pets, very important. It doesn't mean we don't care about animals, we're all an animal loving nation.'
Mr Farthing previously managed to get his 30-year-old wife Kaisa out of the country and shared a shocking image appearing to show her on a near-empty evacuation flight.
In an interview with Sky News, he said: 'I can't get into the airport because the MoD won't talk to me. That is beyond the pale, somebody somewhere is playing with people's lives.'
Mr Farthing goes on to describe the emotional rollercoaster he and his staff were forced to go through today.
He said: 'You've not idea of the elation in our office this morning when our staff knew [they could come to the UK].'

 

[Melodi]

Part II

'The very people that I was part of have cut me off. You have no idea of the emotion that's going through me right now.'

Outraged social media users have taken to Twitter to vent their frustrations at the Government's alleged actions.

One wrote: 'Dear British Government, the eyes of the world are watching, not just those of the UK. It is absolutely essential this life saving flight goes ahead without delay and with all onboard (including animals). I would urge you to ensure everything is in place without delay.'

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Thousands of Afghans could be left behind in Kabul as ministers push to extend the deadline for the last British evacuation flight beyond Tuesday. Pictured: British citizens catching a flight earlier this week

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Taliban fighters stand guard on their side at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district, Pakistan

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The former Royal Marine Commando runs an animal rights charity in Afghanistan and is now trying to evacuate dogs and cats

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Mr Farthing said staff at the charity were working on plans to evacuate 100 cats and 100 dogs on a £200,000 charter plane

While another said: 'Furious and feel sick. How can people be so evil!!! Boris Johnson GET THIS SORTED! I can't believe we were all praising you this morning, we thought you were doing the right thing!!!!'

And another wrote: 'This is horrendous. Heartbreaking. The UK government have failed in every aspect and I am so sorry to see it now affecting you and #nowzad. I am praying for you, your staff and animals to get back safely. Stay safe.'

The MoD refused to comment on Mr Farthing's accusations last night.



How a deadly deployment in Afghanistan's Helmand province turned Royal Marine into animal saviour when he realised he couldn't leave his new canine pal behind

By JACK WRIGHT FOR MAILONLINE

Tough guy Paul Farthing arrived with the men of Kilo Company of 42 Commando Royal Marines in the war torn town of 'Now Zad' in Helmand Province - one of the most dangerous places in Afghanistan - in 2006.

Tasked with providing stability for the local people in the early years of the Western intervention triggered by the 9/11 attacks in the US, the Marines soon realised it wasn't just local people who needed their help - but stray dogs.

The idea of an animal clinic was first born when Farthing - a Royal Marine Sergeant who goes by the nickname Pen - broke up a dog fight, a popular 'sport' in Afghanistan, taking place outside their remote compound.

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Tough guy Paul Farthing arrived with the men of Kilo Company of 42 Commando Royal Marines in the war torn town of 'Now Zad' in Helmand Province - one of the most dangerous places in Afghanistan - in 2006

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Former Royal Marine commando Paul 'Pen' Farthing, who runs an animal sanctuary in Kabul, has been separated from his wife Kaisa Helene in Kabul
He was befriended by one of the dogs, who became his companion and he was named Nowzad. The Marines built a run and mortar shelter to provide the dogs with some safety and shelter and when the commando force left, Farthing decided he couldn't leave 'those sad big eyes' behind.

With the help of animal lovers Nowzad, several other dogs and 14 puppies befriended by Marines were taken on an epic journey to safety. Within months, the charity was formed with the aim of helping the animals of Afghanistan and educating the local people about the care and treatment of dogs as well as reducing rabies, a major problem in the country.

According to the Nowzad website, the clinic has reunited over 1,600 soldiers with the dogs and cats they rescue and bond with on the frontlines in Afghanistan, and 'continue to be there for the brave men and women who show compassion to animals'.

'The relationships built up between a dog and soldier on bases can be very special,' Farthing said, 'A dog can ease the stress and provide five minutes of normality that is hugely important in that kind of environment, it can provide a bond that is hard to break.

'Dogs have been proven to help post-traumatic stress and the soldiers who adopt them are addressing this.'

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Undated handout photo of Pen Farthing, founder of animal rescue charity Nowzad

The US-backed authorities in Kabul undertook a brutal operation of poisoning with thousands of stray dogs on the streets but Nowzad implemented an extensive programme of humane trap, neuter, vaccinate and release as an organised and effective way of controlling the dog population - and countering canine rabies.

In parallel, they helped to educate local Afghan children how to avoid feral dogs and the humane treatment of animals. One dog at the clinic in particular carried the scars of brutality - Atish, brought in by a US aid worker who found him in agony of the streets.

'His back side had been dipped in battery acid, we think,' said Louise Hastie, the former British soldier running Nowzad's operations, 'we amputated most of the tail and he is making a good recovery.'

'We have made real progress here in terms of both care and education and it is thanks to the support of all those people who donate.

'Every penny they give is genuinely helping the lives of Afghan animals and that is something we are proud of. 'For soldiers and others out here that we have helped there has been a special bond built-up with an animal here that they can't give up.

'They become like family, something you can rely on and will not let you down, a comfort even in the worst of times. You can trust them, they will not let you down. Soldiers and others have found you just can't leave them behind.'

 

[MinnesotaSmith]

So, both the animal nuts and the top gov't people they have been dealing with should be told they should leave all the animals behind, pack the cargo hold with more European-ancestry people (or at least Christians) in their place and proceed with the flight out. Whomever balks at that, you'll know they're the ones bollixing up the whole deal and thus who to blame for blocking evacuation.

 

[Melodi]

Another private effort:

Two families and two tales of ecstasy... and anguish in Afghanistan

Five-year-old twins Asna and Sana were successfully evacuated from Afghanistan into Britain today.

www.dailymail.co.uk

'Private' flights to safety set up by US donors

Six wealthy US citizens are funding a private mission by ex-special forces to fly 5,600 Afghans out of Kabul in eight days.

The plan is to extract Afghan soldiers and police officers – along with their families – who are currently in hiding.

Anonymous benefactors have donated more than $500,000 (£365,000) to an operation dubbed the Wings of Eagles, which will fly 700 out of the country each day until the August 31 deadline.

Former US special forces are particularly keen to rescue members of the Afghan commando anti-terrorism units who they trained since 2003.

The operation is being run by Ark Salus, a veterans charity in Alabama.

Its director Peter Quinn, a former helicopter pilot and intelligence officer who served five tours in Afghanistan, said: 'We have a moral obligation to our fellow Afghan warriors to safeguard them, their wives and children, and rescue them from Kabul, just as they have brought us home to our families.'

He said local soldiers are currently communicating from safe houses until they can be rescued.

'They've shed their uniforms,' Mr Quinn said. 'They are in hiding, and waiting to know when to get to the airport.'

The Wings of Eagles mission is not charging Afghan passengers for places on their planes. However, a number of other private operations have been selling seats for up to £75,000 each.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday, Mr Quinn said: 'We're constantly flying aircraft. We're going to be doing as many as we can, as long as we can, until the US government pulls out of Kabul. That's 700 Afghans a day for the next eight days.

'We have six private investors who are fed up with what is happening in Afghanistan. We are not waiting for permission, we are taking action.'

 

[Housecarl]

So, both the animal nuts and the top gov't people they have been dealing with should be told they should leave all the animals behind, pack the cargo hold with more European-ancestry people (or at least Christians) in their place and proceed with the flight out. Whomever balks at that, you'll know they're the ones bollixing up the whole deal and thus who to blame for blocking evacuation.

Considering the rolling Charlie Foxtrot this hot mess is, one chartered flight is statistically a rounding error. That being said we don't even know the size of the aircraft involved or payload capacity.

 

[Melodi]

War Paws
4m ·

Latest update from Kabul Small Animal Rescue
Cracking on with the task at hand despite the daily challenges.







Kabul Small Animal Rescue
tSpi1ohnsoredoc ·
Our staff are working around the clock to finish preparations for our evacuation flights and continue providing care and comfort to our animals. We still don't know when those flights will be, if staff will be able to go on the same plane as animals, or where they might land. We've got moving goalposts and chaos to work through before we can make this happen. Prices for flights are rising daily, unfortunately, so we still need everyone's help to make this happen.
https://fundrazr.com/81s7Nd...

Full URL for donations:

Operation Hercules

Help KSAR staff get to Freedom.

fundrazr.com

 

[Seeker22]

Mr Farthing previously managed to get his 30-year-old wife Kaisa out. She is pregnant. If she loses that baby, Pen is going to become a one man war zone.

I have often posted that there are Dog People and Cat People- and everybody else. Nowhere is the separation between these groups more stark than the battle being waged to get Animal Rescue personnel and the animals themselves out of Afghanistan.

The people will be sitting in the seats and the animals in the cargo hold of a privately chartered plane, paid for with private donations. The People over pets thing doesn't really apply. The cargo hold would be empty otherwise, why not fill it up with something good?

There is no nicer kinder taliban. These people (and I am using that term loosely) have already maimed several dogs by cutting off their noses. The female Veterinarians and staff will fare about the same. There has to be a good end to this or we are finished as a country and as The West. The UK and the US are both equally to blame and all because of a few low level aparatchiks who would be flipping burgers and asking if we wanted fries with that if politics hadn't saved them from that fate. Just furious!!!!!

It is past time to light up Governor's offices, major pet retailers, Rescue Groups both in the US and the UK. I know everybody has pressing concerns in their own lives, but the people of TB love their pets. It is the bedrock that this place sits on. Time to put some feet to the fire and ask why this flight (Pen Farthing's Operation Ark) and Charlotte Maxwell Jones' Kabul Small Animal Rescue (KSAR) flight (Operation Hercules/ Operation ArkUSA) are being disallowed the clearances that they so desperately need. Make it happen!

This is the fundraiser for KSAR: Dog & Kitty Evacuation from Afghanistan, organized by Charlotte Maxwell-Jones

This is one for Nowsad: Nowzad.com > Donate

Pen Farthing's Twitter: https://twitter.com/PenFarthing
Nowzad Twitter: https://twitter.com/PenFarthing

Chez_Em@Chez_Em
·
Aug 23

Replying to
@KSAnimalRescue
and
@puppyrescuemis1
Help #CharlotteMJ to achieve #OperationArkUSAThese two hastags . Both point of reference and interest for those helping to promote KSA . A spokesperson in any project.
@cher@ftwglobal please join this campaign .

 

[Seeker22]

Nowzad has been betrayed! It’s a Dunkirk moment !

 

[Seeker22]

Considering the rolling Charlie Foxtrot this hot mess is, one chartered flight is statistically a rounding error. That being said we don't even know the size of the aircraft involved or payload capacity.

A330 Airbus.

 

[Melodi]

So, both the animal nuts and the top gov't people they have been dealing with should be told they should leave all the animals behind, pack the cargo hold with more European-ancestry people (or at least Christians) in their place and proceed with the flight out. Whomever balks at that, you'll know they're the ones bollixing up the whole deal and thus who to blame for blocking evacuation.

People are not usually allowed to travel in cargo holds (this could be an exception), but this is a privately funded and they want to pack as many people on the plane as it will hold 250. As long as they get their 70 staff on board, they are happy to take others out of the country that can make the flight.

Many Afghans are of "European Ancestry" that's why so many of them have blond, red, or light brown hair with green or blue eyes. To some degree that is "The Legacy of Alexander" and his armies but also some of the hill tribes are probably distantly related to modern Europeans.

 

[Seeker22]

One Woman’s Chaotic Scramble to Get Her Colleagues Out of Kabul

An American who runs an animal rescue clinic in Kabul scrambles to get her staff out of Afghanistan.

When Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, the American founder and president of Kabul Small Animal Rescue, woke up on Sunday, the Taliban were at the gates of the city, about five miles away from her clinic. She and the staff at her rescue organization, which she describes as the first women-founded clinic of its kind in Afghanistan, were trying to figure out what was going on the same way as everyone else.

“Most of the news you get on Twitter,” she said when we spoke on Friday. “Everyone’s sitting on their phones, scrolling through, being like, ‘Did Ghani leave? Is there—did somebody—who’s in the palace? Oh, the flag’s down. What country are we in?’” She and her team were busying themselves going through boxes of groceries, “half-crying, half-laughing.”

“One of my vets, she said, ‘I don’t know what to do, I’m crying, and I’m laughing, because my teeth are stressed,’” Maxwell-Jones said. “And I was like, actually, I think that makes sense.”

Eventually, an announcement was made that women needed to wear appropriate clothing. Maxwell-Jones had been wearing jeans and a t-shirt around for years and had to borrow full-covering clothes; the only headscarf she could find had skulls on it, which she didn’t think would go over well. She can’t go out alone anymore, only with a male escort, and when we spoke, there were two Taliban guards outside her apartment. (Since she is a single woman living alone, though, these men are not allowed to enter.) She doesn’t have a full face-covering, so when she’s gone out, Taliban members have asked her to stand behind a wall while addressing them. Some of the Taliban escorts she’s had have been cordial. Some have not. But they’re in control of the city, and there’s no way around working with them to do what she’s trying to do. And what she’s trying to do is get her staff, their families, and her rescue animals out of Afghanistan.

Kabul Small Animal Rescue has roughly 35 staff members—about a third of whom are women, which Maxwell-Jones notes is quite a high percentage for Afghanistan. Add their families and the sum total Maxwell-Jones is trying to get out of the country is about 125 people, and as many of the 250 animals from her rescue organization and three others that she can take. (There’s nothing “selfish or anti-humanitarian” about putting “a tiny bit of priority” on her animals, she told me. “I think they bring love and joy and meaning to people’s lives.”)

Originally from Tennessee, Maxwell-Jones first arrived in Afghanistan in 2010 with a French archeological delegation, studying a “very large body of pottery” for her dissertation. After completing her Ph.D., she left academia and got into development work and consulting. Her day job is as the research director of the Heart of Asia Society, an Afghan think tank. The Kabul Small Animal Rescue, which she founded in 2018 with head veterinarian and vice president Tahera Rezaei, was started as a side project “that has grown a little bit oversized.”

And now, the side project is all-consuming. Maxwell-Jones has been working on getting paperwork ready for a month to get everyone a visa that allows evacuees to be accepted by a third country and entered into the U.S. vetting process. They’ve all made it on the list, she said.

“It means that you can get out of Afghanistan,” she said. “That’s the important thing right now.”

She is trying to get landing space permission for charter flights, which she’s trying to arrange. But one of the biggest logistical challenges, she said, will simply be getting to the airport. The process for getting out on military flights has created an almost impenetrable path.

The U.S. military is “sending these emails to people that are like, ‘you are receiving this email so that you can go to the airport. Go now, take a bag less than five kilos. Prepare to wait for hours to days,’” she said. “There’s nothing with your name on it. We have no idea how we’re supposed to prove anything. It’s a very, very disorganized process. I mean, maybe if you added cyanide and zombies, it could be worse, but frankly, I couldn’t design a worse system.”

The “first-come, first-serve” nature of the alerts has “created these mobs,” she said. “And the mobs are there because people are desperately afraid of the Taliban. Whatever they act like in the street, and however calm they are, and however much the Taliban say that they are very kind, many people are very afraid of them.”

Maxwell-Jones has barely slept. The morning call to prayer is around 4:15 a.m., she said, “and I think they’ve turned up the volume” since the Taliban took over. When we spoke, it was early evening, and she was making another cup of coffee and going through cigarettes.

“It’s like, this is ****ing insane,” she said. “The whole thing is completely insane. You asked earlier what this feels like? It’s a combination of surreal and hyper-real. Absolutely every decision I make all day long matters. Every single decision. And lives are at stake in every one.”

Maxwell-Jones says her mom, in Tennessee, has been saying she should just get out herself. But she’s not leaving until everyone else is out.

On the phone, she told me about how proud she is of her vets for the work they’ve done over the last three years, and have continued to do since the Taliban arrived. On Friday, some members of her staff went to a Taliban-controlled compound to rescue 46 dogs. Some Taliban members were throwing rocks at the dogs, she said.

“Nobody else is going out and trying to find these animals that have been abandoned, or getting people’s pets that are in very insecure areas, or in areas that are completely held by the Taliban,” she said. “My staff are doing it, and they’re scared, and they’re still doing it.”

Even if Maxwell-Jones can get everyone out—human and not—it’s clear she will still have to mourn for her tiny corner of Kabul.

“We created a wonderful animal rescue. We gave great veterinary care. Our staff lovingly cared for all of the animals” she said. “They educated the public. I think they made it a little better here.”

“It’s a beautiful thing that will be lost.”
One Woman’s Chaotic Scramble to Get Her Colleagues Out of Kabul

 

[Melodi]

I think we have confirmation that humans can not be carried in a cargo hold, if the animals are not allowed on the plane, the cargo hold will be empty - humans are not allowed in them even in emergencies (pets sometimes die in them too, but under the circumstances, it is worth the risk).

Oh and by the way, the "animal nuts" have already said they will euthanize their animals including the ones the CONTRACTORS LEFT BEHIND and the Taliban CUT THEIR NOSES OFF.

I gather while the military takes their fur soldiers home with them these days, contactors obviously see them as disposable.

Nightwolf and I have talked about this and it goes back to the evacuations during the Gulf War - if we ever can't take our animals out of a situation like that, we will not leave to suffer and die either by starvation or at the hands of human monsters.

We will do what we have to do, as will these people, let's just hope they don't have to.

 

[psychgirl]

I don’t mean to butt in on the animal thread Melodi, but I’m listening to Glenn Beck right now and he cannot get approval to get his “paid for flights” out from the state department!

 

[Melodi]

I don’t mean to butt in on the animal thread Melodi, but I’m listening to Glenn Beck right now and he cannot get approval to get his “paid for flights” out from the state department!

Oh, I said, feel free to use this thread for all private flights having these issues. I mostly started this thread because I didn't want to risk taking the Nazarene-specific thread off in another direction.

But yes, it seems the UK Department of Defense is not the only one prioritizing "optics" over "human life."

 

[Melodi]

Another update from Sky News:

Afghanistan: Ex-Marine Pen Farthing says he will have to put animals to sleep on Kabul runway after UK 'abandoned' his charity

Paul 'Pen' Farthing has refused to leave his staff and rescue animals in Afghanistan but Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he cannot prioritise dogs and cats over people.

news.sky.com

Afghanistan: Ex-Marine Pen Farthing says he will have to put animals to sleep on Kabul runway after UK 'abandoned' his charity
Paul 'Pen' Farthing has refused to leave his staff and rescue animals in Afghanistan but Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he cannot prioritise dogs and cats over people.

Alix Culbertson
News reporter @alixculbertson
Tuesday 24 August 2021 13:20, UK

Play Video - UK govt 'has abandoned me in Afghanistan'

UK government 'has abandoned me in Afghanistan'

• https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sha...Kabul runway after UK 'abandoned' his charity
  
• https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?te...unway-after-uk-abandoned-his-charity-12389344
  
• https://www.timebomb2000.com/xf/wha...unway-after-uk-abandoned-his-charity-12389344
  

Why you can trust Sky News
A former Royal Marine in Kabul says he will have to put the cats and dogs from his charity to sleep on the runway after the defence secretary said he had to "prioritise people over pets".
Paul 'Pen' Farthing, who founded Nowzad, claimed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has blocked a charter flight he crowdfunded to fly his 69 employees and 100 animals back to the UK after the Taliban seized Afghanistan.

He said Boris Johnson has approved the flight but the MoD is refusing to grant the aircraft the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) air sign so it can fly into the airport and out.
Follow the latest COVID updates from the UK and around the world

Play Video - 'I have to prioritise people over pets'

'I have to prioritise people over pets'
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News: "He could get through the gates as a British passport holder. He was called forward on Friday and I recommend he takes that.

"His workforce have been offered, as entitled personnel, places and they will be able to be called forward, but I can't guarantee in this window they will be processed on to aircraft, all I can say is they qualify.
"As for the animals that he was rescuing, it is just not going to be the case that I will prioritise them over the men, women and children we see in desperate need at the gate.
More on Afghanistan

• Afghanistan: What does each G7 nation think of US evacuation deadline and could Taliban veto an extension?
• Staff will forever feel guilt over five-year-old Afghan refugee's Sheffield hotel fall death, Home Office boss says
• Afghanistan: Exit deadline extension 'unlikely' as situation gets 'more dangerous' - defence secretary
• Afghanistan: Security concerns could be deciding factor in whether to extend Afghan mission
• Afghanistan: Boris Johnson urges world leaders to stand by Afghan people ahead of G7 - as Biden to decide on deadline extension in next 24 hours
• Afghanistan: The girls who left everything behind - teenagers forced to flee Taliban rule to save education chances

"I regret that but I don't believe the Taliban's main point of target will be his workforce and animals, compared to the people at the front of the queue."
He said the charter flight would "block the airfield and sit there empty" when the British are trying to get the flow of people through barriers and on to airplanes.
"I'm not prepared to prioritise pets over people," Mr Wallace added.

Exit deadline extension 'unlikely' as situation gets 'more dangerous' - defence secretary

Mr Farthing, reacting to Mr Wallace's words, told Sky News he has had no confirmation in writing that his staff have permission to travel to England.
He said: "If I get stopped at a Taliban checkpoint with them, they'll get turned around and Mr Wallace knows I've said I'm not leaving here without my staff.

Image:Paul 'Pen' Farthing runs an animal charity in Afghanistan. Pic: Nowzad
"So, I'm not just going to go to the airport and get on a plane so his problem goes away."
Mr Farthing, who was a Marine for 22 years, also said his "emergency line" to the MoD has been cancelled so he can no longer get updates, or provide the MoD with updates.
"He has abandoned me here in Afghanistan and wants me to go quiet, not on my watch, Mr Wallace," he added.

Image:Mr Farthing said his charter flight needed an ISAF call sign to be able to land and take off
He acknowledged the British troops cannot help him get to the airport, saying "that's my problem" but said he would get his staff and animals to the airport.
"If they won't allow me on to that aircraft then I'll have to put all my dogs and cats to sleep on the runway," he said.

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"He's just told me to get to the airport and I'm taking my staff and animals with me.
"I'm not being dictated to by an MP just because he has failed to get people off the ground, we are going to end up leaving people behind, this has been a disaster."
Mr Farthing added that other charter flights are arriving at Kabul airport and said: "If America can do it, why can't Britain, I'm not taking his excuses."
And after seeing pictures of a car being placed on an evacuation flight, he said he was "not backing down".

 

[Melodi]

I am hearing reports that this is a huge story all over Europe and in some places has changed the focus of the USA as the focus of media hit pieces to the United Kingdom (at least for a few hours).

There was just a Tweet that the Taliban will not allow any more Afghans to leave, so that makes the veterinary staff, including women veterinarians (they have at least one) and vet techs stranded unless there is a miracle (also anyone else that people were trying to rescue their translators and other local personnel).

I'm following this story carefully - the odd bit is that Boris Johnson OK'd the flight, it was the Defense Minister who went off on his own and refused to grant the call sign/paperwork.

I don't see why Boris can't just over-rule him, this story is making Britain look like total jerks.

 

[artichoke]

Another private effort:

Two families and two tales of ecstasy... and anguish in Afghanistan

Five-year-old twins Asna and Sana were successfully evacuated from Afghanistan into Britain today.

www.dailymail.co.uk

'Private' flights to safety set up by US donors

Six wealthy US citizens are funding a private mission by ex-special forces to fly 5,600 Afghans out of Kabul in eight days.

The plan is to extract Afghan soldiers and police officers – along with their families – who are currently in hiding.

Anonymous benefactors have donated more than $500,000 (£365,000) to an operation dubbed the Wings of Eagles, which will fly 700 out of the country each day until the August 31 deadline.

Former US special forces are particularly keen to rescue members of the Afghan commando anti-terrorism units who they trained since 2003.

The operation is being run by Ark Salus, a veterans charity in Alabama.

Its director Peter Quinn, a former helicopter pilot and intelligence officer who served five tours in Afghanistan, said: 'We have a moral obligation to our fellow Afghan warriors to safeguard them, their wives and children, and rescue them from Kabul, just as they have brought us home to our families.'

He said local soldiers are currently communicating from safe houses until they can be rescued.

'They've shed their uniforms,' Mr Quinn said. 'They are in hiding, and waiting to know when to get to the airport.'

The Wings of Eagles mission is not charging Afghan passengers for places on their planes. However, a number of other private operations have been selling seats for up to £75,000 each.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday, Mr Quinn said: 'We're constantly flying aircraft. We're going to be doing as many as we can, as long as we can, until the US government pulls out of Kabul. That's 700 Afghans a day for the next eight days.

'We have six private investors who are fed up with what is happening in Afghanistan. We are not waiting for permission, we are taking action.'

So these flights shouldn't go either. The constraint apparently isn't how many planes you can fly in there but how many can get through into the airport. Or if it is the number of planes, the donors shouldn't be able to buy people out of there.

What is the constraint anyway? And can some people get into the airport easier than others?

 

[Housecarl]

So these flights shouldn't go either. The constraint apparently isn't how many planes you can fly in there but how many can get through into the airport. Or if it is the number of planes, the donors shouldn't be able to buy people out of there.

What is the constraint anyway? And can some people get into the airport easier than others?

At this point I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the Taliban is charging a "fee" for each person gotten out.

 

[MinnesotaSmith]

I don't see that we owe the Afghans anything. WE were helping THEM, not the converse. The locals working as our employees got paid in full as they went along. Our (meaning NATO governments and armed forces) main goal should be to get our native-born nonMuslim citizens out. Fricking dogs, cats, goldfish, etc. do NOT belong displacing our people from plane space to get to safety. (If dogs can mostly survive cargo holds, so can people.)

The locals sympathetic to us? On inbound flights, carry M-14s/captured AK-47s and a little ammo to give them, along with copies of Churchill's and Patton's best pep talks.

 

[Melodi]

Humans are not permitted in Cargo Holds, I'm sure people would ride in them if that were allowed but that is a false argument because it isn't being allowed even in this situation.

That plane would have had 240 people on it, some Afghan rescue workers but also anyone going to the UK, including British citizens.

This is not an either/or argument, that's kind of the point, and if the UK Defense Minister was worried about "bad optics" he's got them now and in spades.

 

[Seeker22]

I don't see that we owe the Afghans anything. WE were helping THEM, not the converse. The locals working as our employees got paid in full as they went along. Our (meaning NATO governments and armed forces) main goal should be to get our native-born nonMuslim citizens out. Fricking dogs, cats, goldfish, etc. do NOT belong displacing our people from plane space to get to safety. (If dogs can mostly survive cargo holds, so can people.)

The locals sympathetic to us? On inbound flights, carry M-14s/captured AK-47s and a little ammo to give them, along with copies of Churchill's and Patton's best pep talks.

I believe I'd put friking dogs cats and goldfish over you and those who share this opinion any damned day.
There, it's official.
Nobody ever said I was a diplomat.

 

[Seeker22]

At this point I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the Taliban is charging a "fee" for each person gotten out.

If they do, I'd bet this is part of it.

CIA head meets Taliban leader as fears for Afghanistan grow

 

[MinnesotaSmith]

I believe I'd put friking dogs cats and goldfish over you and those who share this opinion any damned day.
There, it's official.
Nobody ever said I was a diplomat.

American citizens, HUMAN BEINGS, in Kabul right now, should be left behind to suffer Daniel Pearl's type of death so Muffin and Sparky can sit by their (probably childless) owners in First Class, who can thus avoid the inconvenience (once safely home) of driving to the City Pound to replace them? Something has to be seriously wrong with a brain to think that.

 

[Melodi]

If they do, I'd bet this is part of it.

CIA head meets Taliban leader as fears for Afghanistan grow

There have already been reports of "checkpoints" charging thousands of dollars to anyone who wants to get through them especially if they are Westerners.

That doesn't surprise me in the least, a lot of the people "left behind" are going to be non-Afghans including Americans and Brits, they can't even get to people stuck in the countryside where some medical charities, NGO's and civilian contractors would have been working

 

[Melodi]

American citizens, HUMAN BEINGS, in Kabul right now, should be left behind to suffer Daniel Pearl's type of death so Muffin and Sparky can sit by their (probably childless) owners in First Class, who can thus avoid the inconvenience (once safely home) of driving to the City Pound to replace them? Something has to be seriously wrong with a brain to think that.

Please, this is not the argument, no Fluffy, Fishy, or Fido was going to take the place of a human being. People are NOT ALLOWED to ride in cargo holds and at this point that is being enforced even during this evacuation.

Even the Kabul Animal Rescue, Warpaws (which helps connect rescued dogs with American and British Veterans with PTSD), and the other charities have said - if it comes down to people or animals, they are prepared to euthanize the animals on the airport tarmac if they have to.

 

[MinnesotaSmith]

So, rip up their copy of FAA regulation 356.48.14 subsection G, allow healthy adult volunteers to fill the cargo holds, and go. It's not that complicated. I've been at over 14,400' elevation before outdoors of foot and survived NP; a professor of mine spent time at 18-20,000' (albeit not exerting himself like the Mt. Everest deathseekers) with no permanent issues. I doubt the cargo holds are much worse than that, and with Taliban firing squads imminent, the choice should be easy.

 

[Melodi]

MS it isn't my regulations or my decision, please respect the fact that some of doing care about BOTH human beings and animals, and again that plane was going to carry 250 people on it and just the 100 or so rescue animals they could carry with the staff members.

I do understand your point, and I know you share the anger we are all feeling right now. With the shutting down of people being allowed into the airport (nonforeigners), some of the local staff and Westerners are likely to be executed so it may be a moot point.

Again, they are doing their best to keep the animals from suffering, in the way the dogs left behind by WESTERN contractors did - the Taliban didn't even kill them, they cut their noses off and threw them in the street to die.

And yeah, they do that to people too, no one is disputing that.

It is also shameful (per the other thread) that Christian and other rescue operations that are privately funded are not being given permission to land and take people out either.

 

[BadMedicine]

Mixed feelings, being dog lover, but still, hell no. ****ing dogs? stray, mutty, mangey half wild, half starved diseased dogs?

Going to airlift them out of a busy airport under fire WHILE HUMAN F*ING BEINGS STAND IN THE SUN AND WAIT TO BE EXECUTED?!?

I will repeat, I am a dog lover. Airlifting cleft-pallet stray dogs out of an active war & terrorist zone, OVER PEOPLE is a CRIMINAL lack or conscious. Maybe, MAAAAAYBE pets of service member who have risked their lives, lost brothers in arms and loved ones died in their arms... animals are ptsd & support mechanism and should not be taken from our service members who risked everything, and gave so much..


but ownerless diseased strays who need thousand in veterinary service? JDAM the pound.

 

[Melodi]

Mixed feelings, being dog lover, but still, hell no. ****ing dogs? stray, mutty, mangey half wild, half starved diseased dogs?

Going to airlift them out of a busy airport under fire WHILE HUMAN F*ING BEINGS STAND IN THE SUN AND WAIT TO BE EXECUTED?!?

I will repeat, I am a dog lover. Airlifting cleft-pallet stray dogs out of an active war & terrorist zone, OVER PEOPLE is a CRIMINAL lack or conscious. Maybe, MAAAAAYBE pets of service member who have risked their lives, lost brothers in arms and loved ones died in their arms... animals are ptsd & support mechanism and should not be taken from our service members who risked everything, and gave so much..


but ownerless diseased strays who need thousand in veterinary service? JDAM the pound.

These are not diseased feral dogs, they are dogs and cats that have been rescued from the streets; some of the puppies and kittens are bottle babies and totally domesticated. They have had really good care until this point, and the reason they will Euthanize them if they can't get them on the plane is that they are too trusting of people and probably WOULD be terribly abused if just let loose.

I gather a number of the dogs have been rehomed (in the past) in both the US and the UK as companions for veterans, also some of the pets they are trying to get out belong to Westerners forced to flee without them. They made a promise to those people to TRY to care for them, and that will include euthanasia if it comes to that.

Again, this is so totally not an EITHER OR situation it is a YES AND. There was a flight paid for by donations to take out as many people as the authorities would let on the plane (250 max) and the animals in the cargo hold.

Please stop making this a false choice because it isn't, that is one reason people are so furiously angry about this.

It isn't like a plane didn't take off with people on it because they put animals on it instead, that is NOT the situation at all.

 

[Chance]

Leaving military dogs in Viet Nam after we left still STINGS with me. If there is room - take these rescue dogs. Biden made their lives Hell there too! Their blood is on Biden and his handlers hands - but they don't care. Someone HAS to care! G-d will hold them responsible.

If it's possible to get these dogs out vs the people that are being blocked by the Taliban - stop farting around and do it. Then go back and get more.

 

[Seeker22]

Kabul Small Animal Rescue's Charlotte Maxwell Jones, who is a US citizen (Tennessee) has gone out in the streets of Kabul for weeks rescuing animals. She is fearless, going into Taliban controlled areas and getting these animals out. I know big male soldiers who wouldn't try that without a company, and there's just her.

This isn't about strays or who deserves to get on a plane and who doesn't. Both KSAR and NOWZAD have had generous donations to their foundations, chartered private planes, have got the paperwork all lined out, and are ready to go.

The governments of the US and the UK decided to betray these people at the last minute. This is unconscionable. Pen Farthing had a direct crisis line established on his cell in case he needed help and it was disabled. Left behind enemy lines. And being a soldier for 22 of his years, he knows what that means better than most. Will this man live to see his wife and see his baby born? Or will they tell grand stories about brave Da?

This is definitely NOT about whether people or animals deserve to get on a plane and all about power plays. And the animals and the Afghan staff will be the ones to pay for it in the end. And Charlotte and Paul (Pen), who have done so much good with their foundations.

 

[Seeker22]

Leaving military dogs in Viet Nam after we left still STINGS with me. If there is room - take these rescue dogs. Biden made their lives Hell there too! Their blood is on Biden and his handlers hands - but they don't care. Someone HAS to care! G-d will hold them responsible.

If it's possible to get these dogs out vs the people that are being blocked by the Taliban - stop farting around and do it. Then go back and get more.

Light it up, baby! Call and Tweet, and email everyone you can. Until there is no more hope. And then, we remember. And our memories are long.

 

[Chance]

This debacle is on Biden and his handler's heads. They created this mess. IMO they shouldn't get any more say in what's going on - they ruined it. Back off and shut up. Let private planes, with donations and whomever clean up Biden's mess.

IF Biden wasn't sold out to his puppetmasters he'd tell the Taliban to stick their August 31 deadline up their flea infested behinds - and we'd take our sweet time getting people and animals out. But he doesn't have the cajones or the love of country or the love of G-d to do the right thing.

We are so screwed with this president.

 

[Melodi]

Majon, the Blind Lion of Kabul with his favorite human who went without food in order to keep him from starving during the last Taliban occupation. Marjon died a few days later, but thanks to helping from animal rescue people and charities he had a full tummy, a warm heating pad, and his favorite human beside him.

Humanity can shine through sometimes in the darkest places:

 

[Chance]

I also recall the Titanic life boats - many half full.

This whole thing disgusts me - A dog/puppy/cat can ride in a lap or under the seat, for Pete's sake. This is life or death for them too.

To make this about people vs animals is despicable - what a piece of crap human being to even suggest this. Put them in the cargo hold and in laps/underseats.

It's scary to me that there are so many pathetic people around.

Biden and his handlers brought this pain and suffering to those people and animals. This Taliban behavior is NOTHING NEW! This is on us - cleaning up his mess.

And as I wrote in a comment above - this doesn't have to be like this but Biden is beholden to his puppet masters for the August 31 date!!!!

If Americans can't see what we have running the country we are in even bigger trouble.

G-d help the people that voted for this man and those that knew the election was stolen and kept their mouths shut.

 

[Dennis Olson]

So, is this thread about people or animals? Or has it derailed into yet another “whatever” conglomeration of mush?

 

[Melodi]

So, is this thread about people or animals? Or has it derailed into yet another “whatever” conglomeration of mush?

Dennis this thread is supposed to be about the attempted rescue flight for both people and animals that was organized with donations to the Kabul Animal Rescue and other charities.

I started this thread so as not to distract from the Christian organization trying to raise funds on a much larger scale that is also being denied permission to take their planes in.

If people don't understand this isn't an either/or argument or that no people were going to be left behind in order to take animals I am afraid I can't help them. I've repeated this and explained it way too many times.

 

[Dennis Olson]

Then you need to edit your thread title to have some meaning appropriate for the overall content. The problem with Brit news outlets is that they try to write half the story in the article title. That doesn’t work here. Please address.

 

[Melodi]

I did edit it some, but I'll do some more, I was afraid if I did too much you would say it wasn't the correct article title.

 

[homecanner1]

Reminds me all too much of the compound full of bastards in Waco that were an embarrassment to the Clinton Admin and torched by Reno on live tv. That lone runway is one shell away from being made inoperable while eejits dither and wring their hands over placating monstrous sized egos from public hu milley ation. That precious cargo best get in wheels up mode and aloft, achtung baby.