Media Confused as U.S. Leaves Afghanistan on Aug. 30 in U.S., Aug. 31 in Kabul

Members of the U.S. media appeared confused on Monday as the Pentagon announced that the U.S. had left Afghanistan at midnight Aug. 31, local time in Kabul — which was only 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Aug. 30 in Washington, DC.

Last week, Breitbart News’ own national security correspondent, Kristina Wong, pressed Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby about when, exactly, the deadline for withdrawal would be, and he made it clear:

Q: And then just one more question. When exactly does the August 31st deadline take effect? Is that August 31st midnight, or is that September 1st midnight?

MR. KIRBY: August 31st.

NBC News’ White House correspondent, Peter Alexander, also pressed the administration to identify whether the deadline for withdrawal was midnight local time in Kabul, or whether it was midnight in some time zone in the United States.

By the weekend, it was clear — or ought to have been — that the U.S. was expected to withdraw by midnight, August 31, Kabul time — meaning by 3:30 p.m., August 30, EDT. But some outlets reported, incorrectly, that the withdrawal was expected to continue through August 31.

At White House and Pentagon briefings earlier Monday, the administration was evasive when asked exactly when the withdrawal would be complete.

U.S. Department of Defense

And at the Pentagon briefing following the U.S. departure, General Kenneth McKenzie, who leads U.S. Central Command, a reporter who seemed confused about the date asked whether some Americans in Kabul might have missed the opportunity to leave because of the calendar confusion.

The general explained that while it was still Aug. 30 in the U.S., it was Aug. 31, and that leaving involved “heartbreak.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.