Just four days before the American deadline of August 31st for withdrawal from Afghanistan, Spain ended their Afghanistan evacuation yesterday (Friday, August 28th, 2021).
On the last Spanish flight out of Kabul were 85 Afghans who had worked with Spanish, Portuguese or NATO officials, and 81 embassy and military personnel.
The plane flew from Kabul to Dubai, where they landed early on Friday morning.
All passengers departed from Kabul later on that day, and arrived in Spain at the Torrejón de Ardoz airbase later the same afternoon.
The Spanish government announced far more than 2,000 people had been evacuated by plane from Afghanistan during the last week.
An estimated 2,000 Afghan refugees will be given temporary asylum in Spain while the Spanish government completes background checks.
Once cleared for proper admittance, around 40 Afghan families will be offered permanent residency in Spain.
The remainder will be sent to other EU countries where they will also be given permanent right to remain.
As for the United States, the country that initiated the mad dash withdrawal from Afghanistan, while its president Joe Biden insists any American wishing to leave Afghanistan will be flown out before the August 31st deadline, critics are not so sure.
They say at least 1,500 Americans are still stuck in Afghanistan and, with many of them reporting an inability to get to Kabul Airport due to Taliban checkpoints and interference, a high percentage of those may be left behind.