{"id":706316,"date":"2021-09-01T12:20:18","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T16:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=706316"},"modified":"2021-09-01T12:20:21","modified_gmt":"2021-09-01T16:20:21","slug":"secret-cia-compound-known-as-the-salt-pit-used-to-avoid-taliban-checkpoints-and-evacuate-thousands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/secret-cia-compound-known-as-the-salt-pit-used-to-avoid-taliban-checkpoints-and-evacuate-thousands\/","title":{"rendered":"Secret CIA Compound Known As \u2018The Salt Pit\u2019 Used To Avoid Taliban Checkpoints And Evacuate Thousands"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsecret-cia-compound-known-as-the-salt-pit-used-to-avoid-taliban-checkpoints-and-evacuate-thousands%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=706316&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-1334497676-scaled-e1630512415204.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>A secret CIA compound outside Kabul reportedly served as a base of operations for evacuations that avoided Taliban checkpoints.<\/p>\n<p>Eagle Base \u2014 which until 2004 was home to the notorious prison known as the Salt Pit \u2014 was used from Aug. 15-Aug. 28 to assist with evacuation efforts after the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/31\/biden-reportedly-urged-afghan-president-convince-the-world-taliban-under-control\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taliban<\/a> took control of Afghanistan, according to a report from The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/09\/01\/world\/asia\/cia-afghanistan-evacuations-demolitions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Times<\/a> published Wednesday. <strong><a class=\"text-black\" href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/31\/psaki-wont-say-if-us-taliban-have-agreement-on-remaining-americans\/\">(RELATED: Psaki Won\u2019t Say If US, Taliban Have Agreement On Remaining Americans)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"10.436482084691\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Salt Pit was a CIA black site outside Kabul, home to some of the worst torture committed during the war on terror. We found that since Aug. 15, the compound became a base for clandestine evacuations before being deliberately destroyed: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zbNNhWUP7p\">https:\/\/t.co\/zbNNhWUP7p<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Evan Hill (@evanhill) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/evanhill\/status\/1433040376093454337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"12.035087719298\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The CIA stopped using the Salt Pit as a prison in early 2004, according to experts, but it also utilized the compound, known as Eagle Base, to train an elite unit from Afghanistan\u2019s National Directorate of Security: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GFaRIKZkG0\">https:\/\/t.co\/GFaRIKZkG0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Evan Hill (@evanhill) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/evanhill\/status\/1433040543907450883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>According to the NYT report, analysts looked at \u201csatellite imagery, corporate records, active fire data and flight paths\u201d in order to determine how Eagle Base was used in the days before it was demolished and abandoned for good.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"10.890566037736\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The Times analyzed satellite imagery, corporate records, active fire data and flight paths to get a better look at the secret compound and assess how it was used for evacuations, then destroyed. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wJkRISLzUQ\">pic.twitter.com\/wJkRISLzUQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Evan Hill (@evanhill) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/evanhill\/status\/1433040823227199497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cRussian-made Mi-17 helicopters flew evacuees from the compound to Kabul airport to avoid Taliban checkpoints. Flight data shows that three Mi-17s made at least 35 flights there since the Taliban took control on Aug. 15,\u201d Evan Hill, a visual investigator for the NYT, tweeted Wednesday.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"8.5172413793103\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters flew evacuees from the compound to Kabul airport to avoid Taliban checkpoints. Flight data shows that three Mi-17s made at least 35 flights there since the Taliban took control on Aug. 15. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BnI8zKuyGk\">pic.twitter.com\/BnI8zKuyGk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Evan Hill (@evanhill) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/evanhill\/status\/1433040994363138056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Among those <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/31\/afghans-flee-borders-taliban-flags-iran-pakistan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">evacuated<\/a> were the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2021\/08\/20\/world\/biden-afghanistan-taliban\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">elite Afghan troops<\/a> who had been trained by the CIA at Eagle Base. \u201cAgency-trained Afghan troops from the NDS, who were at high risk of Taliban reprisals, made a deal with the Americans to help with airport security in return for being airlifted out of the country,\u201d Hill added.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"11.354430379747\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">According to U.S. and former Afghan officials, the Agency-trained Afghan troops from the NDS, who were at high risk of Taliban reprisals, made a deal with the Americans to help with airport security in return for being airlifted out of the country: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TMMGLlcFuZ\">https:\/\/t.co\/TMMGLlcFuZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Evan Hill (@evanhill) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/evanhill\/status\/1433041553723957253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Some parts of Eagle Base were demolished months earlier \u2014 when President Joe Biden announced a final withdrawal from <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/31\/pentagon-spox-passes-buck-afghanistan-americans-stranded-overseas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Afghanistan<\/a> before Sept. 11 \u2014 but other areas remained untouched until just days before the last American evacuation flights left Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"11.321321321321\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Demolitions at the Salt Pit appear to have been begun around April and May, after the U.S. announcement of a September withdrawal. But many were demolished on Aug. 27, like these, which a former intelligence analyst said included an ammo depot and training site. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YyBUYvZ7BE\">pic.twitter.com\/YyBUYvZ7BE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Evan Hill (@evanhill) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/evanhill\/status\/1433041987435999237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The evacuees were long gone and the final demolitions, according to the report, were \u201ccompleted by Aug. 28.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"10.232876712329\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The evacuations and demolitions appear to have been completed by Aug. 28. By Aug. 30, Taliban fighters had entered the remnants of the compound, ending the nearly two-decade clandestine U.S. presence at the infamous site. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/h62ydqG8LN\">pic.twitter.com\/h62ydqG8LN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Evan Hill (@evanhill) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/evanhill\/status\/1433042271214112772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Taliban fighters reportedly entered the empty compound, all but razed to the ground, by Aug. 30 \u2014 just hours before the final U.S.-led evacuation flights left Kabul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A secret CIA compound outside Kabul reportedly served as a base of operations for evacuations that avoided Taliban checkpoints.Eagle Base \u2014 which until 2004 was home to the notorious prison &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-706316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=706316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}