It’s hard to imagine a worse scenario than the one unfolding in Afghanistan. Not only is the country again under Taliban rule, but the fate of those left behind has been all but sealed.

President Joe Biden’s military leaders have admitted that thousands of Americans are trapped in Afghanistan with no way to get them out, Breitbart reported. According to the White House, there may be as many as 11,000 American citizens left behind.

“The forces that we have are focused on security of the airfield.” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a press briefing Wednesday. “We don’t have the capability to go out and collect up large numbers of people.”

People fleeing through the Kabul airport are now subjected to Taliban checkpoints. This has made it difficult to ensure that Americans and others who helped U.S. forces can even make their way to the airport even before the logistical nightmare of moving so many people even begins.

“We will stay focused on securing the airfield,” Austin explained. “We cannot afford to either not defend that airfield or not have an airfield that’s secure,” he said.

“I don’t have the capability to go out and extend operations currently into Kabul,” the defense secretary stated as the country increasingly falls under Taliban rule. “And where do you take that? How far do you extend into Kabul, and how long does it take to flow those forces in to be able to do that?”

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they haven’t completely given up, however. “The State Department…is working with the Taliban to facilitate safe passage of American citizens, U.S. passport holders to the airport. And that’s the primary means and under the current conditions,” he said.

“We have the capability to do other things if necessary,” Milley claimed. He would not elaborate on what else could be done except to say that it would be the Biden administration that would decide.

This whole exodus from Afghanistan has been an unmitigated disaster. However, the worst of it may be to come for those whom America is choosing to leave behind.