August 18, 2021, Afghanistan-Taliban news

Retired US Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a former NATO supreme allied commander, told CNN's Rosemary Church that despite the Taliban having committed to an opaque "general amnesty" for all Afghans, the group has "a long track record of doing the opposite."

Clark also explained why he believes the Afghan military fell so quickly to the Taliban. He explained that many of the foot soldiers that make up the military saw the job as a paycheck, not a cause. The Afghan National Army was formed after the fall of the Taliban, made up of various tribes and factions that historically did not always get along.

Here's how Clark explained it:

Sam used to be an Afghan interpreter for the US military. He helped American troops because he thought it would help his home country and because he was promised protection.

Though Sam is now an American citizen and living in the United States, his family remains in Afghanistan. With the Taliban's takeover, he told CNN's Chris Cuomo he's worried about their safety.

Though the Taliban has promised "amnesty" to others after its takeover, details are unclear -- and Sam does not believe the terror group will keep its word.

Sam is not his real name. The man requested CNN use a pseudonym to protect his family, who face possible "retribution" now that the Taliban has taken control.

He said getting help has been a logistical nightmare.

Watch Sam's interview with Cuomo here:

The United States Treasury has taken steps to prevent cash reserves managed by the Federal Reserve and other US banks out of the hands of the Taliban, officials tell CNN — a sign of the government-wide effort underway after the Afghanistan government. 

As the Biden administration struggles to bring order to the chaos in Kabul, the move to effectively freeze assets is one example of something the US government can control. 

The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post reported on the action earlier today.

CNN reported earlier this week that the abrupt collapse of the Afghanistan government on Sunday had raised questions from several veterans of previous administrations about assets of the Afghan Central Bank and whether any of the money could end up in the hands of the Taliban.

The “vast majority” of the Afghan Central Bank assets are not held in Afghanistan, a US official familiar with the matter told CNN. The assets in the US have been essentially blocked from the reach of the Taliban.

Separately, a Biden administration official said Sunday that any assets the Afghan government has in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban.

American personnel destroyed the passports of some Afghans when they were getting rid of all sensitive materials at the US Embassy in Kabul in preparation for a full evacuation, according an update that Rep. Andy Kim’s office is sharing with people who request assistance with evacuations from Afghanistan. 

It is unclear why the passports were destroyed, but it is possible diplomats determined it would have been dangerous for the documents to fall into the hands of Taliban members, who could then target those Afghans.

Not having a passport creates major complications for Afghans who are desperately and urgently trying to get out of the country. 

Rep. Tom Malinowski said that the US will have to come up with ways to verify the identity of Afghans whose passports were burned.

“We are going to have to take people without passports and vet them in other ways, like with their phone numbers for example. In many cases we know their contact information and their phone numbers and that is how we will have to identify them. Any Afghans braving the trip to the airport will not have wanted to go there with identifying documents, anyway,” Malinowski told CNN.

The US is not protecting the fully evacuated US Embassy in Kabul, but the compound is in a heavily fortified area, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price. 

The State Department did not respond to a request for comment about the destruction of the passports.