U.S. HANDED TALIBAN NAMES OF AFGHAN ALLIES: U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies to grant entry into the militant-controlled outer perimeter of the city’s airport, a choice that's prompted outrage behind the scenes from lawmakers and military officials, three U.S. and congressional officials told LARA SELIGMAN, ANDREW DESIDERIO and Alex. “Basically, they just put all those Afghans on a kill list,” said one defense official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. “It’s just appalling and shocking and makes you feel unclean.” After the fall of Kabul, in the earliest days of the evacuation, the joint U.S. military and diplomatic coordination team at the airport provided the Taliban with a list of people the U.S. aimed to evacuate. Those names included Afghans who served alongside the U.S. during the 20-year war and sought special immigrant visas to America. U.S. citizens, dual nationals and lawful permanent residents were also listed. “They had to do that because of the security situation the White House created by allowing the Taliban to control everything outside the airport,” one U.S. official said. But after thousands of visa applicants arrived at the airport, overwhelming the capacity of the U.S. to process them, the State Department changed course — asking the applicants not to come to the airport and instead requesting they wait until they were cleared for entry. From then on, the list fed to the Taliban didn’t include those Afghan names. As of Wednesday, only U.S. passport and green card holders were being accepted as eligible for evacuation, the defense official said. FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — LEE, AOC PRESS BIDEN TO RAISE REFUGEE CAP: Reps. BARBARA LEE (D-Calif.) and ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) on Thursday led a group of more than 65 House Democrats in calling for Biden to increase the annual refugee admissions cap to no less than 200,000 for fiscal 2022, our own Sabrina Rodriguez reports. The ask is a sharp increase from Biden’s pledge earlier this year to raise the limit to 125,000 for the next fiscal year. But in a letter to Biden, the group of Democrats argue that the higher number is necessary given the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, as well as crises in other countries, including Ethiopia, Lebanon and Haiti. They also call on Biden to expand humanitarian parole for Afghans in danger following the Taliban’s takeover. “To those questioning if it is really our responsibility to provide refuge for those fleeing conflict, persecution, or dire living conditions — yes, it is. In fact, it is not only our responsibility, but it is our greatest strength,” the lawmakers wrote. TREASURY SAYS AFGHANISTAN AID MAY PROCEED: The Treasury Department has told humanitarian organizations they can provide relief to Afghanistan despite U.S. antiterrorism sanctions against the Taliban, per The Wall Street Journal’s IAN TALLEY and MENGQI SUN. But the aid groups are still pressing the department to issue formal waivers making the decision official. In addition to a mounting economic crisis, Afghans are “also facing multiple humanitarian crises, not just the current violence, but also internally displaced persons, a looming and persistent drought, as well as structural unemployment,” said ALEX ZERDEN , a former Treasury Department attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. MORE TALIBAN MEDIA OFFENSIVE: The militant group’s spokesperson ZABIHULLAH MUJAHID sat down for an interview with NBC News’ RICHARD ENGEL in Kabul to falsely declare that “there was no proof” OSAMA BIN LADEN was involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Mujahid also denied reports of Taliban fighters barging into Afghans’ homes and forcing young, unmarried women to become their brides. “This is propaganda from the old regime. We have no evidence of a single case,” he said. And as for the United States evacuating its Afghan allies, Mujahid told Engel: “We don’t want our countrymen to go to America. Whatever they have done in the past, we have given them amnesty, we need young, educated professionals for our nation. But If they want to leave, it’s their choice.” The Taliban has set up a perimeter outside the airport with multiple checkpoints, often stopping evacuees from reaching a readied plane. Mujahid later added: “The withdrawal is almost finished. These are our happiest moments.” AMERICANS SAY U.S. SHOULD STICK UP FOR TAIWAN: The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has an arresting new poll: For the first time ever, a (slim) majority of Americans want to see the United States defend Taiwan after a Chinese invasion. “[J]ust over half of Americans (52%) favor using US troops to defend [Taiwan] if China were to invade the island. This is the highest level ever recorded in the Council’s surveys dating back to 1982, when the question was first asked,” write DINA SMELTZ and CRAIG KAFURA. That’s a notable shift in public opinion. Smeltz told NatSec Daily “the increase in support for defending Taiwan has been steadily growing in tandem with public concern over the threat posed by China. And our data show this sense of threat from China overshadows the motivation of ‘protecting weaker nations against foreign aggression.’” Chances are still low that China might attack the island democracy — and that Biden would be faced with the decision to put troops in harm’s way. But if he is, it’s helpful for the White House to know that about half of the country supports the idea. During his interview with ABC News’ GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS last week, Biden sent China-Taiwan watchers into a tizzy by implying he would surely come to Taiwan’s defense during a crisis. “We made a sacred commitment to Article Five that if in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies, we would respond. Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with Taiwan,” he said. But U.S. officials contacted by NatSec Daily afterward said the American policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding Taiwan’s defense hasn’t changed. 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