President Biden pledged firmly Friday to bring all Americans - and locals who aided the war effort

home from Afghanistan, even as countless would-be evacuees struggled to get past crushing crowds, Taliban airport checkpoints and U.S. bureaucracy.

Thousands of people remain to be evacuated ahead of Biden's end-of-August deadline to withdraw most remaining U.S. troops.

Flights were stopped for several hours on Friday because of a backup at a transit point for the refugees at a U.S. airbase in Qatar, but they resumed in the afternoon, including to Bahrain.

Biden's comments were intended to project purpose and stability as the situation on the ground appears increasingly chaotic.

But Biden's commitment to find a way out for Afghan allies amounted to a potentially vast expansion of U-S promises given the tens of thousands of people are seeking evacuation.