Pentagon Calls Out White House On 'Big Lie'- Hundreds Of Americans Still Trapped!
Remember when the White House told everyone that there were only about 100 to 200 Americans still trapped in Afghanistan? They even claimed that most of them want to stay behind. Well, that was another lie according to the Pentagon after their top official testified Tuesday before Congress. He explained that at least 500 Americans, maybe more, still remain trapped under Taliban rule.
American Military News Reported:
While testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the undersecretary of Defense for policy Colin Kahl said at least 196 Americans are immediately ready and waiting to leave Afghanistan and an additional 243 aren’t ready to leave or want to stay.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and other GOP lawmakers on the committee said Kahl’s testimony proves that Biden did not live up to his vow to make sure no American citizens were left stranded in Afghanistan.
Kahl rejected the assertion, however, claiming that “nobody was abandoned.”
This total of 439 American citizens still in Afghanistan is up from the 363 the State Department had told congressional staff last week – which itself was up from the estimate of roughly 100 the administration had said in September.
At a press briefing Friday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the number of Americans who actually wished to leave was at one point below 100 but was now between 100 and 200 amid a fluid situation on the ground.
"That figure has risen in recent days as more Americans in Afghanistan have decided to depart in light of our successful facilitation of dozens of departures in recent weeks," he said.
So what's with the people who 'aren't ready to leave yet'? Well, most of them are trapped unless they're willing to make a hard decision. Biden's State Department told them to leave their family behind if they want to leave, more or less.
Remember, the US had been in Afghanistan for 20 years. Many of the people who still remain have families there who are not citizens in America and thus, can't just board a flight and leave. The White House isn't negotiating their escape and instead has explained many of these cases away as people 'wanting to stay'.
I'm sorry, I don't think anyone wants to live under Taliban rule, but the Taliban.