District of Columbia | October 1, 2021
Afghans are leaving U.S. military bases before resettlement
District of Columbia | October 1, 2021
Something unexpected is happening at U.S. military bases hosting Afghan evacuees: Many hundreds of them are simply leaving before receiving U.S. resettlement services, two sources familiar with the data told Reuters.
The number of “independent departures,” which top 700 and could be higher, has not been previously reported. But the phenomenon is raising alarms among immigration advocates concerned about the risks to Afghans who give up on what is now an open-ended, complex and completely voluntary resettlement process. In the speed and chaos of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August following 20 years of war, many evacuees were brought into the United States under a temporary status of “humanitarian parole.” Once transferred to U.S. military bases, refugee resettlement groups and U.S. officials have been trying to connect people with services for a smooth transition to the United States.
In a statement, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson declined to comment on the figures provided to Reuters by sources but said people who had left the bases “generally” had ties to the United States, like family members of friends, and resources to support themselves…. (Excerpts from Reuters)
District of Columbia | September 27, 2021
Key Trump defense official refutes Blinken, says Trump left Afghan withdrawal plan for Biden
District of Columbia | September 27, 2021
Kash Patel, former chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, blasted Secretary of State Antony Blinken for claiming that the Trump administration did not leave President Biden a plan for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. On the John Solomon Reports podcast on Thursday, Patel was asked if Blinken accurately told Congress that Trump left Biden a deadline for leaving Afghanistan without a plan. “No, absolutely not,” Patel replied. Criticizing Blinken for playing “politics with the national security apparatus of the United States,” Patel, who worked on the transition coordination team, said that the Trump administration did not leave Biden a deadline… (Excerpts from the Just the News)
District of Columbia | September 14, 2021
Rep. McCaul: Interpreters in Afghanistan Being Executed
District of Columbia | September 14, 2021
Rep. Michael McCaul, the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Taliban has already started to execute some of the 10,000 interpreters who worked with the U.S. in Afghanistan.
The Texas Republican’s comments came during an interview on CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Monday.
“The interpreters, who worked with our Special Forces, they are gone. The Taliban will not allow them to leave,” he said. “These are the guys who worked right with our special forces. The Taliban views them as the worst of the worse because they betrayed, in their view, their country and they worked with the infidel.”.. (Excerpts from Newsmax)
California, District of Columbia, Nebraska | September 7, 2021
Congressman: At Least 500 Americans Stranded in Afghanistan, Contradicting White House Estimates
California, District of Columbia, Nebraska | September 7, 2021
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), whose office has been working to evacuate two elderly U.S. citizens from Afghanistan, said it’s likely that about 500 Americans remain stranded in the country, a figure that’s at odds with estimates provided by White House officials.
“Unless we continue and get the rest of our American citizens, and all those otherwise eligible out, we won’t have done our job,” Issa told The Associated Press (AP), confirming the number.
When including the family members of U.S. citizens, Issa said the number of people stranded in Afghanistan could be as high as 1,000.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) stated to the news agency that the Biden administration needs to provide the full number of those left behind in the South Asian nation… (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)
District of Columbia | September 7, 2021
Taliban Blocking Americans From Leaving Afghanistan Because They Lack Proper Papers: Blinken
District of Columbia | September 7, 2021
The Taliban is blocking Americans from leaving Afghanistan because the U.S. citizens don’t have proper credentials, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed on Tuesday.
A top Republican in Congress said Sunday that the Taliban was blocking Americans from leaving an airport in Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan.
Six planes were being prevented from leaving the facility, House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said, adding that the Taliban was holding Americans “hostage for demands.”
Marina LeGree, executive director of Ascend, a nonprofit that works in Afghanistan, told AFP that 600-plus Afghans, in addition to 19 Americans, were being prevented from leaving the airport in question.
Blinken acknowledged “a relatively small number of Americans” are trying to leave Mazar-i-Sharif with their families. But he appeared to pin the blame on the Americans, suggesting they lacked proper documents, even as he admitted the State Department cannot verify manifests or documents because the United States no longer has a presence in the Taliban-held country…. (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)
District of Columbia | September 6, 2021
As Taliban Grounds Planes Out of Afghanistan, Biden Administration Says There’s Little It Can Do . . .
District of Columbia | September 6, 2021
The State Department says there is little it can do to help Americans and at-risk Afghans whose planes are reportedly grounded at an airport as the Taliban prevents them from leaving the country. At least six chartered planes are attempting to evacuate these Americans and others from Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport, but the Taliban is reportedly preventing them from taking off. Since it evacuated U.S. military forces and diplomatic personnel from the war-torn country, the Biden administration has not had the resources necessary to ensure that flights chartered by nonprofit groups and others can depart Afghanistan. …. (Excerpts from the Washington Free Beacon)