The White House denied that Americans are “stranded” in Afghanistan, calling it an “irresponsible” characterization of the thousands of United States citizens stuck in Kabul and around the war-torn country.
“I think it’s irresponsible to say Americans are stranded,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at Monday’s briefing when asked whether the troops should have been pulled out before the evacuations of Americans and allies were complete. “They are not.”
“I’m calling you out for saying we are stranding Americans in Afghanistan when we have been very clear that we are not leaving Americans who want to return home,” Psaki added when asked a follow-up question about whether it was the administration’s position that no one is “stranded.”
ONCE A POINT OF AGREEMENT, BIDEN AND TRUMP TRADE BLAME ON AFGHANISTAN
Psaki noted the various attempts to contact Americans in Afghanistan, including telephone, text, and email messages.
Former President Donald Trump criticized Biden for removing troops before the evacuations.
“Biden’s biggest mistake was not understanding that the Military has to be last out the door, not first out the door,” Trump said in a Monday statement. “Civilians and equipment go first and then, when everyone and everything is out, the Military goes. So simple, and yet it wasn’t done. Tragic!”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that U.S. officials had worried about hastening the collapse of the government in Kabul by evacuating too soon.
“The Afghan government and its supporters … made a passionate case that we should not conduct a massive evacuation lest we trigger a loss of confidence in the government,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House daily press briefing. He conceded the delay did not save the U.S.-backed government.
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Reports out of Afghanistan have depicted an increasingly desperate situation outside the airport in Kabul as Americans and Afghans attempt to flee.
On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Sullivan said “several thousand” Americans still needed to be evacuated, with some uncertainty about the precise number.
“I know that the scenes around the airport are heartbreaking, large crowds of people wanting to leave,” he said. “I know that there is complexity, and there is turbulence on the ground and in Kabul, and it’s very risky and dangerous because there’s a genuine threat from ISIS … I’m not going to sugarcoat that reality.”
