Sen. Richard Blumenthal ripped the Biden administration over its “delay and inaction” to facilitate the evacuation of multiple plane-loads of Americans and Afghan allies stranded in Afghanistan.
Multiple charter planes, reportedly containing hundreds of Americans and Afghan allies, ready to depart Afghanistan have remained grounded at an airport in Mazar-i-Sharif for days as the private groups overseeing the extraction await approval to leave the country.
Conflicting reports have made claims about who exactly is keeping those planes grounded, some suggested that it was the Taliban – while others said the Biden administration itself was standing in the way of getting those plans in the air.
At the very least, Biden’s State Department has done nothing to help get those Americans out of the terrorist controlled country and now even Democrats are growing sick and tired of Biden’s treason.
Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, ripped the administration on Monday.
“My staff & I have worked night & day to secure the safe passage of two planes waiting in Mazar-e Sharif to take American citizens, at-risk Afghan allies, & their families to safety,” Blumenthal said.
“My office joined forces in this humanitarian mission with an incredible coalition of advocates—NGOs, former servicemembers, & journalists—to try & evacuate our fellow citizens & Afghan allies.”
“I haven’t yet spoken publicly about these efforts because we worried that heightened attention would only escalate tensions & put these people at even greater risk of being targeted,” he continued.
“I have been deeply frustrated, even furious at our government’s delay & inaction. There will be plenty of time to seek accountability for the inexcusable bureaucratic red tape that stranded so many of our Afghan allies.”
“For now, my singular focus remains getting these planes in the air & safely to our airbase in Doha, where they have already been cleared to land,” the senator added. “I expect the White House & State Department to do everything in their power—absolutely everything—to make this happen. These are Americans citizens & Afghans who risked everything for our country. We cannot leave them behind.”
A State Department official recently claimed to the Washington Free Beacon that the government has minimal resources to offer aid to the private groups leading the evacuation efforts which involve getting hundreds of Americans and Afghan allies out of Mazar-i-Sharif.
“We do not have personnel on the ground, we do not have air assets in the country, we do not control the airspace — whether over Afghanistan or elsewhere in the region,” the official said. “We understand the concern that many people are feeling as they try to facilitate further charter and other passage out of Afghanistan.”
“Given these constraints, we also do not have a reliable means to confirm the basic details of charter flights, including who may be organizing them, the number of U.S. citizens and other priority groups on-board, the accuracy of the rest of the manifest, and where they plan to land, among many other issues,” the official added.
The Taliban, meanwhile, have claimed ignorance when asked about the grounded flights. “This is not true. Our Mujahideen have nothing to do with ordinary Afghans. This is propaganda and we reject it,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the BBC.
Author: Arthur Fyse
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