Aug
29
Biden Refuses to Use Full Resources to Rescue Americans
“The Biden administration is not lacking the resources, they’re lacking the will to get our people out. All our resources and energy should be focused on getting Americans home safely.” — Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), veteran of War in Afghanistan and Navy reservist
Like several of his colleagues in Congress, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL)* is very frustrated with the apparently risk-averse attitude of Biden’s State Department. (“Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops.” — President Biden) How else to explain their reluctance to authorize more extractions of Americans and Afghan allies from Afghanistan before the Taliban-mandated deadline of Aug. 31?
As per Susan Crabtree at RealClearPolitics:
“Republicans and several Democrats have repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for declining to extend the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline to guarantee the safe evacuations of all Americans and people who have applied for an SIV [Special Immigrant Visa].”
British and German special forces are carrying out rescue missions in Kabul and elsewhere to get their people out. German commandos even used “Little Bird” helicopters on loan from the U.S. It is also true that CIA personnel and U.S. ground troops have used helicopters to extract some Americans. Meanwhile, our State Department wrings its hands and issues an alert to Americans and Afghans saying, “U.S. Government cannot ensure safe passage to the airport,” and telling them to stop calling the U.S. Embassy. Just wait for email updates. But, the administration has indicated that some will likely be left behind, and it doesn’t seem to too concerned about that.
From Crabtree’s piece:
“Waltz said there should have been a number of safe zones set up for Americans to gather for coordinated airlifts with an agreement from the Taliban not to impede or threaten the departure in any way. ‘We need to be telling them about consequences [for them], not getting dictated to,’ Waltz remarked.
One widely used, U.S. military-developed technology that could have made locating and rescuing Americans far easier was rejected for use in Afghanistan just days ago, according to several defense industry sources, although it’s unclear if the military and CIA have started using it in the limited extraction missions they are now conducting.”
According to a State Dept. spokesperson,
“We are continuing to contact the Americans who have registered with Embassy Kabul to determine whether or not they are still in Afghanistan, and to help them evacuate if they want to leave. We are executing plans on the ground to move Americans and their immediate family members to safety and into the airport compound.”
Waltz noted that a Pentagon briefing he attended indicated that “the U.S. military has the ability, the technology and the resources to conduct the rescue missions, but top officials aren’t authorizing enough of them.”
Crabtree concludes:
“Meanwhile, a loose, private group of military veterans, defense contractors, members of the intelligence community, human rights advocates, Capitol Hill aides and even former chiefs of staff to Cabinet secretaries are using the encrypted Signal cellphone application to organize chaotic evacuation efforts for Afghans and Americans alike, Politico reported Thursday in a first-hand piece about the frenzied efforts.”
As many others have said, Biden is screwing the pooch on this whole situation, and Americans and our allies are paying for it with their lives.
* Rep. Waltz is a combat-decorated Green Beret, veteran of the War in Afghanistan, and currently a colonel in the Army National Guard. He served as a defense policy director under two U.S. Secretaries of Defense before co-founding and building a successful defense contract company.
