With fears rising over who would be left behind in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken pledged on Wednesday that any Americans and Afghans who wish to leave will be allowed to.
Blinken Will Use Every Available Tool To Rescue Afghans
In a recently published article in MSN News, Blinken promised to use "every available tool" to eventually rescue vulnerable Afghans whose lives would be especially dangerous under Taliban rule but whose transportation out of the country would be far more difficult, particularly those who had worked with the U.S. for the previous two decades.
He also emphasized that there is no deadline in rescuing American citizens and Afghans who worked closely with the American troops for two decades. Blinken stressed out that those who want to leave the country amid the chaos and life-threatening situation will be helped.
Furthermore, thousands of Afghans eager to flee swarmed the Kabul airport, making that statement ring hollow. Several hundred key staff employees from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and associated State Department programs have also been left behind, claiming they were not called to the early evacuations that emptied the embassy of its U.S. citizen personnel and now feel abandoned, according to a published article in Muscatine Journal.
Evacuation Will Continue Even After the Deadline
The deadline set by the Biden administration to evacuate U.S. citizens and vulnerable Afghans from the Central Asian country has been extended, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledging on Wednesday to continue evacuating individuals beyond the August 31 deadline.
Blinken said the administration is working on "detailed plans" to get people out of Afghanistan after the self-imposed deadline of the end of the month, and that both the U.S. government and the international community expect people who want to leave Afghanistan after the US military leaves to be able to do so, according to a report published in the U.S. News.
Furthermore, President Joe Biden made a more definite and broad commitment on Tuesday, but Blinken's remarks were more decisive and expansive. Despite significant domestic and international demands to extend the deadline to guarantee the safe withdrawal of both Americans and Afghans facing threats, the president adhered to the August 31 deadline, saying he was having "contingency" plans made out in case the mission was not finished by that date.
However, the fact that the Taliban, which has taken control of Afghanistan but wants to establish itself as a powerful force on the international stage as it transitions to actually running the country, has adopted the August 31 deadline as its own, stating that they will not accept an extension, further complicates the timeline.
Statistics of American Citizens and Afghans Who Fled and are About to be Rescued
In a recently published article in the Daily Mail, since August 14, 82,300 Americans and qualified Afghans have been flown out of the country and 87,900 have been evacuated since late July, according to the White House. This includes 19,000 in the last 24 hours, a rate that the government claims significantly surpasses expectations and prior media forecasts.
Blinken gave the first details on American citizens, saying that at least 4,500 Americans and their families have been evacuated, with 500 leaving in the preceding 24 hours. He said that up to 1,500 Americans remain and that the State Department has made several attempts to contact them by phone, text, and email, providing advice on how to safely leave.
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