Biden Must Own What Comes Next as American Citizens Blocked from Kabul Airport: Lawmakers
United States citizens trying to escape Afghanistan have been blocked from getting into Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, Republican lawmakers charge, and they are placing the blame squarely on President Joe Biden and his State Department for doing enough to get Americans out.
Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson vented his anger and frustration in a Saturday Twitter post, enraged at an apparent lack of communication between the government and those who need to be rescued, with time running out on the Aug. 31 deadline for American forces to leave the country.
“I am furious!!” the lawmaker, Navy veteran and former White House physician wrote. “My team has been on the phone all day trying to get AMERICAN CITIZENS out. They have been just outside the airport numerous times, but the State Department WILL NOT help them.”
“They have been beaten by the Taliban at check points and told to leave and come back with large sums of money. Biden is going to get them killed! Enough!! We have put someone who gives a damn in charge RIGHT NOW!”
They have been beaten by the Taliban at check points and told to leave and come back with large sums of money. Biden is going to get them killed! Enough!! We have put someone who gives a damn in charge RIGHT NOW!
— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) August 29, 2021
Shortly after, fellow Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a well known and vocal opponent of President Joe Biden’s Afghanistan strategy, confirmed Jackson’s claim.
“America, you need to know this: Biden is not letting US citizens through the airport gates. It has been impossible to get anyone through for the last 24 hours. This administration has been lying about their intent to save Americans. Unforgivable,” tweeted Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who lost an eye fighting in Afghanistan.
America, you need to know this: Biden is not letting US citizens through the airport gates. It has been impossible to get anyone through for the last 24 hours.
This administration has been lying about their intent to save Americans. Unforgivable.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 29, 2021
Their tweets contradict the Pentagon’s comments about who is being allowed entry into the airport, as Breitbart reported.
“Any U.S. passport holder that wants to get in can get in. And we are still, if I’m wrong here, I don’t think I’m wrong, we are still processing and getting on planes SIV applicant as well vulnerable Afghans,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said at a briefing Saturday.
“So they’re being allowed onto the airport?” a reporter asked.
“Yes, as far as I know, yes,” Kirby replied.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CBS News on Sunday that there are “roughly” 300 Americans still left in the country who are trying to flee Taliban control.
However, Sullivan also said there are Americans who have chosen not to leave.
“Maybe they’ve lived there for many years. Maybe they have extended family there,” he said.
He did not give a number on those cases.
With the Tuesday deadline still in effect, citizens and those with Special Immigration Visas are scrambling to leave Afghanistan or potentially face the wrath of the Taliban.
The stakes have escalated following the savage ISIS-K suicide bombing near the airport last week, killing at least 170 Afghans and 13 American soldiers, CNN reported.
There was even a “credible threat” to the airport this weekend, and U.S. citizens were asked by the State Department to “leave the area immediately.”
#Afghanistan: Due to a specific, credible threat, U.S. citizens near Kabul airport, including South gate, new Ministry of the Interior, and gate near Panjshir Petrol station, should leave the area immediately. Avoid traveling to the airport at this time. https://t.co/wU0jfVIdfZ pic.twitter.com/ghd9w7Cme2
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) August 29, 2021
Biden and his team are fully aware that the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan could have ended more peacefully, but instead let it turn into a chaotic bloodbath.
And he’s responsible for the consequences.
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