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House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that it would be “impossible” for the United States to evacuate all Americans and complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan, following President Joe Biden’s voluntary deadline.
“There is no way we can get rid of all the Americans still in Afghanistan in the next seven days,” McCarthy said. Said During a press conference after a confidential briefing on this issue.
As time runs out prior to Biden’s end-August deadline, vulnerable Afghans and foreigners fearing a revengeful crackdown by Taliban terrorist groups want to escape the country, Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. I will continue to gather at.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Byden administration said more than 4,000 American citizens and their families had been evacuated from the country since August 14, the day before the Taliban terrorist group took control of Kabul.
Americans are a small subset of about 59,000 people evacuated. Most are Afghans who have received or applied for a special immigrant visa (SIV) or other visa. The SIV program was created to protect Afghanistan’s allies who endangered their lives in support of the US military in Afghanistan.
“We are only three weeks from the 20th anniversary of 9/11,” continued McCarthy. “America … should never allow the Taliban to tell us when we have to stop taking Americans out. We should stay until all Americans can escape from Afghanistan. . “
Republican lawmakers’ remarks come from the allies previously urging Biden to extend its evacuation operation from Kabul beyond August 31 in a warning that the Taliban would have “results.” ..
Biden, meanwhile, has sought to assure the public that the United States is on track to complete its evacuation mission, as long as the Taliban continue to cooperate.
Biden said at a press conference on Tuesday, “We are currently at a pace to finish by August 31st. The sooner we can finish, the better.” “Daily operations pose additional risks to our troops, but completion by August 31 will continue to work with the Taliban to give people in transit access to the airport, and ours. It depends on not interrupting the operation. “
He emphasized that keeping US troops in the country past the deadline puts them at risk from terrorist attacks from a group called ISIS-K.
McCarthy also said on Tuesday that the House of Representatives should pass a resolution that the August 31 deadline should be extended until the evacuation mission in Afghanistan is completed.
With Biden’s deadline of just a few days, the White House asked reporters for details on the contact information of an American who reported being stuck in Afghanistan.
Several Americans told the press that they were stuck in Afghanistan and could not reach the US-owned airport in Kabul, which is surrounded by Taliban checkpoints.
The administration began telling Americans in Afghanistan to leave a few months ago, and recently sent text messages and emails to all who remain in the country many times.
US troops rarely leave Kabul’s international airport, and Americans and Afghans who want to flee the country before the impending US withdrawal are forced by brave terrorists and others.
There was a group beating of Americans and Afghans, Pentagon officials confirmed over the weekend.
Biden urged the Pentagon and the Department of State to develop an emergency response plan in the event that the mission was not completed by 31 August.
Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Isabelle van Brugen
Reporter
Isabel van Brugen is an award-winning journalist and currently a news reporter for The Epoch Times. She holds a master’s degree in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.
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