The White House quietly corrects Biden about the number of U.S. citizens stuck in Afghanistan after the end of the war speech

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The White House quietly corrected after President Joe Biden said in a speech on Tuesday that 90% of US citizens who wanted to evacuate Afghanistan could leave.

NS A copy of his remarksDelivered from the White House, the numbers have been struck through and have been replaced by 98%.

“Currently, I believe that about 100-200 Americans are left in Afghanistan. Most of the remaining are dual citizens and have previously stayed in Afghanistan due to their family roots. A longtime resident who decided to leave. Conclusion: 90% of Afghan Americans who wanted to leave were able to leave, “Biden said in his speech.

Biden also said the evacuation of US citizens and Afghan allies from Kabul International Airport was “one of the largest airlifts” in history, with “more than 120,000 people safely evacuated.”

“For the rest of the Americans, there is no deadline,” he said again. “If they want to leave, we continue to promise to take them out. Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken is leading an ongoing diplomatic effort to ensure a safe passage for Americans, Afghan partners, or foreigners who want to leave Afghanistan. “

The United States wages war in Afghanistan in an attempt to eradicate al-Qaeda after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The speech marked the end of the longest nearly 20-year war in US history, on the day of the deadline he set for the withdrawal of US troops from the country.

After withdrawing abroad prior to the August 31 deadline set by Biden, the US-backed Afghan government collapsed and was taken over by the Taliban. A suicide explosion outside the airport gates on Thursday killed 13 U.S. military personnel and dozens of people in an attack blamed by Islamic State affiliates.

(White House)

Biden earlier this month Interview with ABCNews, US troops will not leave Afghanistan until all US citizens who want to leave the country have been evacuated.

“If American citizens remain, we’ll stay to get rid of them all,” he said.

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During his remarks on Tuesday, Biden also spoiled the name of the rescue mission, calling it an “Allied rescue operation.” The White House records show that the strikethrough has been struck through and the correct name, Operation Allies Refuge, has been added in parentheses.

He said the operation “eventually brought out more than 5,500 Americans. We diplomatically with thousands of citizens from those countries who entered Afghanistan with us to get bin Laden. We took out officials. We took out locally hired staff from the US Embassy and its families, for a total of about 2,500 people. “

“Thousands of Afghan translators and interpreters who helped the United States also went out, believing that about 100-200 Americans are now left in Afghanistan with the intention of leaving. Most of the remaining people have long been dual citizens.-Residents of the time who previously decided to stay because of their family roots in Afghanistan, “Biden added.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in a speech Monday that the United States had moved diplomatic activities from the Afghan embassy to Doha, Qatar.

He also said less “200, probably close to 100” US citizens Those who want to leave the country after the withdrawal of the United States remain in Afghanistan, and the administration tries to help them leave the country.

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“We have made extraordinary efforts to give Americans every opportunity to leave the country — often talking and sometimes taking them to the airport,” Blinken said. “Of those who identify themselves as Americans in Afghanistan and are considering leaving the country, we have been confirmed that about 6,000 have so far left the country by evacuation or other means. It may continue to increase as our support and arrival continue.

“We believe that there are still a small number of Americans (under 200 years old, probably close to 100) who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave. We are trying to identify exactly some. Part of the challenge in correcting the exact number is that there are long-time residents of Afghanistan who have an American passport, and many have deeply rooted in Afghanistan, expanded their families, and lived there for many years. It’s a double-citizen American who is out there. For many, it’s a painful choice, “he added. “Our commitment to them, all Americans in Afghanistan, and everywhere in the world continues.”

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tag: news, Joe Biden, White House, Afghanistan, International security

Original author: Daniel Chaitin, Jerry Dunleavy

Original location: The White House quietly corrects Biden about the number of U.S. citizens stuck in Afghanistan after the end of the war speech

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