In the aftermath of the shocking collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government last month, U.S. defense officials estimated that Taliban militants took dozens of aircraft including Blackhawk helicopters and thousands of vehicles, communications equipment and weapons.
Afghan refugees are subject to security and health screening performed by Department of Homeland Security officials before they’re evacuated to the U.S. or a third country for additional processing, a Biden administration senior official said.
From the list of issues we already worry about, we can add that America will have to deal with a potentially devastating terrorist attack. Furthermore, we should not discount that an attack could come on or near the 20th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“We can confirm that a number of U.S. service members were killed in today’s complex attack at Kabul airport,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement after the WSJ report. Kirby didn’t specify the number of fatalities.
An Afghan Army commander said Wednesday that the reason his troops couldn’t fight any longer against the Taliban was largely because they felt abandoned by the U.S. and President Joe Biden.
It’s not enough to set up a government office to deliver services. Director Dolan, backed by the governor, needs to mobilize our institutions of civil society to welcome and assist these Afghan friends of America — refugee priority No. 1.
Even in the face of international opposition, we moved Afghanistan into a post-Taliban era. We showed the world what it meant to stand up for human rights. And in just two weeks, Joe Biden caused 20 years of sacrifice and service to crumble to the ground.
The Taliban has seized dozens of aircraft and thousands of weapons, vehicles and pieces of high-tech equipment in Afghanistan that was funded by the U.S. government, Reuters reported.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins wants the defense secretary to explain what happened to billions of dollars of military equipment in Afghanistan that is either now or could soon be in the hands of the Taliban.
The White House may have thought abandoning Afghanistan was low-risk. Biden may have thought Americans didn’t care — but he forgot that Americans also don’t like to be lied to. They don’t like to be humiliated. They don’t like to have their safety and security jeopardized.
The Pentagon has refused to respond to questions regarding the Taliban’s seizure of billions of dollars worth of weapons the U.S. previously gave to Afghan security forces. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said Wednesday that he “preferred not to discuss” any potential actions the U.S. could take.
“If the mission is not complete by Aug. 31, and there are Americans and Afghan allies who remain there, will U.S. troops stay until everyone is out or will they leave?” CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang asked.