Biden administration says rescue operation is proof of its commitment to vulnerable citizens, but won't promise effort will continue past Aug. 31.
“Our plan is to safely evacuate the people who worked with us,” Sullivan said. “We are making provisions to have them come to the airport and get on evacuation flights.… between now and the end of the month.”
Sen. Ben Sasse called the response “unacceptable” in a blistering statement. “The White House’s politically-driven timetable cannot outweigh American lives,” he said. “America’s message, to our friends and to the Taliban, should be crystal clear: We will move heaven and earth to get every last American in Afghanistan back to American soil, period.”urged the president to extend the deadline for a full withdrawal and “stay as long as necessary” to evacuate not just those who assisted the U.S.
Although Sullivan said Tuesday that the State Department had accelerated the process for special immigrant visas, relatively few applicants have successfully navigated a bureaucratic thicket complicated by the rushed drawdown of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.On Monday night, Biden freed up $500 million from an emergency fund for refugees due to the crisis.
A successful airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans could allow Biden to tamp down the criticism, at least from Democrats, over the miscalculations of the withdrawal. But it’s unclear how far the administration might go to ensure that Biden makes good on his vow not to leave America’s wartime allies behind.
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