Secretary Blinken took a victory lap on America getting out of Afghanistan, congratulating any and all who played a part in it. But he also played down the number of Americans trapped in Afghanistan, saying it’s just a small number:
Blinken just said only "a small number of Americans" remain in Afghanistan as hundreds of Americans still remain trapped under Taliban rule. pic.twitter.com/JBlsMGkbJl
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) August 30, 2021
It took Blinken over two minutes of his robotic speech to mention the Americans he and Biden left behind, and when he did here’s what he said:
We believe there are still a small number of Americans, under 200, and likely closer to 100, who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave. We’re trying to determine exactly how many. We’re going through manifests and calling and texting through our lists, and we’ll have more details to share as soon as possible.
Part of the challenge with fixing a precise number is that there are long time residents of Afghanistan, who have American passports and who are trying to determine whether or not they wanted to leave. Many are dual-citizen Americans with deep roots and extended families in Afghanistan, who’ve resided there for many years. For many, it’s a painful choice.
Our commitment to them, and all Americans in Afghanistan, and everywhere in the world, continues. The protection and welfare of Americans abroad remains the State Department’s most vital and enduring mission.
If an American in Afghanistan tells us that they want to stay for now, and then in a week or a month or a year, they reach out and say I’ve changed my mind, we will help them leave.
My goodness I don’t think I’ve ever transcribed a more robotic speech and delivery in my life. Just watch it if you don’t believe me.
But anyway, to Blinken’s point about helping Americans leave, how exactly will he do that? The Taliban are in control of the whole damn country thanks to him and Biden, and they are a freaking terrorist group. The Defense Department has already said that they won’t be evacuating more Americans going forward, so how do we get them out? Will he send the Taliban large sums of money? Will he send them more military equipment? I mean seriously, this situation is intolerable. He makes it sound like these Americans will be able to come and go as they please in Afghanistan. It’s as if he isn’t taking this seriously at all. But then I guess that attitude flows from the top.