U.S. citizens who seek to flee the Taliban will face a $2,000 evacuation fee. This is $10,000 for a family with 5 U.S. citizens.
August 14th, State Dept.'s Overseas Security Advisory Council stated that repatriation flights aren't free. Passengers will need to sign a promissory agreement and may not be eligible for renewal of their U.S. passports until the loan is repaid. The cost may exceed $2,000 per person. https://t.co/K9bb3xtoYE pic.twitter.com/2pPo3n64dJ Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) August 19, 2021
The U.S. government has a right to say that repatriation flights don't come free. However, I believe it is more important than what was in the Covid-19 relief packages, or what was nominally infrastructure in the trillion-dollar package in the House. This includes $1 billion for the Appalachian Regional Commission co-chaired and voted on by Senator Joe Manchins spouse.
State would be the one to tell that I paid for the Kabul Embassy. I should have negotiated a lower sale price. CMD09 (@shyunodoslucky) August 19, 2021
I wish they would get complimentary cocktails on their flight. If they make it to the airport alive. CatLvr5303 (@CatLvr5303) August 19, 2021
This is standard policy. There is very little that has been consistent about the withdrawal from Afghanistan. While it was obvious that the U.S. was leaving Afghanistan, there were also warnings. Official policy was not to raise alarms about possible consequences in order to not undermine the confidence in the Afghan government. This is not the first time an administration granted an emergency waiver in the last 18 months.
(HT: @crucker
