On Monday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal attacked the White House and State Department. He claimed that he was furious at inability to secure planes for evacuation of a group American and Afghan allies.
Blumenthal, a Democrat sitting on the Senate Armed Services Committee said that he was frustrated and even furious at the inaction of our governments. I expect the White House to do everything possible, and absolutely everything to make this happen. These are American citizens, Afghans, who risked their lives for the country. We can't leave them behind.
Senator from Connecticut said that he and his staff worked together with a coalition nongovernmental organizations, former service members, to secure two planes to evacuate American citizens, Afghan allies, as well as their families, from Afghanistan to Doha (Qatar), where many evacuees are currently being processed.
CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES RECEIVE HARROWING REPORTS FROM AFGHANISTAN EVACUUEES AND TRAPPED CITIZENS
Blumenthal stated that I have not yet spoken publicly about these efforts as we were concerned that increased attention would only increase tensions and make these people more vulnerable to being targeted.
However, efforts to get the planes into Mazar-e Sharif have been hampered by the Biden administration.
Other congressional offices that coordinate evacuation efforts have also reported similar frustrations with State Department.
According to the Texas Republican office of Rep. Dan Crenshaw last week, after securing a charter flight for a group of Americans, which included lawful permanent residents and Special Immigrant Visa holders to evacuate the group, the State Department withheld clearance due to the ISIS K bombing at Kabul's airport that claimed 13 lives. The State Department was also unable to coordinate overflight rights with Saudi Arabia and coordination to land at Jordan.
Continue the story
Over the past few weeks, President Joe Biden has been subject to criticisms from within his party regarding his handling of Afghanistan's withdrawal.
New Jersey Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez took a swipe at the Biden Administration for working with Taliban to secure passage through Taliban controlled areas following the Kabul bombing. While we wait for more details, one thing is certain: We don't trust the Taliban with our security.
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Numerous Democratic-led committees indicated that they would investigate the flawed execution of withdrawals.
We will have plenty of time to hold those responsible for the inexcusable bureaucratic red tape that left so many Afghan allies stranded. Blumenthal stated Monday that my sole focus is to get these planes into the air and safely to Doha's air base, where they have been cleared for landing.
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Tags: News, Richard Blumenthal. Congress, White House. State Department. Afghanistan
Original Author: Emily Brooks
Original Location: Blumenthal is furious at the Biden administration for failing to secure evacuation planes
