EXCLUSIVE: Internal Numbers Show White House Poised To Leave Several Thousand Americans Behind Enemy Lines In Afghanistan
Roughly 3,800 Americans have been evacuated from Afghanistan since July 29, with an estimated 8,000 remaining in the country, an official with direct knowledge of the situation told the Daily Caller on Tuesday. The official told the Caller that it seems “doubtful we are going to bring in 8,000 more Americans” between now and the Aug. 31 deadline.
The number has been masked by the White House and Pentagon in recent days, with Pentagon press secretary John Kirby saying Monday that “several thousand” Americans have been evacuated from Afghanistan. Both Kirby and National Security advisor Jake Sullivan declined to give a more specific number and the reasoning varied from non-answers to the “fluid” evacuation process going on in Kabul.
“I’d be reticent to get too more specific than that, but since the 14th, we believe we have been able to evacuate several thousand Americans,” Kirby told reporter. (RELATED: ‘Your Death Is Eminent’: Taliban Reportedly Hands Down Death Sentence For Brother Of Afghan Translator)
The official said while there’s been no clear direction on not reporting the numbers, it’s become a quiet rule among officials to avoid giving out a more precise number, in part because it’s “embarrassingly low.”
In early February, the assessment was that 16,000 Americans may be in Afghanistan, according to the official. This number has since been tailored down to around 12,000, likely because officials have been contacting Americans in an effort to sort out who remains in the country.
Over the past 24 hours, over 350 Americans departed Afghanistan, according to the official. The White House said early Tuesday that approximately 21,600 people were evacuated Kabul from August 23 at 3:00 am to August 24 at 3:00 am.
The U.S. has evacuated and helped evacuate around 58,700 people since August 14 and around 63,900 individuals since the end of July. The number of Americans leaving the country indicates that the vast majority of those leaving the country are not U.S. citizens – and that thousands more remain with under one week to go until the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline.
President Joe Biden is reportedly sticking to the Aug. 31 date, although multiple lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed concern that the U.S. can get all Americans out by the date.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed in a statement Tuesday that the administration is “on pace to finish by August 31st,” despite doubt from lawmakers.
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