The bipartisan 58-member House Problem Solvers Caucus demanded Wednesday evening for President Joe Biden to extend the Taliban-Enforced deadline extension.
Reps. Anthony Gonzales (R-OH) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) led the effort and issued a statement imploring the Biden administration to “reconsider its timeline and provide a clear plan to Congress that will result in the completion of our shared national objectives”:
[I]t is apparent that the Administration’s set date for departure from Afghanistan on August 31st does not provide enough time to evacuate all American citizens and our partners. We respectfully call on the Administration to reconsider its timeline and provide a clear plan to Congress that will result in the completion of our shared national objectives.
As Democrats and Republicans, we stand united in our commitment to protecting U.S. citizens, diplomats, intelligence officers, and our foreign partners who are currently attempting to flee Afghanistan.
The demand letter comes as European allies are deserting Biden’s deadly evacuation operation due to increased risk from terror threats around Kabul airport. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby confirmed Wednesday an explosion occurred outside Kabul airport, but tweeted, “Casualties are unclear at this time.” Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Turkey have said they will no longer be able to assist, withdrawing their troops while ending evacuation flights.
In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, a U.S. Air Force Airman guides evacuees aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 24, 2021. (Senior Airman Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force via AP)
The European allies discontinuing assistance in Biden’s deadly evacuation came just after the U.S. embassy Kabul announced on Wednesday “security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport,” advising Americans “to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so.
As of Wednesday, 4,100 Americans remain trapped behind enemy lines in Afghanistan, and many are not in or around Kabul, a Senate aide told CNN. Approximately 4,400 U.S. citizens and their families have been evacuated out of Afghanistan. The Pentagon said Wednesday, nearly 10,000 people are waiting at Hamid Karzai International Airport for a flight. The Taliban-enforced evacuation deadline is in four days.
Taliban fighters wait for their meals to be served as they lunch at a restaurant in Kabul on August 26, 2021, after the Taliban’s military takeover following the US troop withdrawal. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø.
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