U.S. Amb. to Afghanistan: We Warned Americans to Leave Afghanistan and ‘People Chose Not to Leave’

During a portion of an interview aired on Tuesday’s “CBS Evening News,” acting U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson stated that despite warnings months ago for Americans to leave Afghanistan, “People chose not to leave. That’s their business. That’s their right. We regret now that many may find themselves in a position that they would rather not be in. And we are determined to try to help them.”

Host Norah O’Donnell asked, “Why didn’t the U.S. get out Americans and our Afghani friends before the Taliban were able to take control of Kabul? You warned about this in a cable. Were you ignored?”

Wilson answered, “We put out repeated warnings, every three weeks, to Americans, going back to, I think, March or April, each one in stronger terms, leave now, leave immediately. Never in my 40 years of working — since I began working at the State Department have I seen such strong language used. People chose not to leave. That’s their business. That’s their right. We regret now that many may find themselves in a position that they would rather not be in. And we are determined to try to help them.”

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