CBS’s Tyab: Biden Administration’s Afghanistan Policy Is to Keep It ‘Off the Front Page’

During a report on the CBS News Streaming Network on Tuesday, CBS News Foreign Correspondent Imtiaz Tyab reported that the Biden administration is pursuing an Afghanistan policy of “off the front page, that they don’t want Afghanistan to be a top or front-page news story” due to how badly the withdrawal went and how terrible the situation in the country is now.

After Tyab discussed the bureaucracy around the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process, co-host Anne-Marie Green questioned how serious the administration is about streamlining the process and then asked, “I’m curious, Imtiaz, I can understand how some of these translators would feel abandoned. What is the view of the United States in Afghanistan right now? How do they feel about the U.S.?”

Tyab answered, “We understand, or we have been told that, from the Biden administration’s point of view, when it comes to Afghanistan, they’re essentially pursuing a policy, which is effectively known as off the front page, that they don’t want Afghanistan to be a top or front-page news story, a top story for us because of how disastrous the withdrawal was. ‘Botched’ is the word that is [used] to describe it and the horrific situation that Afghanistan finds itself [in] today.”

Tyab further stated that most of the Afghans he talked to weren’t angry with the U.S. and were happy that there were improvements in their lives during the war.

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett