Pentagon Contradicts White House on ‘Stranded’ Americans: ‘We Have Americans that Get Stranded in Countries All the Time’

The Pentagon’s spokesman on Tuesday acknowledged Americans are “stranded” in Afghanistan, contradicting the White House press secretary’s assertion on August 24 “it’s irresponsible to say Americans are stranded. They are not.”

When Pentagon spokesman John Kirby (pictured) was asked by MSNBC’s Willie Geist how diplomacy will get Americans “out of the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan,” Kirby replied that like other locations in the world, “we have Americans that get stranded in countries all the time.”

“It’s not completely unlike the way we do it elsewhere around the world,” Kirby prefaced. “We have Americans that get stranded in countries all the time, and we do everything we can to try to facilitate safe passage.”

Flashback to August 24, White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked if President Joe Biden’s bingled evacuation caused Americans to be stranded.

“Does the President have a sense that most of the criticism is not of leaving Afghanistan, it’s the way that he has ordered it to happen — by pulling the troops before getting these Americans who are now stranded?” Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked. “Does he have a sense of that?”

“First of all, I think it’s irresponsible to say Americans are stranded. They are not,” Psaki claimed. “We are committed to bringing Americans, who want to come home, home. We are in touch with them via phone, via text, via e-mail, via any way that we can possibly reach Americans to get them home if they want to return home.”

Peter Doocy followed up by trying to confirm what he just heard – no Americans were stranded in Afghanistan.

“’There are no Americans stranded’ is the White House’s official position on what’s happening in Afghanistan right now?” he asked.

Psaki responded indirectly, “I’m just calling you out for saying that we are stranding Americans in Afghanistan.”

“When I — when we have been very clear that we are not leaving Americans who want to return home. We are going to bring them home. And I think that’s important for the American public to hear and understand,” she claimed.

But Biden did not bring all Americans home.

Gen. Kenneth McKenzie acknowledged Monday in a Pentagon press conference after the U.S. evacuation was completed that Biden did not save “everyone” stranded behind enemy lines in Afghanistan.

“There’s a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure. We did not get everyone out that we wanted to get out,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie’s words contradicted Biden’s promise on August 19 during an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, when he asked Biden if he was “committed” to rescuing all Americans.

“And are you committed to making sure that the troops stay until every American who wants to be out–,” Stephanopoulos asked.