Civic Register
| 8.24.21
Bipartisan Lawmakers & NATO Allies Urge Extension of August 31st Withdrawal Deadline to Ensure Evacuation of Afghan Allies
Do you agree or disagree with extending the August 31st deadline?
What’s the story?
- Bipartisan lawmakers and NATO allies are urging President Joe Biden to extend the August 31st deadline he imposed for the completion of the evacuation from Afghanistan amid concerns there won’t be enough time to evacuate all civilians and Afghan allies at risk of reprisal from the Taliban.
- Biden initially set this withdrawal deadline as September 11th ― the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people ― but moved it up to August 31st in July. State Dept. Spokesman Ned Price told reporters that the decision is ultimately the president’s and that, “Our commitment to the people of Afghanistan will endure long beyond August 31st” without offering specifics on how evacuations would continue following a military pull out.
- With a week remaining in the month, it’s unknown how many American citizens, citizens of NATO member countries, or Afghan allies and their families remain in Afghanistan. The pace of evacuations has picked up in recent days, but it’s unclear whether it will be enough to evacuate all the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants who worked for the U.S. and face possible execution at the Taliban’s hands. SIV applicants have reportedly been subject to beatings and executions at Taliban checkpoints around Kabul in recent days.
- Beyond the non-combatant evacuees, there are roughly 6,000 American troops plus 600 Afghan security forces and more than 1,000 NATO personnel securing Hamid Karzai International Airport, and it will reportedly take several days to evacuate them once the civilian evacuation phase of the Kabul Airlift ends. Military advisors have reportedly told President Biden he should make a decision by Tuesday about whether the deadline will be extended.
- Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman said the following to Sky News about the deadline:
“It’s a red line. President Biden announced that on 31 August they would withdraw all their military forces… If the U.S. or U.K. were to seek additional time to continue evacuations ― the answer is no. Or there would be consequences.”
- The British, French, and Germans ― all NATO allies with troops alongside the U.S. Marines and Soldiers at the airport in Kabul ― have urged the U.S. government to extend the deadline. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to use the G7 meeting Tuesday to press Biden on the issue.
- Lawmakers in Congress received their first in-person classified briefing about the situation in Afghanistan on Monday and several expressed deep skepticism that the evacuation will be completed by August 31st.
- House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) was asked by reporters whether he thinks it will be feasible to conclude the evacuation by August 31st and responded:
“I think it’s possible, but I think it’s very unlikely. Given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of SIVs, the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders, women leaders. It’s hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished by the end of the month.”
- Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), an Army veteran who served in Iraq as an intelligence advisor, told National Review that the U.S. must keep its commitment to the Afghan interpreters and their families:
“Their service was on a promise that if we left we would take them with us. The consequences of not keeping that commitment to them will be dire. There’s obviously the moral and humanitarian consequences of our allies being left to fend for themselves and potentially be hunted down by the Taliban. There’s the degree to which that betrayal of our allies will be internalized and felt by members of our military and veterans’ community, and what that will do to them both psychologically and operationally.”
- Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who served in Iraq as a CIA analyst, tweeted that U.S. is confronting “tough choices” but that the “August 31 deadline must be pushed back” which “entails risk since I understand it was negotiated with the Taliban” and added:
“After 20 years at war, our actions over the next week will leave the most lasting impression around the world - and I want the U.S. to be known as a nation that takes risks for those who risk everything for us.”
- Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), a Navy SEAL veteran who was wounded by an IED in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province and lost an eye, urged Biden to extend the deadline in a tweet:
“By refusing to extend the self-imposed Aug 31st deadline, President Biden is turning this disaster into something far worse. It could turn deadly for US citizens left behind. I don’t care what the Taliban says, fight for our people until the job is done.”
RELATED READING
- America’s NATO Allies Criticize Afghanistan Withdrawal - 'Biggest Debacle NATO Has Suffered’ (8/22/21)
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz - Central Command Public Affairs / Public Domain)
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Check out the new docuseries, “Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror” on Netflix. It is an expansive and detailed historical study about HOW & WHY we got to 9/11, with an almost complete history of WHEN & WHY Afghanistan became a focal point for the American government and the American people. This 5 episode series explains so much and in such detail, afterwards you’ll know EXACTLY WHY we left Afghanistan, and WHY we should have left much sooner than August of 2021! It’s ALL there. And it’s ALL the TRUTH! The main idea I got out of it is this: Never go to war without a clear exit strategy that leaves the invaded country better than you found it. NOT doing so will be catastrophic!
Extend the deadline until all American citizens are evacuated.
The taliban should be happy to see these people leave. After all what are they going to do with them but kill them.
We could have gotten more of the Afghans out. Those who worked with us. We owe it to them!!!! Those Americans who want to remain run a terrible risk. Those who could not make it out would have had more time to get out along with their loved ones. Just like Saigon . I remember that time well.
He has blood on his hands. He should have extended the date of evacuation. Americans should have been evacuated first and camp should have been held till Afghanis that helped American soldiers women and children removed next. Last would be to dismantle and removing as much equipment as possible and disarm the rest of equipment so no one could use it. Then evacuate the Afghanis men and our military. Traitor!!!
We need to cut back on military spending! Foreign wars that accomplish nothing wastes our precious youth. All we had to do to stop OSAMA was find and stop the money train from Saudi Arabia. We need to work smarter not harder.
What else is new? What tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive, and Xi Jinping Biden has been weaving for decades!
Get as many people out as possible as safely as possible.
This (as usual) is a double edged sword. In other words: Damned if we do, damned if we don't. The Taliban cannot be trusted no matter how you look at it. As usual the United States are left to clean up someone else's mess and we all know who I'm talking about. I am putting my faith into what an old profit once wrote: " Out of greater Persia shall come the third anti-Christ and shall reign for 27 years." So the time is drawing near when all will be right with the world. Personally I am sick and tired of financially supporting a people and it's government who are to damn lazy to fight for their own freedoms. Our own has been neglected for far too long and its is time for the people of the U.S. to start working on ourselves and our own country. Between forest fires and storms destroying the land, killing innocent people, and fighting among ourselves, we are, indeed, destroying ourselves. Time to get down to the business of salvaging what we can. Every one of us knows what needs to be done so we might as well just DO IT. Our own law makers evidently don't know how, so it is up to the everyday citizen to show the way.
They are all more than welcome to extend that deadline but we are done. I wish them great success! Time for them to take a turn. Yes, very good!
This administration claims all Americans that want to leave Afghanistan, can leave Afghanistan. When are those flights leaving? Who will help those Americans get to the airport? There are no US flights leaving currently. Veterans and religious-associated groups are risking their lives to rescue trapped American citizens. We owe them a debt of gratitude as they continue to serve our country. Meanwhile in Afghanistan, Americans and translators and their families are being beaten, whipped, and slaughtered because they were left behind. I pray for their rescues through these brave private groups.
A major, humiliating debacle attributable solely to the flawed decisions by an insecure president. He is an absolute danger to this country. Democrats are certainly smart enough to see that, and should act either through impeachment or the 25th Amendment.
Again, it's not the Withdrawal per se. It's the total disregard for the lives of our Military Troops, USA Citizens and simple Common Sense decision making. He knows what he did is as Wrong as it can possibly be. And this applies to his entire Presidency so far. He just can not get the Concept that he is the USA President, everything he does benefits other countries, many of whom hate the USA, and other countries Citizens. What Disdain he has for his own country. He is doing to the USA things that would get normal people arrested. That cause us to go to war if it were another nation. Then he stands in front of the World and Lies over and over again. A total INSULT to Every USA Citizen that IS a USA Patriot. Politicians in BOTH sides of the Aisle are Responsible for allowing Joe the Puppet to get away with it. We don't want this mass influx of Foreigners, Refugees or other coming into the USA. We don't want Amnesty in any way whatsoever. We don't want these Trillions if Dollars Infrastructure and Reconciliation BS that has more money spent on Pork and Foreign Governments than should ever be Acceptable. I see Corruption in everything the Federal Government does. And YOU are the Federal Government. (Speaking to the two Senators and one Rep cc'd on this). Get to work on making the USA the Constitutional Republic it was Founded to be. We have not Honored that in many, many years, but, especially NOW
NO! Not paying for more people settling in the U.S.A. from Afghanistan or the Illegal Migrants from the Southern Border. Have had enough of this "liberals need votes to stay in command no matter what" BS. Afghans need to be taken to other smaller countries to wait for vetting and those who actually helped our U.S. and other allied Militaries wait until vetted. And Close the Border that Biden or whomever reopened. Finish the Wall!! Democrats or Republicans want to win elections, do it fair and square!! Enough of this all mail in unless home-bound or military personnel located other than their home of residence and college students who attend schools away from their home of residence. Only then do they request a ballot and mail their ballot back in on time without someone trashing those ballots. I, personally, will give rides to any U.S. Citizen in my community who does not have transportation to the proper polls!! Must have proper I.D. and be U.S. Citizen to VOTE! No Illegal Migrants or any Nationality who are NOT U.S. Citizens!!!!!!!!!!! Enough of that BS! This is the U.S.A. not some third world country that does not have enough couth to know right from wrong and depends on Communist/ Marxist regimes to run their countries!! WAKE UP!
Disaster.
Biden shoud be impeached and court marshaled for not only the disasterous evacuation from Afghainistan but for the the phone call to the president ergerging false narative.
Ending the futile war in Afghanistan was absolutely the right thing to do. It should have been done sooner, and would have had one of the previous presidents been willing to take the heat. But, the withdrawal was far from orderly. What we didn't count on was that the Taliban had already won the war and were ready to take over. We thought maybe the Afghan troops we had trained would continue to hold them off, fight for the freedom of their country, but they were not willing to do that. Yes, the withdrawal of civilians and Afghans who helped us should have been sooner and more orderly, but the pointless war is now over. I hope we have learned our lesson, but then, we didn't learn it in Vietnam.
If you read Trumps original agreement (below) he did have a plan. Biden dissolved it along with anything else Trump put in place on day 2 of his presidency. The blame for this fiasco falls squarely on Biden’s shoulders. He needs to go! https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Agreement-For-Bringing-Peace-to-Afghanistan-02.29.20.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0UdCXfSLHNfNNPegE47jJLQDk6ib0Ft2qmrMP4r5rzhPXGrT3GTiYaBTQ
I think Biden's completely incompetent and has no clue what he is doing. Him looking at his watch while dead servicemen are taken from the plane shows just how little he cares. He's a disgrace to the nation and has no business being in office.
This administration has completely blown the U.S. exit from Afghanistan! Biden had a working plan in his hand but ignored it! The result has been a tragic ending to an ill advised occupation of that country. He and his administration should be removed from office.