Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Aren’t Americans Still Stranded in Afghanistan?
I realize that all airtime just had to be eaten up by narcissistic-gluttonous politicians and celebrities consuming our thoughts and emotions over the original 9/11, and I admit that I don’t have the news feeds hooked directly into my consciousness. However, it seems that a rather important question has been receding far more quickly than I would have predicted. Are there still Americans stranded in Afghanistan? I remember 9/11 too; I remember the visceral emotions. That was 20 years ago, though, and we have some rather pressing issues to hash out right now, don’t we? Are there fellow Americans still there, still in imminent danger? Do we know how many? Why isn’t this the question and issue being reported on?
Please don’t misunderstand. This is not some plea to do the work for me. I’ve looked and have found shockingly little recent info. Nor am I asking these “why” questions naively: I have a pretty good working theory. I’m not against memorials, but the fact that we know so little still and the apparent fading of the importance of this totally avoidable crisis has struck me deeper than any of the memorials about 9/11. I’ve known that media is no longer merely biased; they are generally incompetent, captured propagandists, or both. I try to be optimistic, but my reserve is fading almost as fast as this story seems to be fading.
Published in General
The government (therefore, the media) is avoiding the question. They keep referring to “about 100 Americans”; Glenn Beck who was involved with the charter flights that couldn’t get out, says there are many more than that. It’s probably a combination of their not knowing, and their not wanting us to know they don’t know. Or they know and the number would enrage us. Take your pick.
Information is hard to come by and journalists are at risk of being held or attacked by the Taliban, al Qaeda, the Haqqani Network or ISIS-K. Some journalists may have either left themselves or are keeping a low profile. Information trickles out here where those in country are emailing for help to evacuate and it has been reported that one American woman has been changing safe houses to avoid capture. One can assume that other Americans may be doing the same in and outside Kabul in the other provinces. Accurate counts at this point would seem unlikely. A number of Americans may get caught and used by the Taliban or the other terrorist groups for ransom and for propaganda purposes. In the meantime it’s a very dark, wait-and-see period.
For some, it’s a probably a good thing. If you can find them on the Internet, so can the Taliban.
For anyone who helped Americans or is American, this is a horrifically dark time in Afghanistan. The border to Tajikistan has been sealed off by American military forces in Biden’s being helpful to the Taliban in trapping the Taliban’s enemies where they easily kill those people.
The only people who might know for sure are the Brits, although this link is a month old. I thank God they are still there helping people get out.
People keep comparing our government’s and modern media’s indifference to the suffering of our friends and in many cases our actual citizens in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to past events in our history–times we should have acted but didn’t.
But that s a false comparison. First of all, knowledge accumulates. Why study history at all? To learn from it. We had a suspicion the communists in North Vietnam would behave a certain way after Americans pulled out, but we didn’t act on that suspicion because we didn’t really know for sure. History gives us the “for sure” part of our calculations. The State Department is pretending right now that the Taliban are maybe nice people that are a little misguided but we can work with them and fix them and help them see the error of their ways. But that’s the same approach the State Department took to Hanoi in the 1970s. And we know how that worked out.
The Taliban has some vengeance to exact and they want to purge Afghanistan of the “occupiers” and anyone who helped them.
Second, we live in a very connected and small world, a world that is way more connected that it has ever been. The covid-19 virus showed up in every single country in the world except for ten isolated islands in the South Pacific. Mountains and oceans provide beautiful decoration for our earth, but not much isolation or safety or secrecy. When evil people imprison, torture, and hurt others today, they do so within sight of the civilized world that condemns such actions. There’s no “we didn’t know” excuse we can fall back on in forgiving ourselves for what we haven’t done and should have done.
The crimes of the Taliban and Al Qaeda can be seen by us all. And the crimes of Biden as well.
I’m sure there are many people hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan right now. The State Department doesn’t want them to exist because it makes them look bad. Frankly, it helps Biden if these people die.
This is a good question. There is some information from the State department, but I have no idea whether or not it is accurate. The State spokesman does say that they they have a case manager for each American with whom they are in contact, and are giving a number of about 100.
Here are a few sources from State:
This press release on Sep. 9 reported that a Qatar Airways charter flight had departed from Kabul, with American citizens on board, but did not give a number of American citizens.
This press release on Sep. 10 reported 21 American citizens having departed from Afghanistan, two overland and 19 via “another Qatar Airways charter flight.” It’s not clear whether this is the count of the number of Americans on the flight from the prior day, or a new flight.
This press briefing on Sep. 9 gives some additional details, including the discussion of case managers. The number “100 or so” is used for the number of Americans in Afghanistan, but this is in a question, not a statement by the State spokesman.
This press briefing on Sep. 10 discusses the 21 Americans noted in the press release above, and says “we estimate that there are about 100 Americans that are still in Afghanistan.” Regarding departures, it reports that some Americans have been offered seats on flights, but have declined. For example, the State spokesman says that while 19 US citizens who got out on a flight, they “offered seats of 44 U.S. citizens which not all of them chose to travel.”
The Sep. 9 briefing discussed some of the reasons for this, without providing numerical details — there were issues of the travel documents that they had, whether they could reach the airport or another rallying point, whether they could leave promptly, and so on.
Again, this information may or may not be correct.
I haven’t seen reports of any Americans killed in Afghanistan, since the 13 service members who died in the bombing at the airport near the end of August. This doesn’t mean that there haven’t been any, but it wouldn’t fit the typical terrorist MO for, say, the ISIS or al-Qaeda guys to carry out one of their brutal executions, while keeping it quiet.
Can’t find it now (I can hardly find anything), but I predicted this a month ago. This is now mostly just a story that people cared about last month.
The shocking part, to me, is how often this has happened with truly momentous gigantic events. Weaponizing the IC against domestic political opponents including a presidential candidate and then a president. Weaponizing MeToo and BLM and Antifa against domestic political opponents resulting in death, violence, and ruined lives. Covid hysteria perpetuated indefinitely toward authoritarian ends. A manifestly “irregular” election whose “irregularities” we far larger than the margin of victory in the key counties who just happen to be run by generations-long democrat machines known for their ability to deliver and who have been delivering absurdly lopsided victories for the dems that a 5%-10% swing might just go unnoticed or written off as reasonable considering the years-long propaganda offensive against Donald Trump. Now a disgraceful and seemingly unnecessary ruin of an Afghanistan withdrawal plan.
The unforgivable part, to me, is that my side let it happen then let it be forgotten and in some cases even went along with the gaslighting and projection. I have zero appetite for “All Sides” or “don’t scare the moderates” type arguments. Today’s moderate is yesterday’s crazy far right wing feverdream.
No. No proof will be allowed come to light to prove a different answer nor will the government or media agree to a different answer. Any US citizen that can prove differently are more in danger from the government and its cronies than from the Taliban at this point.
Yeah, as soon as someone tries to “both sides” what the Democrats are doing to us, the walls go up, and I’m not listening to anymore.
Though I suppose it depends on what you see as the “sides.”
The sides I recognize are the political class and the citizen class. In that sense, both Republicans and Democrats are enemies of our nation. (Not all Republicans, of course, but far too many of them.)
Depends on the Taliban. On the one hand, letting Joey Boombats and the MSM mandate instant amnesia could give the incoming administration in Kabul some breathing room without interference or unwanted attention. On the other hand, it’s just so darn much fun to torture and kill infidels on social media so it’s hard to say how this will break out.
For the Taliban, the optimum path would be to keep Americans there in some kind of limbo and either use them as bargaining chips or their deaths as social media recruiting tools down the road. Either way, there is no immediate value in letting them leave. And as long as the spectacularly incompetent Blinken et al refuse to try to figure out their number or names, that convenient limbo will persist.
Congressman Darryl Issa said on the 6th of September that over 500 Americans were still stranded in Afghanistan and he had been working to get them all out.
From the Daily Caller on the 13th:
“The U.S. Department of State for a week failed to respond to a Republican congressman’s request to help American citizens and others trying to evacuate Afghanistan, according to emails obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.”
“California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa told the DCNF that the State Department took a backseat approach to evacuations from Afghanistan.
“The State Department should have been in the lead rescuing Americans from the Afghanistan crisis it helped to create,” Issa said. “Instead, like the President, it has been a bystander, except for its unambiguous message to stranded citizens that they are on their own.”
Issa’s office initially reached out to the State Department Aug. 30 to request “an immediate meeting with State Department officials to receive a briefing on the steps being taken to return our citizens home to safety and answer questions as to the methods being employed.”
The State Department responded to Issa’s team, saying that “The Department is planning another briefing for House Members for tomorrow and would welcome the Congressman’s questions there.”
Issa’s team responded: “Regardless of the briefing we are requesting a personal meeting with State Officials to answer direct questions about our specific cases.”
The email continued, “The whole of Congress does not need to hear every single detail of our cases. But you do. Please advise on a date and time to connect within 24 hours.”
The renewed request for a personal meeting received no response until Issa’s staff reached out Sept. 8 saying, “Repeated requests from Rep. Issa for a call with your Department to discuss our specific American Citizens and LPRs cases continues to go unscheduled.”
A State Department official responded minutes later, thanking Issa’s team for their “patience,” adding “instructions and guidance we have for U.S. citizens, LPRs, and Immigrant Visa applicants.”
That guidance included that American citizens and their families still in Afghanistan should “Make contingency plans to leave when it is safe to do so that do not rely on U.S. government assistance.”
So there it is folks. “Do no rely on US Government Assistance.” But in regards to Comrade Joe’s Unconstitutional Vax Mandates, hasn’t Comrade Joe been saying his “Job is to protect all Americans” except I guess for those deplorables still left in Afghanistan.
Thanks Comrade Joe. I am sure Chairman Xi will be pleased.
BTW, American Military hardware from Bagram Air Force Base has been seen in Iran. Hey isn’t that great!
Is that before Issa’s subpoenas, inquiries, investigations, hearings, prosecutions and other promises pan out — or after?
Don’t hold your breath. He needs a headline for something. Wonder what it is?
I am so jaded now. It’s justified, but that doesn’t make me feel any better about it.
After the “aid”arrives, some will be allowed to leave, and we’ll find out who was killed and who wasn’t, and the Biden Administration won’t do a thing about it, except maybe give more “aid”.
McCaul: Interpreters Still in Afghanistan Are ‘Gone’ – ‘The Taliban Will Not Allow Them to Leave’ and They’re ‘Already Being Executed’
Think Biden and friends asked / assisted in their disappearances?
or use them as human shields to keep us from bombing Taliban strongholds.
Glen Beck in conjunction with the Nazarene fund has saved 5,000+ people. He made an emotional appeal today to please help give to the NazareneFund.org.
He could not give too much information at this present time, but he says the walls are closing in and they urgently need more money for a big effort this week.
I gave. Glen Beck is a righteous man that does not turn away from evil. Thank God for men like him and all the undercover rescuers.
Here is the link to his update and appeal:
It isn’t being reported on because it isn’t in the interests of the people who matter to report on it.
In WWII, Americans died to accomplish a real task. In Afghanistan, they died to project a particular image. It serves that image projection better to leave the Americans still in Afghanistan to the Taliban’s mercies than it would to bring them home.
Or worse, dress them in MAGA hats to provoke Milley to launch drone strikes on civilians.
From PJ Media:
and from the first link in the article:
I know I go on about it, but there’s a reason — Benghazi was a turning point for how the US Gov’t treats Americans abroad.
Many are just now learning that the lesson offered at Benghazi by the US Government was — you’re on your own.
I cannot imagine what 10K+ American civilians were doing in a combat zone. No doubt another symptom of our choosing to normalize a state of permanent war as something that just needs to be taken into account, instead of treated as the dire situation it necessarily is.
We’re all learning now. Good and hard.
Ben Sasse? I would have thought that he’d be applauding all the norms being restored by Biden. Sassy was an NT aider and abetter of all the hoaxes. He can piss off with his indignation. It’s too late, and I don’t particularly believe him.
But he SURE likes to talk…. Do? Not so much.
I just assume he’s creating sound-bites for fund-raising purposes, or so that he’ll get invited on Fox News to frown heavily and act indignant.
Hey, Ben! Maybe you shouldn’t have voted for Biden!
Posturing after the fact.
Listen to the entire video embedded in the article.
“Nearly 1,000 Americans still trapped in Afghanistan” from Fox News via Breitbart.
We don’t say “trapped.” Perhaps “situationally inconvenienced” or “neglected to achieve timely departure.” Because we cannot present a precise number, we must therefore assume it could be zero. As guests of our new allies, the Taliban, it is incumbent upon such persons who may or may not exist to respect local laws and customs regarding dress, manners, laws and beheadings.
There is no consulate or embassy in Afghanistan so Americans will need to travel to adjacent countries to US diplomatic offices to obtain any documentation required to leave Afghanistan.
Have a wonderful, diverse day!
We say “abandoned”.
Afghanistan should be a lesson to all Americans about how much your government really feels about you and how far they will go to help you.