“America’s Newsroom” co-anchors Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino grilled Pentagon spokesman John Kirby about the Biden administration’s decision to end evacuation efforts out of conflicts, breaking a promise to not leave any Americans behind.
The last U.S. soldier left Afghanistan after 20 years on Monday, ending America’s longest war. The joe-biden” target=”_blank”>Biden administration< ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos earlier this month.
Hemmer quoted the commander-in-chief’s words to Kirby.
“According to the State Department there’s a minimum of 100 Americans that did not get out,” Hemmer said. “Why?”
The spokesman said there were “a lot of efforts to contact” the Americans left in Afghanistan and he couldn’t account for every specific case.
“I don’t know the case with each and every one of these 100 or so that are left,” Kirby said. “But what I can tell you is that, as a government, we’re going to continue to make every effort we can to help them find safe passage.”
The Pentagon press secretary added that while the military mission is over, they are now shifting to diplomatic efforts to get Americans to safety.
“The military mission is over, Bill, we are no longer on the ground in Afghanistan to facilitate that kind of safe passage,” he continued. “But that doesn’t mean the administration or the government is going to turn a blind eye to try to help them get home.”
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“Are we less safe than we were now 20 years ago?” Hemmer asked, pointing out the alarming terror presence in the country which consists of not just the Taliban but ISIS, ISIS-K and al Qaeda.
“We are going to stay vigilant about what any terrorism threat that may emanate from Afghanistan,” Kirby said.
“You did not say yes or no on that in the first part of your answer there,” Hemmer noted. “How do you gauge the level of security we have now?”
The U.S., Kirby replied, has “much better capabilities” than they did pre-9/11 and have “a robust presence” in the region.
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The anchors later pressed Kirby about the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members outside the Kabul airport last Thursday, wondering why troops were stationed in the area.
Kirby said a “dynamic security threat” outside the airport demanded military presence. He added that the administration grieves with the families of the troops and they plan on investigating the attack.
Specifically, Perino asked Kirby if the State Department was working to help free Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran being held hostage by the Taliban. Kirby replied in the affirmative, saying that the U.S. government remains attentive to his situation and that they are “laser-focused” on getting him home.
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The Taliban, which has captured control of the country, celebrated as the final U.S. troops flew out of Kabul.
