President Biden left 14,000 US residents behind in Afghanistan after promising to get every American out

The Biden administration has left behind as many as 14,000 U.S. legal permanent residents in Afghanistan after President Joe Biden repeatedly promised that he would not leave any Americans behind after the U.S. withdrew troops from the country. Following the Pentagon's disclosure last week that 439 American citizens are still in Afghanistan, a new report from Foreign Policy indicates thousands more U.S. green card holders are still stranded in the Taliban-controlled country.

The finding, disclosed by a congressional aide familiar with the matter, has been transmitted by the State Department to aides on Capitol Hill in private, but officials demurred on revealing the figure when questioned by Republican lawmakers on Wednesday, insisting the agency doesn't track the figure.

"Isn't the operating assumption about 14,000?" Republican Rep. Chris Smith asked Brian McKeon, deputy secretary of state for management and resources, at a hearing on Wednesday, referring to the figure briefed in private.

"We don't track [legal permanent residents]," McKeon responded. "It's a good question why we don't," he added, suggesting the lack of clarity might be because the State Department does not require Americans and legal permanent residents traveling abroad to report their whereabouts.

According to McKeon's testimony Wednesday, there are still 289 U.S. citizens in Afghanistan as of Tuesday and another 81 Americans who are ready to evacuate the country. McKeon said the Biden administration got 140 Americans out last week.

Foreign Policy reported that the State Department is prioritizing American citizens for evacuation over legal permanent residents and green card holders. In a statement, the State Department said there is no exact tally of U.S. legal permanent residents in Afghanistan. "We do not have an exact number of LPRs and their immediate family members who have departed or who remain in Afghanistan," a spokesperson said. "In this extraordinary situation we are facing in Afghanistan, we have helped LPRs seeking assistance to depart wherever possible."

Foreign Policy noted that lawmakers have expressed frustration with the Biden administration for being opaque about the exact number of citizens, legal permanent residents, and Afghan allies of the U.S. who were left behind. Administration officials have responded by saying the number is in constant flux as more people are coming forward with a desire to leave the country.

On Aug. 19, Biden told ABC News: "If there are American citizens left, we're going to stay until we get them all out."

U.S. troops were withdrawn on Aug. 31. At the time, Biden estimated there were 100 to 200 Americans remaining in Afghanistan who wanted to leave.

Again on Sept. 5, White House chief of staff Ron Klain said about 100 Americans were still in Afghanistan who wanted to leave.

State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter echoed that estimate on Sept. 10.

But one month later in October, the Pentagon clarified there were actually more than 400 American citizens still in the country.

Now it's revealed that 14,000 green card holders are still trapped in Afghanistan, people who can apply for U.S. citizenship and enjoy many of the same rights as citizens with the exception of the right to vote.

The rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as U.S. forces withdrew obviously complicated evacuation efforts. But the responsibility for failing to get thousands of American citizens and legal permanent residents out of the country before U.S. forces withdrew lies squarely with the Biden administration.

Article from the Blaze

This Day in History, 11 September

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Islamic Terrorist flying airplanes in the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon. And let's not forgot the passengers who took over an airliner from terrorists bent on flying it into the US Capitol instead driving that plane into the ground into famr land, knowlingly giving their lives to save others. But I chose not to expand on what is known as 9-11, as that attack and the debacle that unfolded just two weeks ago in Afghanistan where the US withdrew, souring massive amounts of top end US military equipment and leaving American citizens and our Afghan allies at the mercy of a terrorist group, its just too much sorrow and shame to remind ourselves of. Instead I'd like to focus on another day, this on in 1965 where 1st Cavalry Division arrives in South Vietnam.

1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) begins to arrive in South Vietnam at Qui Nhon, bringing U.S. troop strength in South Vietnam to more than 125,000. The unit, which had a long and storied history, was the first full U.S. Army division deployed to Vietnam. The division consisted of nine battalions of airmobile infantry, an air reconnaissance squadron, and six battalions of artillery. The division also included the 11th Aviation Group, made up of three aviation battalions consisting of 11 companies of assault helicopters, assault support helicopters, and gunships.

The division used a new concept by which the ground maneuver elements were moved around the battlefield by helicopters. Initially deployed to the II Corps area at Qui Nhon, the division took part in the first major engagement between U.S. and North Vietnamese forces during the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley fought in November, just two months after the division began arriving in Vietnam. Later, the division moved further north to I Corps in 1968 to relieve the embattled U.S. Marines at Hue during the Tet Offensive; in October of the same year, they redeployed to III Corps to conduct operations to protect Saigon; and in 1970, the division took part in the invasion of Cambodia and conducted operations in both III and IV Corps (the Mekong Delta). Thus, the 1st Cavalry Division, popularly known as the “First Team,” was the only American division to fight in all four corps tactical zones. The bulk of the division began departing Vietnam in late April 1970, but the 3rd Brigade remained until June 1972.
br> If you haven;t read the book "We were Soldiers Once and Young", then you are missing posible the best war bok every written and captured in a movie ofthe same title.

The 1st Cavalry Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and “First Team” soldiers won 25 Medals of Honor, 120 Distinguished Service Crosses, 2,766 Silver Stars, 2,697 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 8,408 Bronze Stars for Valor.

Article from History.com