U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has joined 15 of his Senate Republican colleagues in sending a letter to President Joe Biden calling for his administration to evacuate all American citizens and Afghan partners who are currently stranded in Afghanistan amid the country’s fall to the Taliban.
The letter is led by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
It reads in part, “We are extremely concerned that, despite our recommendations, your administration failed to establish a coherent plan to get all American civilians and Afghans who have aided us out of the country as quickly and safely as possible. This must be our top priority,” the senators wrote. “Not only should we protect American citizens in Afghanistan, we must also uphold our promise to the thousands of Afghans who put their lives on the line to work with us to advance our shared security goals.”
“You must devote all means necessary to ensure every American citizen and all eligible Afghan partners are successfully evacuated,” the senators add. “In addition, you must make it clear to the Taliban and every other terrorist group that they will face severe consequences if they attempt to interfere with this process.”
The senators’ letter declares that it is the federal government’s “solemn responsibility to evacuate all American citizens and Afghan partners without respect to arbitrary timelines dictated by the Taliban.”
This comes as reports have indicated that there are thousands of U.S. citizens who have been left behind to survive the chaos that has engulfed Afghanistan. The Pentagon tells CNN that there could be anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 Americans “near Kabul,” the capital of the fallen country.
In an interview with ABC on Wednesday, Biden said that his administration would attempt to have all American citizens evacuated before Aug. 31, stating “if there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay to get them all out.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
