When the withdrawal from Afghanistan was complete at the end of August, the Biden administration repeatedly told us that a mere 100-200 Americans remained in the country.
“Now we believe that about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan with some intention to leave,” Biden said on Aug. 31. “Most of those who remain are dual citizens, long-time residents who had earlier decided to stay because of their family roots in Afghanistan.”
Biden continued, “And for those remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out. Secretary of State Blinken is leading the continued diplomatic efforts to ensure a safe passage for any American, Afghan partner, or foreign national who wants to leave Afghanistan.”
Days later, the Biden administration said that “around 100 American citizens” were left in the country. “We’re in touch with all of them who we’ve identified on a regular basis,” claimed White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
But on Friday, nearly two months since Biden said there were only 100-200 Americans left in Afghanistan, CNN Senior White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly reports that the State Department informed congressional staff on Thursday that it is in touch with 363 American citizens in Afghanistan, and 176 want to leave.
“That is significantly higher than the estimates of roughly 100 in Aug. which Admin officials regularly cited,” Mattingly noted.
State Dept. informed congressional staff Thursday that it is in touch with 363 American citizens in Afghanistan, 176 of whom want to leave, per @jmhansler
That is significantly higher than the estimates of roughly 100 in Aug. which Admin officials regularly cited.
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) October 22, 2021
It has long been suspected that the Biden administration has not been truthful with the numbers of Americans they abandoned in Afghanistan.
Related: DISGRACE: There Are Americans Still Stuck in Afghanistan
Back in August, one U.S. official told the Daily Caller that there would be an estimated 8,000 Americans left in Afghanistan by the Aug. 31 deadline.
Throughout the evacuation, the Biden administration was reluctant to give specifics as to the number of Americans being evacuated, but a leaked State Department cable from the last week of August indicated that Americans represented less than 17% of the people who were evacuated.
The Biden administration is clearly lying to the public about how many Americans they abandoned in Afghanistan. In the nearly two months since we left, the number of Americans the Biden administration claims are still in the Taliban-controlled country has somehow managed to go up, not down. Naturally, we have to ask, how many Americans are really still in Afghanistan?
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