Pentagon Brushes Off Concern That Americans Are Stranded In Afghanistan

In what's become a common theme of the rocky Biden presidency, government officials are again sending Americans mixed signals. Just a week after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, "I think it's irresponsible to say Americans are stranded. They are not," a Pentagon spokesman has confirmed that they are.

 

Brushing off concerns about the stranded Americans in Afghanistan, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told MSNBC: "We have Americans that get stranded in countries all the time."

Kirby makes it seem like being stranded in a country that has recently been taken over by a terrorist group and that no longer has a United States military presence is as common as missing a connecting flight from Chicago to Dallas.

More importantly, Kirby is confirming Americans have been left behind, even though Psaki shot down that notion last week:

"I’m just calling you out for saying that we are stranding Americans in Afghanistan, when I — when we have been very clear that we are not leaving Americans who want to return home. We are going to bring them home. And I think that’s important for the American public to hear and understand."

Though the exact number of Americans left behind is unknown, reports suggest that as many as 250 Americans have been left abandoned. President Biden previously promised to "get them all out," yet another mixed message from Washington.