The Biden administration is reportedly blocking private rescue efforts from flying American citizens, green card holders, and Special Immigration Visa applicants out of Afghanistan.
“Rick Clay, who runs the private rescue group PlanB, told Fox News that the State Department is the only thing preventing the flights he’s organizing from leaving Afghanistan,” Fox News reported.
“Two other American individuals separately involved in evacuation efforts, whom Fox News is not naming to avoid jeopardizing ongoing rescue efforts, similarly said that the State Department is the sole entity preventing their charter flights from leaving Afghanistan.”
One of the individuals that Fox News spoke to said that “all it takes is a f***ing phone call” to fix the problem and that it was unacceptable to be “negotiating with American lives.”
“If one life is lost as a result of this, the blood is on the White House’s hands. The blood is on their hands,” that individual said. “It is not the Taliban that is holding this up – as much as it sickens me to say that – it is the United States government.”
One of the sources that the network spoke to said that they thought part of the reason the Biden administration was blocking the flights was that they were embarrassed those private entities were having to rescue the Americans because Biden failed.
The report said that the network reviewed Clay’s manifest of 4,500 people, which includes U.S. citizens, green card holders, and SIVs. The State Department has reportedly received 800 names so far for the initial round of flights that the private entities are trying to get out of Afghanistan. The two sources that spoke to Fox News reportedly confirmed Clay’s account of events.
The report added:
After making little to no progress with the State Department, Clay’s group turned to senators from both parties: Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., have all sought to help PlanB and other organizations secure the approval they need to get the evacuees safely out of Afghanistan, organizers and Senate staffers told Fox News. Clay received word on Thursday that their flights out of Afghanistan would eventually receive approval following the State Department’s review of their manifest — a task that could take several days even as just the initial 800 names are subjected to the vetting process.
As of Sunday evening, the State Department had yet to give PlanB the green light to land any of their flights in any countries neighboring Afghanistan. The two other Americans involved in another private evacuation effort told Fox News that the State Department has secured them clearance to land in a neighboring country and that the Taliban has given them the green light to take off, dependent on State Department approval – which hasn’t come.
This is an excerpt from The Daily Wire.
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