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Secretary Blinken’s Gibberish about Afghanistan

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks about Afghanistan during a media briefing at the State Department in Washington, D.C., September 3, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/Reuters)

Secretary Blinken, quoted below from Doha on September 6, is dissembling. He is talking in gibberish and the press is not holding him to account.

(1) “We’ve assigned case-management teams to each remaining American citizen who has expressed an interest in leaving.”

“Each remaining American citizen” means State is in touch and knows the exact number! Yet State claims not to know the number.

It is infuriating that he suggests many do not want to leave, without ever citing a single case.

(2) “We continue to process as many SIV applications as possible. So applicants don’t have to wait in Afghanistan until we’re finished but instead if they can get to a third country for additional processing before coming to the United States.”

This implies State is in contact with thousands of SIV applicants inside Afghanistan. And once State clears them, they can go to an airport to fly to a third country for additional processing. This makes no sense. It is gibberish.

3) “We will partner with veteran organizations on how to help SIV candidates; they have ideas that we’ll be incorporating.”

Listening to “ideas” is a dodge, not a partnership. A partnership means the organizations would be included inside, not outside, the State task force.

Bing West is a military historian who served as a combat Marine in Vietnam and as assistant secretary of defense. In his best-selling books he chronicles our wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
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