A Biden administration official is speaking out about the president’s decision to leave Americans behind in Afghanistan, according to a new report.
The official told Politico, “I am absolutely appalled and literally horrified we left Americans there.”
They added, “It was a hostage rescue of thousands of Americans in the guise of a NEO [noncombatant evacuation operations], and we have failed that no-fail mission.”
Another official argued the mission is not complete if they left Americans in Afghanistan.
While delivering remarks Tuesday, Biden addressed the issue of abandoning Americans. He told the country, “The bottom line, 90% of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave. And for those remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out.”
Standing by his decision, Biden said, “I believe this is the right decision, a wise decision, and the best decision for America.”
CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki about Biden’s tone during his speech, suggesting he “seemed angry,” as IJR reported.
O’Keefe asked Psaki, “Who’s he mad at?”
She replied, “I’ll give you a different assessment of what I saw, which is that he gave a forceful assessment, laid out a forceful case to the American people as to why it was time to wind down a 20-year war that has led to the loss of thousands of lives.”
Psaki continued, “And in his view, and I think he made a firm case of this, it’s not in our national security interest to be on the ground anymore.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby weighed in on the issue of Americans being left behind in Afghanistan during an MSNBC interview Tuesday.
“It’s not completely unlike the way we do it elsewhere around the world,” he said, adding, “I mean, we have Americans that get stranded in countries all the time.”