Peach Tree Times

While Americans are waiting in Afghanistan for flights back to the United States, and Rep. Rick W. Allen (R-Ga.) has spoken out about how the situation is being handled.

"Unfortunately, due to Biden’s botched withdrawal, we now see the lack of strategic plan. At this moment there remain more questions than answers, which does not honor the sacrifices of our military, their families and our allies,” Allen told Peach Tree Times. “My office is in contact with hundreds of folks who are waiting to evacuate and we are working with the State Department to get them to safety.”

The State Department has been unable to assist all the Americans stranded in Afghanistan. An official advisory stated “Do not call the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for details or updates about the flight,” the Wall Street Journal noted in an opinion piece.

Rep. Rick W. Allen | File Photo

Seventy-one Georgia residents have lost their lives in Afghanistan, according to FOX 31 News.

The Washington Examiner cited a Trafalgar Group poll showing that more than 69 percent of its respondents did not approve of how President Joe Biden is handling the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The poll surveyed 1,084 likely general election voters.

Biden will comply with the Taliban’s deadline to remove all U.S. troops by Aug. 31. There were “dozens of armored vehicles and U.S. Army Apache gunships” still at Kabul's airport, according to a report from Fox News.

Others voiced concerns about the withdrawal.

“The two colonels that have sent me messages, at this point, say that since they are senior officials in the Afghan military, they are probably going to get killed. But they are just begging to get their daughters out of the country,” Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, said in the Wall Street Journal piece. "Americans are struggling to reach flights leaving the country because of Taliban checkpoints that prevent them from reaching the airport.” 

Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.), Fox News senior strategic analyst, told Fox News that Americans have a right to know about the number of Americans stranded in Afghanistan. He called it “insulting” that the Pentagon refuses to release those numbers.

In a set of pre-written remarks, Biden stated, “I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you. The truth is: This did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.” 

In a piece for Just Security, former CIA operations officer Douglas London wrote that Biden’s statement is “misleading at best” as his agency and others anticipated this scenario and briefed the president months ago.

The Daily Caller said Biden has denied that military advisers warned against a quick withdrawal from Afghanistan, “that [he] can recall,” but also noted that Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that he was briefed in April about the risks of his strategy.

To help Americans stranded in Afghanistan, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and his team have set up a hotline.  There is a page on Cotton’s website that provides information. It reads, in part, “If you’re an American stranded in Afghanistan, or know one who is, please contact my office immediately at (501) 223-9081 or evac@cotton.senate.gov.”