On MSNBC, Blumenthal Calls on Biden Administration to Continue Evacuating Americans and Afghan Allies
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, appeared on Deadline: White House with Nicole Wallace yesterday to urge the Biden Administration to continue the evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies from Afghanistan. Blumenthal appeared on MSNBC after questioning Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, and CENTCOM Commander General Kenneth McKenzie during yesterday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
“There's a moral imperative here. There are tens of thousands of Afghan allies, the former interpreters, translators, guards, security officials, who went into combat with our troops. They protected our diplomats. They put themselves and their families at risk and now they have targets on their backs. They're at risk of murder and torture, they're in hiding, and their situations are increasingly desperate,” Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal, who has been personally involved in efforts to help Americans and Afghan allies leave Afghanistan over the last several weeks, noted:
“My office turned into a kind of mini-evacuation center. My senior staff and I were making phone calls. I called some of the very top officials in the White House, in the State Department, and members of the State Department pointed to the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense pointed at the White House. Nobody in charge, and it's a continuing challenge that we need to face because lives are at stake. Lives of people who put their lives on the line for us.”
“Fortunately, and I will emphasize this point, our State Department and Department of Defense are moving in the right direction, and they've recognized the crisis that we face, and by the way, Nicole, it's not only a crisis in getting people out. It's also dealing with the tens of thousands who have already come out and now have to be resettled through groups like IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services) in Connecticut. There are real heroes among them,” Blumenthal continued.
The video of Blumenthal’s remarks is available here and the full transcript is copied below.
MSNBC Anchor Nicole Wallace: One thing that was, I think, Rick Stengel used the word, a civics lesson, was there was bipartisan concern about some of the people who were extremely endangered by the way we left, and Senator Blumenthal, I want to play some his comments in the hearing and I'm going to bring him into our conversation on the other side of this.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): I was involved in an effort through chartered planes and airports outside of Kabul to try to air lift on a makeshift ad hoc basis Americans and Afghan allies still there. They have targets on their back. Their situation is increasingly urgent and desperate. And I have been frustrated by the lack of someone in charge and lines of authority, a point person. We need an evacuation czar, somebody who will provide a plan and supervise actions so that we can get out of Afghanistan the Americans that remain there and I will tell you, we don't have an estimate on the number because nobody is in charge right now.
Wallace: Let's bring into our conversation Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He's a member of the Armed Services, Judiciary, and Veterans’ Affairs Committees. Thank you for spending time with us. I talked about that moment and we just played it as part of our conversation, our coverage. Tell me if you left today with clarity on any of the important issues you raised there.
Blumenthal: There really was no clarity, and with all due respect to the Secretary of Defense, he provided no real responses to my questions because at the moment, there aren't responses. There is nobody in charge. And undeniably, and he knows and so does every member of that panel, there's a moral imperative here. There are tens of thousands of Afghan allies, the former interpreters, translators, guards, security officials who went into combat with our troops. They protected our diplomats. They put themselves and their families at risk and now they have targets on their backs. They're at risk of murder and torture, they're in hiding, and their situations are increasingly desperate. My office turned into a kind of mini-evacuation center. My senior staff and I were making phone calls. I called some of the very top officials in the White House, in the State Department, and members of the State Department pointed to the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense pointed at the White House. Nobody in charge, and it's a continuing challenge that we need to face because lives are at stake. Lives of people who put their lives on the line for us. It's different than other asylum seekers or refugees. These people demonstrated their love for America and I have met many of them who have come to this country now as a result of being air lifted, and they are potentially a source of great contributions to this country. We ought to really honor them by respecting those rights.
Wallace: I'm curious what answers you've been given by anyone, either in public or private, because it seems that your mission and your value of these Afghans is shared by the entire veterans community. This president seems to say that he supports this mission. What is the explanation you're given?
Blumenthal: Nicole, you are so right that this passion is shared by the veterans’ community. I have been moved by the veterans groups and individuals who have fought, literally fought with tremendous emotion on behalf of these guys who are over there in Afghanistan and really risked their lives for our veterans as well as the NGOs and the relief organizations and some government officials, and what I have been told often by the State Department or others is, ‘We need to vet these folks. We need to know more about them. We need to have someone on the ground.’ Well, we have nobody on the ground. That happened as a result of our withdrawal. Whatever you think about the policy, we've been working through the Qataris. I've been in touch with foreign governments who have assisted us, and I think that we know more about these folks who are still there than many of the 125,000 who were air lifted in the days preceding our withdrawal. So, I think what I have been told is inadequate so far. Fortunately, and I will emphasize this point, our State Department and Department of Defense are moving in the right direction, and they've recognized the crisis that we face, and by the way, Nicole, it's not only a crisis in getting people out. It's also dealing with the tens of thousands who have already come out and now have to be resettled through groups like IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services) in Connecticut. There are real heroes among them.
Wallace: I want to ask you just with your experience and your expertise here, for your analysis of the total of which you heard. I mean, Helene, who has been covering the Pentagon, described it as an extraordinary day of testimony. You know, detected some sadness from these hardened generals about this opportunity today to reflect on failures, on a twenty-year effort, sacrifice. You're talking about the sacrifice of our allies, obviously the sacrifice of men and women in the military over twenty years. What was your sense of the broader presentation and responses given on that broader topic?
Blumenthal: I'm a dad. Two of my four children served in the military during this time. One as a Navy S.E.A.L., the other as a combat infantry officer in Afghanistan in the United States Marine Corps and I would just second the sentiment that all three members of this panel expressed. They deserve our gratitude. And they should be proud. Whatever their feeling, and I can understand the very deep and mixed emotions that they have, every single veteran who saved during this period should be proud of their service, and we owe them for the invisible wounds of war that many of them bear as well as the visible ones and the others who have come back completely well, better education, better healthcare, better job opportunities, so when those members of the panel, even though they said as General Milley did, that Afghanistan was a strategic failure, I think we need to continue to be grateful and honored by the service our men and women in uniform.
Wallace: Absolutely. Senator Richard Blumenthal, thank you so much for spending time with us.
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