More than two months after the chaotic and fumbled U.S. pullout from Afghanistan, scores of American families are still stuck living under the new Taliban regime.
So the Defense Department has announced new measures to assist its personnel with getting their family members out of Afghanistan and back into the U.S.
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl issued a memorandum Thursday, asking staff members with spouses or unmarried children under the age of 21, who want to leave Afghanistan, to contact his office.
The Defense Department “places a high priority on facilitating the departure of Afghan nationals who are immediate family members of U.S. civilian or military personnel,” the memo reads.
The letter outlines that extended family members are not eligible for assistance.
“DOD recognizes that these extended family members also have a connection to the United States. We will continue to assist (the State Department) as they develop mechanisms that may facilitate the safe departures for such individuals from Afghanistan in the future,” the memo states.
It is not clear how the government plans to help “facilitate” the family members’ departure from Afghanistan. President Joe Biden directed the military to cease evacuation efforts from Afghanistan on Aug. 31.
NBC News reports many of the service members whose families remained in Afghanistan were born there while others served as interpreters.
Some members of Congress had appealed to the Pentagon in September, requesting that efforts increase to evacuate the remaining Americans.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in September, urging them to take action.
“Over the past month, I have been contacted by hundreds of Texans who are desperately trying to get friends and family members safe out of the country,” McCaul wrote. “That includes the family members of several Texans who currently serve in the military.”
He continued, “The federal government has turned their backs on them. If we abandon the family members of our servicemen and women in Afghanistan, they will certainly be slaughtered by the Taliban.”
Kahl told lawmakers that 196 Americans are prepared to leave Afghanistan, however, 243 have chosen to either stay or are not yet ready to depart.
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