(CNN) – Several lawmakers angrily dropped a categorical explanation with Biden executive members Wednesday morning. Afghanistan , According to three sources known briefly.
Republicans and Democrat lawmakers were frustrated that officials from the State Department, the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of Homeland Security did not answer their basic questions during the conference for members of the commission. In Afghanistan, sources told CNN.
State Department officials – both private and public – continue to say that 100 more Americans want to leave Afghanistan.
As the department says it has expelled more than 75 Americans from Afghanistan in recent weeks, some lawmakers have told CNN that they do not understand accounting. Foreign ministry officials said the changing situation on the ground was the reason for not being able to give more accurate figures.
A State Department spokesman told CNN on Wednesday that “as a matter of public opinion, we do not comment on contacts with Congress, especially in a categorical context.”
Texas Representative Michael McCall, a top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN’s Jack Tapper – “The Lead” – on Wednesday that the meeting was “all out” and questioned whether executives still know the number of Americans. Country
“The truth is, I think there are still hundreds of Americans behind the enemy. Most of the translators you and I have spoken to have not come out,” he said, referring to Afghan translators who served in the U.S. Armed Forces and added that he had received “terrible stories” from those in the country.
“I don’t think they would have known all the answers, honestly,” he said of management.
Another version of the meeting for Afghanistan
A Democratic adviser told CNN that some lawmakers dropped their categorical explanation Wednesday because Republicans were not wearing masks and were ordered by Govt-19 blocking protocols. The adviser added that many members were satisfied with the commitment of the State Department.
Departing flights continue at a slower pace from Afghanistan, which includes more than 21 U.S. citizens over the weekend.
Officials say more work is needed to check the backgrounds of people who do not have all the necessary documents, especially due to the need for coordination between the United States, Qatar and the Taliban.
The aim of the Biden administration is to make regular flights from the country to foreign countries. But it can only be reached when there are commercial planes inside and outside Kabul airport, and foreign ministry officials say it could take weeks.
Planned coordination efforts between the foreign ministry and private individuals or groups – which took shape after initial tensions between the two parties – are already underway. The State Department is holding two-week calls with the Confederation of Afghanistan, and those involved describe the current situation as less confusing than it was initially.
Shawn Vandiver, founder of the Truman National Security Program for the San Diego chapter that spearheads the Afghanistan initiative, said, “I think we can not get better coordination than we have now built.
“We feel like we are part of the team and we have a shared goal,” he added.
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Katie Poe Lillis and Shawna Michelle contributed to the report.
