According to multiple Pentagon sources, the White House has followed counsel’s advice to “ghost” the media on Requests for Information (RFIs) regarding the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Becker News [1] reported, “The White House Counsel (via the National Security Council’s legal department) told multiple federal agencies and departments not to respond to Afghanistan correspondence, with more guidance to follow.”
Meanwhile, Representative Michael McFaul, the lead Republican with the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Fox News Sunday, “In fact, we have six airplanes at Mazar-i-Sharif airport, six airplanes, with American citizens on them as I speak, also with these interpreters, and the Taliban is holding them hostage for demands right now.
“State has cleared these flights, and the Taliban will not let them leave the airport.”
When asked if this was “turning into a hostage situation,” McCaul said, “Well, they are not clearing airplanes to depart. They’ve sat at the airport for the last couple of days, these planes, and they’re not allowed to leave.
“We know the reason why is because the Taliban want something in exchange.”
‘Zero Chatter’ from the White House on U.S. Hostage Crisis as Biden’s Media Blackout Continues
https://t.co/8XrUYRo4eC [2]— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) September 6, 2021 [3]
Representative Ronny Jackson also spoke on the matter with Newsmax [4] on Friday, saying that the Taliban was preventing flights carrying Americans from leaving.
“The airplanes are there,” Jackson said. “Everything is ready to go. They can’t get out, and the reason they can’t get out is that the Taliban won’t release the flight until Sept. 9 because they want to be recognized as an official government. They want to be officially recognized as a legitimate government.
“And I guarantee you these hostages, they’re hostages right now, are being held until the American, until the United States, until the Biden administration recognizes the Taliban as a government.”
Jackson is working to get at least seven of his constituents out of the terrorist-run country. He said that the White House statements that there are “around 100″ Americans left behind, some of whom do not want to leave, is a lie.
“This is not going to be the first nor the last lie that we’ve heard from the Biden administration,” he said. “This entire thing is just a web of lies. We’re working today. I have American citizens, citizens, at least seven of them, probably more from my district right now, that are trapped over there right now.”
McCaul said that he has received information “in the classified space” that there are still numbers “in the hundreds” of Americans stranded in Afghanistan.
This piece was written by Leah Anaya on September 6, 2021. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com [5] and is used by permission.