(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) If you thought the Afghanistan withdrawal fiasco couldn’t get any worse, you were wrong.
The Biden administration is now “indirectly” paying the Taliban to help get refugees out of the “graveyard of empires,” a whistleblower told NBC.
From @dandeluce + @ckubeNBC With help from Qatar, the U.S. indirectly buys plane tickets on Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled carrier, Ariana Afghan Airlines, to get refugees out of Kabul on their way to the U.S.https://t.co/b8tF8HzNzt
— NBC Investigations (@NBCInvestigates) June 8, 2022
Because it has “no viable alternative,” the United States is paying the Taliban-controlled Ariana Afghan Airlines to fly Afghan refugees to Doha, Qatar, as the first step on their way to relocation in the United States.
As inflation and gas prices skyrocket in the United States, the DHS‘ Operation Allies Welcome program is paying at least $500 per flight to get Afghans to Qatar, NBC speculated.
When asked about the program, a State Department spokesman deflected.
“The United States remains committed to supporting American citizens, lawful permanent residents and our Afghan allies and their families who are eligible to relocate to the United States,” the spokesman said.
“This is an enduring effort, and the State Department continues to support travel for these individuals out of Afghanistan at this time.”
As of February 2022, Operation Allies Welcome had relocated more than 68,000 Afghan refugees in cities and towns throughout the United States, according to a report from PBS.
PBS added that the government continues to bring in an average of 50 Afghans per week, and in its article, NBC claimed that there are around 160,000 more Afghans trying to settle in the United States.
“About 160,000 Afghans are trying to resettle to the U.S. based on their work for the U.S. government over the past 20 years, according to refugee advocates,” NBC wrote.
“Tens of thousands of Afghans also qualify for a refugee program designed to help those who worked for U.S.-funded organizations, projects or media outlets.”
They have reason to hope — Sleepy Joe Biden is certainly generous with taxpayer money.
