Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., estimates that about 500 Americans remain stranded in Afghanistan, contradicting the White House’s claim that it left behind fewer than 200 Americans, The Epoch Times reported.
“Unless we continue and get the rest of our American citizens, and all those otherwise eligible out, we won’t have done our job,” Issa said.
Issa’s office reached the 500-person estimate during its effort to rescue two elderly Americans from Afghanistan.
The congressman’s office also believes that the 500 Americans have an additional 500 family members with them who are not U.S. citizens, bringing the total number of people closer to 1,000.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., called on President Joe Biden‘s administration to say how many Americans it left behind in Afghanistan.
Bacon said he does not believe that Biden has stated the true number.
“The problem is, it doesn’t include families,” he said. “They’re lowballing the numbers.”
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said on Sept. 5 that the administration abandoned about 100 Americans, while Biden himself said the number may be as high as 200.
“We believe it’s around a hundred. We’re in touch with all of them who we’ve identified on a regular basis,” Klain said.
Two men running rescue operations said that the Biden administration has not included family members in its estimate of stranded Americans.
Iraq War Veteran Alex Plitsas, who operates Digital Dunkirk rescue network, said six Americans have sought his help who were unregistered with the US Embassy.
“Those names are starting to trickle out now,” Plitsas said. “I expect that number to rise significantly.”
