According to a private email obtained by the media, the State Department declined to provide clearance for private planes to evacuate those left behind in Afghanistan, although admitting that such approval would be required for such flights to land in third-party nations.
According to Fox News, which obtained the documents, the State Department even stated that private planes carrying American people would not be permitted to land at US air facilities.
According to Fox, American officials stated that military facilities lack the capabilities to thoroughly examine flight manifests and thereby avert potential security concerns.
Private groups, primarily led by retired military personnel, have been in Afghanistan attempting to remove Americans and Afghans who assisted the military after the Biden administration failed to evacuate them all by Biden’s August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of all American troops.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has criticized the White House for delaying these groups’ work.
After his attempts were continually rejected by the US government, Eric Montalvo booked private flights to rescue individuals unable to leave the country and shared emails with Fox News.
“Independent charters are not permitted to land at [Al Udeid Air Base], the military airbase indicated in your conversation with Samantha Power.
In fact, no charters are permitted to land at a [sic] DoD facility, and most, if not all, Middle Eastern countries, with the possible exception of Saudi Arabia, will permit charters to land “On September 1, an official wrote to Montalvo.
According to the source, certain foreign nations “may demand” formal clearance from the State Department in order to allow private charter planes, but the State Department “will not provide” it.
The next day, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and State Department spokesman Ned Price both assured reporters that the Biden administration was not preventing flights from departing Afghanistan.
“If these charters seek to go to a U.S. military installation, for example, we must weigh not only the threat to those on board – especially if they are American citizens, LPRs, or other Afghans to whom we have a special commitment – but also the safety and security of State Department personnel, U.S. military personnel, Department of Homeland Security personnel, and other U.S. personnel.”
