Garamendi: State Department ‘Working Through Others with the Taliban’ to Identify Those Who Want to and Should Leave Afghanistan

On Tuesday’s “CNN Newsroom,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) said that the State Department “is working through others with the Taliban government to identify Americans and others that want to leave and should leave” Afghanistan.

Garamendi stated, “Now, what is left in Afghanistan? Well, there’s — the numbers range from 200 to 100 or less than 100 Americans. Why they are still there, what their situation is, I think that the State Department and the intelligence community has more information, doesn’t want to share that information for what should be obvious reasons. With regard to the Afghan men and women that supported us over those 20 years, we know that perhaps 100,000 or 120,000 have left. There are others in other countries that have left. And we continue to work to bring out of Afghanistan additional Afghans who worked with us. Some of that is done by private organizations. … We continue, in my own office, to continue to work at this. I know the State Department is working very closely — wrong word, the State Department is working through others with the Taliban government to identify Americans and others that want to leave and should leave.”

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