CNN: Officials Saying They Came up with Afghanistan Evacuation Plans ‘From Scratch’ Contradict Biden Admin.’s Claims

On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” CNN National Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood discussed her report on transcripts of congressional testimony by State Department officials John Bass, James DeHart, and Jayne Howell where DeHart said that tactical operations to get important people to the airport were created “from scratch” and the Bass said that the evacuation “substantially exceeded…the scope and scale of what had been contemplated.” And noted that the descriptions contradict the rosier picture of the evacuation painted by the Biden administration.

Atwood said, “The chaos on the ground after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, a reflection of the chaos behind the scenes from the State Department. … The officials painted a tumultuous picture of the evacuation, one testifying, ‘[W]e had to…create from scratch tactical operations that would get our priority people into the airport.’ He added, ‘[W]e were roughly as effective as we could be under the circumstances.’ Another saying he was never briefed on an established evacuation plan because, ‘we were already in the midst of executing an evacuation that substantially exceeded…the scope and scale of what had been contemplated.'”

She added, “Those descriptions a far cry from what the State Department said at the time.”

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