WASHINGTON – White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday dismissed criticism of President Biden’s chaotic evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, including Democrats in Congress, saying it’s “easy to throw stones.”
Psaki also said Biden intends to kill suspected Islamic State terrorists involved in the Kabul airport bombing that killed 13 U.S. soldiers on Thursday.
“He no longer wants them to live on Earth,” he said in his daily press conference.
Psaki said Biden will not ask any general to resign over the disorderly withdrawal as he loathes Democrats who disapproved of plans to withdraw U.S. troops on Aug. 31.
“I have no direct answer to any member of Congress, but what I will say is that it is easy to throw stones or be critical from the outside. It’s harder to be in the arena and make difficult decisions, “said Psaki.
Psaki was specifically asked about Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) Saying the evacuations were “mishandled” and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) Saying that “even if you completely agree with the decision to withdraw from the Biden administration, the way they have managed this has been a total disaster ”.
The latest U.S. exit on Tuesday is expected to leave behind thousands of Afghans who worked in the U.S. government along with an unknown number of stranded U.S. citizens.
New York Times journalist Michael Shear and Psaki maintained a broad dialogue after the journalist opposed “this idea that there were only two options” between staying in Afghanistan and hastily evacuating from Kabul airport.
“What evidence do you have that other options could not have been taken?” He said.
“What is the other option someone offers?” Psaki asked the reporter.
Shear proposed that the evacuation could have started in May because Kabul had not been invaded by the Taliban, as it was last week.
“How do you know that?” Psaki said.
“Well, the Taliban were not near Kabul at the time,” Shear noted.
“Look, Mike, I think it’s easy to play the driver in the back seat,” he said, adding, “no one anticipated, I think including from the outside, that the Afghan government would have fallen at the rate they fell.”
NPR journalist Ayesha Rascoe asked Psaki if “the US [is] ensuring that you will be able to leave “the” people who will still be on the ground ”after August 31, including Afghans working in the U.S.
“I don’t think we can guarantee that, but what we can do is work towards that, and that’s what the President directed the Secretary of State to continue diplomatic efforts with international partners to ensure – means for nationals of third countries, Afghans with visas who may be eligible for programs, of course, any U.S. citizen who stays in the country to leave the country even after their military presence ends, ”Psaki said.
In a seemingly contradictory statement, Biden said Thursday evening that any American who wanted to leave the country after Aug. 31 would be able to do so, without specifying how.
“We will continue after our troops have withdrawn to find the means to be able to find any American who wants to leave Afghanistan. We will find them and take them out,” Biden said.
But when pressured about the apparent contradiction of saying there was no guarantee of departures after Aug. 31, Psaki said that “I think the issue was really about people who are still there because they’re not , they are not ready to leave or other Afghans or others who want to leave “.