Former Defense Officer Mary Beth Long warned of the precarious state of U.S. credibility after Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed there were fewer than 200 Americans still seeking the evacuation of Afghanistan after of the U.S. military withdrawal from the Taliban-controlled country.
“Our credibility is key, and it’s one thing to leave it, but we made it worse, we left behind American citizens, green card holders, and people who risked their lives for us,” Long said. , who served as President George W. Bush as Deputy Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. “He wouldn’t trust us, if he were in his position.”
Marine Corps General Kenneth McKenzie, a U.S. Central Command leader, told reporters during a briefing Monday afternoon in Washington that while all U.S. troops were successfully evacuated, no the same could be said for American citizens.
“There are a lot of breaks related to this exit,” McKenzie said. “We didn’t get everyone out who wanted to go out.”
Blinken said Monday that “a new diplomatic mission has begun” in Afghanistan.
Long told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that the assessment is “a fallacy” because of the country’s expanding terrorist networks.
“ISIS-K has already found out and informed us from the Haqqani network that we have al-Qaeda operators crossing the border just a couple of hours ago,” Long said. “The idea that somehow the Taliban will magically run Afghanistan and we will have some kind of political agreement with them is just pure fantasy.”
Blinken added that the US had suspended its diplomatic presence in Kabul and will transfer these operations to Doha, Qatar.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.