At a White House press conference this week, Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki expertly shredded deceptive questioning from Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy about the situation in Afghanistan. Doocy brought up a report claiming that one Afghan who was evacuated from the country by U.S. forces amid the ongoing withdrawal has “suspected ISIS ties,” and in light of that report, Doocy asked if the Biden administration had “any concern” that “mistakes are being made” amid the withdrawal effort. Psaki replied by laying out the facts of the Biden administration’s strict vetting process for Afghan evacuees, and she also noted how, overall, the ongoing — and tentatively successful — efforts to airlift people from Afghanistan are poised to become the largest such effort in American history, showing the scope of the Biden administration’s relative success.
Overall, since August 14 of this year, the U.S. had “helped evacuate” nearly 71,000 people from Afghanistan as of this Tuesday, according to President Joe Biden. At a previous press conference, Doocy characterized certain Americans in Afghanistan as “stranded,” but the effectiveness of that evacuation effort undercuts the notion that there are “stranded” Americans.
At the more recent press conference, Doocy asked as follows:
‘Is there any concern that maybe [in] trying to reach this deadline and get everybody out, mistakes are being made, now that there is a report that at least one of the Afghans evacuated to Cutter has suspected ISIS ties?’
Psaki replied with the following:
‘Well, first I would say, we have a stringent vetting process, which includes background checks before any individual comes to the United States. So I can’t speak to one individual, but I can tell you and confirm for you that we take the vetting of any individual who comes to the United States and comes out incredibly seriously, and it’s an extensive process. I would say that this is now on track, Peter, to be the largest airlift in U.S. history — and that is bringing American citizens out. It is bringing our Afghan partners out. It is bringing allies out. So no, I would not say that is anything but a success.’
Check out Psaki’s comments on the matter below:
Jen Psaki to Peter Doocy: "I would say that this is now on track, Peter, to be largest airlift in US history … so no, I would not say that is anything but a success." pic.twitter.com/goyQM9KQN6
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 24, 2021
