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Jacobson speaks with HuffPost, VOA, Washington Post about evacuations in Afghanistan

September 3, 2021

The Huffington Post,The Washington Post,VOA News

Over 120,000 people were evacuated from Afghanistan by the U.S. between July and the final withdrawal on August 31. But despite promises from President Joe Biden, and a U.S. military doctrine of never leaving anyone behind, between 100 and 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan. Mark Jacobson, assistant dean of Washington Programs and Afghanistan war veteran who has been assisting families to get out, says the Biden administration had been "disingenuous" about some of the Americans left behind. He says officials often fail to note that some American citizens do not want to leave because it could mean leaving close family members behind. "If we made it a decision that we can’t take that many, then what was the backup plan for the others, especially in families that we knew were high risk?" Jacobson says in the Washington Post article, "Fear and uncertainty for Americans and their Afghan partners stranded in Afghanistan." He was also interviewed for the VOA pieces, "'Hunger Games' Evacuations as US Left Afghanistan" and "Biden Defends Ending America’s Longest War," and the HuffPost article, "Biden Flipped His Underpromise/Overdeliver Script On Afghanistan, With Disastrous Results." 


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