January 1, DOD confirms over 400 Americans still trapped in Afghanistan

The Department of Defense confirmed that 439 Americans remain in Afghanistan following the U.S.’s military withdrawal in August.

The latest figure comes after Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) found inconsistent or “confusing” numbers that the Biden administration has provided since the withdrawal.

“One of the many confusing things about this whole thing is that we really don’t know how many Americans are left in Afghanistan,” Inhofe said. “The administration’s number of U.S. citizens left in Afghanistan keeps changing. We all understand that. It’s very confusing.”

Last week, the State Department said that 363 Americans remain in Afghanistan, which was an increase over the estimate of roughly 100 the administration put forth in September.

Colin Kahl, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, provided a breakdown of the new, accurate figure.

“In terms of how many American citizens we estimate are currently in Afghanistan, the Department of State is in contact with 196 American citizens who are ready to depart –and arrangements are being made for them to do so, either via air or over ground – and another 243 American citizens have been contacted and are not ready to depart, either because they want to stay in Afghanistan or aren’t ready,” Kahl said.

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Pentagon confirms nearly 450 Americans trapped in Afghanistan