White House Approves Plan as Evacuations in Afghanistan Continue

It was announced yesterday that the White House has approved a plan for the State Department to coordinate with outside groups that are working to evacuate at-risk  U.S. citizens and Afghan allies from Afghanistan. On Tuesday afternoon, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley met with representatives from outside groups involved in the efforts. According to an official, the groups each brought lists of different criteria for evacuations to the meeting and Milley suggested creating a single unified list with better defined requirements and criteria so everyone would be on the same page. Since the remaining U.S. troops left the country last month, the White House said the Taliban has been ‘cooperative’ and have ‘shown flexibility’ in getting Americans out of the country which included a flight that left the airport yesterday with more than 100 foreign nationals aboard including Americans. A statement from the National Security Council says the organization will “continue these efforts to facilitate the safe and orderly travel of American citizens, lawful permanent residents, and Afghans who worked for us and wish to leave Afghanistan.”