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After Botched Afghanistan Evacuation, Biden Making Contingency Plans To Evacuate Americans From Ukraine

   DailyWire.com
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks while visiting the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Biden sketched out his latest plan to quell the pandemic that's dogged his presidency, with two U.S. cases of the omicron variant now confirmed and threatening to fuel an already high case count.
Oliver Contreras / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Fresh from the debacle of withdrawing from Afghanistan, where American citizens were left behind in the chaos from the Biden administration’s pullout, a report has emanated that the Biden administration, led by the Pentagon, is making plans to evacuate Americans from Ukraine if needed should the Russians invade their western neighbor. One source told CNN that the Biden administration does not want to be caught “flat-footed” if the Russians invade.

CNN reported on Tuesday:

The contingency planning is being led by the Pentagon, the sources said, and comes as the administration briefs Congress on how the US is preparing. … The discussions are part of planning in the event the security situation severely deteriorates, multiple officials involved in the planning emphasized.

CNN quoted sources saying that the Pentagon is considering various options, from an evacuation of nonessential US government employees to an evacuation that would also include other American citizens. The decision as to whether to evacuate would be left to the State Department. “Right now some planning is underway by the State Department’s diplomatic security for either an authorized or ordered departure of diplomats from the country should the situation warrant it, a source familiar with the discussions said,” CNN reported.

The Daily Wire reported on Monday that Russia is reportedly preparing to launch a massive invasion into Ukraine in the immediate future with up to 175,000 troops, armor, and artillery:

“The Kremlin has been moving troops toward the border with Ukraine while demanding Washington guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO and that the alliance will refrain from certain military activities in and around Ukrainian territory,” The Washington Post reported. “While Ukrainian assessments have said Russia has approximately 94,000 troops near the border, the U.S. map puts the number at 70,000 — but it predicts a buildup to as many as 175,000 and describes extensive movement of battalion tactical groups to and from the border ‘to obfuscate intentions and to create uncertainty.'”

The build-up by Russia comes as it demands that the U.S. guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO and that NATO will not interfere in military activities around Ukraine.

“The Russian plans call for a military offensive against Ukraine as soon as early 2022 with a scale of forces twice what we saw this past spring during Russia’s snap exercise near Ukraine’s borders,” a U.S. official told The Post. “The plans involve extensive movement of 100 battalion tactical groups with an estimated 175,000 personnel, along with armor, artillery and equipment.”

“The Russian troops worked out the issues of creating strike groups near the borders of our state, mobilization measures, logistical support of groups, [and] transfer of significant military contingents, including by air,” the official said. “Additionally, in the past month, our information indicates Russian influence proxies and media outlets have started to increase content denigrating Ukraine and NATO, in part to pin the blame for a potential Russian military escalation on Ukraine. Recent information also indicates that Russian officials proposed adjusting Russia’s information operations against Ukraine to emphasize the narrative that Ukrainian leaders had been installed by the West, harbored a hatred for the ‘Russian world,’ and were acting against the interests of the Ukrainian people.”

The Pentagon admitted in early November that since President Biden withdrew all U.S. troops from Afghanistan in the summer, several dozen immediate family members of U.S. service members were still trapped there.

A memo issued by Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl asked U.S. military personnel and DoD civilians who had immediate family members requiring help to leave Afghanistan to contact his office, NBC News reported. The memo “instructs service members and Defense Department civilians to email a specific address with the subject ‘immediate family member,’” the network reported.

According to defense officials, several dozen immediate family members of U.S. service members were still in Afghanistan. “There are well over 100 extended family members still in Afghanistan, but it’s not clear how many of them want to leave the country,” NBC News stated, citing the officials.

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