US Says Evacuation of Americans, Permanent Residents and Afghan Nationals Continues
An unknown number of Americans were left stranded in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops in August 
The United States continues to evacuate Americans, permanent U.S. residents and Afghan nationals who helped the U.S. from Afghanistan following a chaotic withdrawal in August that left an unknown number of Americans in the country. According to a press release from the State Department released Monday, the U.S., since August 31, has relocated 479 American citizens and 450 permanent residents and their families. The State Department says it is in touch with “fewer than a dozen” Americans who “want to leave Afghanistan, are prepared to depart, and have the necessary travel documents.” The State Department says it has relocated “more than 2,200” Afghan allies and their families. According to the State Department, the Biden Administration has provided funding to resettle up to 95,000 Afghan nationals in the U.S. Some 74,000 have been resettled already. Officials say Afghans “undergo a rigorous and multilayered screening and vetting process prior to their arrival in the United States and undergo additional screening at their Port of Entry.” Earlier this year, Senate Republicans disputed the quality of the vetting in a memo that they said summarized interviews with government officials overseeing the process. The U.S. completed the withdrawal of its troops after a 20-year involvement in Afghanistan in August, leaving the Taliban in control of the country. The withdrawal led to chaotic scenes at the Kabul airport as Afghans and others attempted to leave the country. During the chaos, a suicide bomb attack at an airport gate left 13 American service members dead. Hundreds more were wounded. The United Nations has appealed for $4.4 billion to assist 23 million Afghans next year – to deal with what has become its largest humanitarian crisis.