The Taliban Kidnapped a Navy Vet in Afghanistan. The Biden Administration Risks Leaving Him Behind.....
The Biden administration's full withdrawal from Afghanistan could leave behind a U.S. Navy veteran kidnapped by the Taliban.
Haqqani network operatives backed by the Taliban abducted Mark Frerichs, a civilian contractor in Afghanistan for the U.S. government, in January 2020. The government has made little progress in retrieving the Navy veteran. U.S. authorities have been able to establish that Frerichs is alive, but have yet to disclose his whereabouts. The State Department has briefed lawmakers in recent weeks, but according to Rep. Mike Waltz (R., Fla.), a former Green Beret in Afghanistan and lead advocate for bringing Frerichs home, the Biden administration's opacity has hindered the urgent recovery operation.
The United States faces dwindling leverage over the Taliban amid a public deadline for withdrawal. As the Biden administration completes a full evacuation of military forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban are waging a violent offensive across the country, effectively squeezing the Afghan government—which receives backing from the United States—out of power. President Joe Biden conceded in a July speech that the Taliban are at their strongest since 2001, and analysis from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies shows the terrorists took control of some 139 districts in the country in two months. American nationals are not the sole focus of the pull-out. The State Department is scrambling to evacuate Afghan translators from the country as the Taliban steamroll through local security forces.
Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the dwindling strength of America's position makes for much tougher negotiations with the Taliban to secure the release of hostages.
"The United States continues to back negotiations with the Taliban as they rampage across Afghanistan, so I'm not sure what kind of leverage the U.S. government has to secure Frerichs's release," Roggio said. "The United States just continues to look weaker and weaker while the Taliban continue to look stronger. The administration has very tough cards to play. They basically need to give up the deck to get one card back."
"Now that U.S. forces are out of Afghanistan, we are really going to have to look to the Pakistanis to use their leverage with these groups to get him released," Curtis said. "It took a great deal of pressure from the Trump administration on the Pakistani government [to secure Coleman]. I'm not sure the Biden administration has exerted that kind of influence with the Pakistanis. …We're losing leverage very fast now."....snip~
The Taliban Kidnapped a Navy Vet in Afghanistan. The Biden Administration Risks Leaving Him Behind. (freebeacon.com)
Its not surprising that the Democrats/ Deviants are screwing up a withdrawal. Leaving Americans behind. This isnt the first time that the Idiots like Biden has done this.