National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan lied about former President Trump’s dealings with his Afghan allies and tried to divert criticism of President Joe Biden’s ineffective handling of the Afghan withdrawal. This is a rather strange attempt. In a press conference on Monday, Sullivan deceptively claimed that the previous government did not apply for any special immigrant visas (SIV) for Afghans who had assisted the U.S. military since March 2020.
During the meeting, Sullivan said:
When we took office in January, the Trump administration had not processed any special immigrant visas for nearly a year since March 2020.
But obviously, the national security adviser hopes that people will not investigate the matter further, because the statement is completely fictitious.this Daily call Report:
Although due to COVID-19, from March 2020 until the end of the Trump administration, the US Embassy in Kabul did not interview Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants, but the State Department’s quarterly report shows that thousands of Afghan SIV applications Has been processed and issued within that time frame.
According to the State Department’s quarterly report on the plan, a total of 1,321 Afghan SIVs were issued during the three-month period from October 1 to December 31, 2020 before the Biden administration took office. The report shows that the Chief of Mission (COM) Committee decided to approve or reject at least 3,273 Afghan SIV applicants within these three months.
The Daily Caller also pointed out that between April 1 and September 31, 2020, the State Department issued 286 SIVs to Afghan allies.
Sullivan’s claim that the Biden administration managed to cut down the “months, months, and months” of the SIV process is also deceptive. When Trump is in office, this 14-step process may take more than two years to complete. However, what the national security adviser did not mention is that part of the process includes face-to-face interviews at the embassy.
However, in the last 10 months of the Trump administration, these interviews were not conducted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the State Department pointed out that visa procedures at consulates around the world have been postponed due to the temporary suspension.
Sullivan’s false statement is another way to deviate from what people really care about: the horrible handling of the situation in Afghanistan by the Biden administration. He tried to portray Trump as a president who is indifferent to the plight of the Afghans, and the truth is that Biden seems to be disturbing our allies. Unfortunately for them, this particular strategy is unlikely to work.
