US Government-Backed Journalists Left Stranded in Afghanistan

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U.S. government-backed journalists are stranded in Afghanistan, according to multiple media reports.

More than 100 employees with the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) – which includes outlets such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) – were promised by the State Department that they would be evacuated only to be left behind as the U.S. military left Afghanistan on Monday after almost 20 years of war there.

RFE/RL journalists made several trips to the airport in the Afghan capital of Kabul, where the evacuations were taking place, only to not make it inside.

“You would have expected that the United States government, which helped create the space for journalism and civil society in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, would have tried to do more over the last several weeks to assist journalists who made a decision that it was best for them to leave the country,” RFE/RL president Jamie Fly told The Washington Post. “But they consistently failed to do that.”

Fly told the outlet that shortly before the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline, USAGM employees were told by the State Department that they would be evacuated alongside locally employed U.S. government employees – only for the USAGM employees to not get the call to go to the airport.

“The State Department and Department of Defense worked around the clock to facilitate departure USAGM and RFE/RL via both military and charter aircraft,” a senior State Department official told the Post. “As the situation outside of [the Kabul airport] grew increasingly dangerous, we advised all seeking evacuation to shelter in place while we continued to develop departure options.”

On Wednesday, the State Department told Fox News, “We did not forget about USAGM employees and their families, nor will we. These employees have served the United States….We remain keenly focused on getting them out, safely.”