Remember Afghanistan? The Biden administration is desperately hoping that you don’t.

While other issues that directly affect everyday life have risen to the forefront – like rising inflation and supply chain issues that have left shelves empty – Afghanistan remains a national disgrace. Team Biden is banking on the distractability of the American public so that they can sweep the memory of Afghanistan under the rug.

That gets a whole lot harder when the administration gets caught lying about the numbers of American citizens left behind in Afghanistan. Remember the mantra that it was “about a hundred” Americans still in Afghanistan, which the administration kept repeating? Well, it had already become obvious through simple math that the “about a hundred” number was a lie. How big a lie? Well, start multiplying.

The US State Department informed congressional staffers it has been in contact with 368 Americans who remain in Afghanistan — 178 of whom want to leave.”

The number is substantially higher than the Biden administration previously said were left behind in the country following the US’ chaotic exit in August.”

Administration officials previously stated that roughly 100 Americans who wanted to be evacuated remained in the area.”

One staffer on the call said they were told by a State Department official that the agency is working with airlines, the Qatari and Pakistani embassies and communicating with the Taliban to get visas distributed to individuals currently trapped in the country amid logistical challenges.”

And that “368” number DOESN’T COUNT THOSE WHO HAVE MANAGED TO GET OUT. Add at least another hundred to that in order to reflect the number that was initially left behind. And who knows how accurate the number actually is, because that number ONLY reflects the Americans that the State Department has been in contact with. And note that between sources, that final number isn’t exactly a solid one.

Officials said that they have gotten 218 American citizens and 131 legal permanent residents (LPRs) out of Afghanistan since August 31, @jmhansler reports

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) October 22, 2021

The more honest answer is that the Biden administration has no clue how many Americans were actually left behind, and because they botched the withdrawl so badly, there is no good way to get an exact number.

The even more apparent truth is that the Biden administration repeatedly lied about how many Americans were being left behind. If only 100 Americans were left in Afghanistan, then getting 218 Americans out of the country after the withdrawl should have taken care of everyone, right? Do you really expect this administration, who is still busy insisting that a $3.5 trillion bill will cost “zero” dollars, is able to do simple math? No one can even agree on these numbers of who is left, and who has gotten to leave!

Another Qatar Airways flight arrived in Doha on Oct 20 with U.S. citizens and LPRs on-board. The United States has facilitated the departure of 234 U.S. citizens and 144 LPRs from Kabul since August 31. Our efforts continue and we will provide updates as they are available.

— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) October 22, 2021

Again, the entire point is to not make a big deal about this so that anything about Afghanistan gets quickly forgotten. Hence, the quiet admissions from the State Department to anonymous Congressional staffers that the numbers don’t add up at all, and the tweets after hours from official Twitter accounts that serve as de facto press releases with no questions asked. They don’t want anyone asking questions about the obvious lies.

“We now know this administration repeatedly lied to the world about the citizens of our country it abandoned in Afghanistan,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), whose office has paved the way for several families to come home, told the Free Beacon. “But it did something even worse: It broke a sacred bond of trust between Americans and their government. This isn’t close to over.”

While members of Congress often challenged the “around 100″ figure, the administration stuck to the number and attempted to downplay criticism of its botched retreat.”

“Everyone who has said these numbers make no sense got told we were lying, got told we were crazy, got told we were not on the ground,” said a second senior congressional source working on the issue. “The White House has said on the record that they’re turning the page and it becomes clearer all the time why: Every new detail that we find out about the reckless Biden policy in Afghanistan produces only more proof that they lied from day one.”

It is up to both members of Congress and the public at large to keep reminding the Biden administration at every turn possible just how badly they screwed up in Afghanistan. They want you to forget. They’re going to try and distract you with promises of free money through “Build Back Better,” authoritarian COVID policy, and tell you to “lower your expectations” when it comes to the supply chain. By the midterms, they are counting on the disaster in Afghanistan being a distant memory. Do NOT let them walk away from that, or the hundreds of American citizens they left behind.

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