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Over 300 former national security officials urge Biden to evacuate more Afghans
A bipartisan group of former national security officials, diplomats and lawmakers are urging President Biden to extend the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan beyond August 31st to help evacuate vulnerable Afghans, regardless of their immigration status.
Why it matters: Biden has vowed to keep U.S. forces in Afghanistan as long as it takes to get all Americans out, but has also said that his goal is to complete that mission by the end of the month.
- But Biden will be under domestic and international pressure to extend that deadline and do more for Afghan nationals, both those who helped the U.S. military and are awaiting Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), as well as those who worked for nongovernmental organizations to help promote American values.
- “No flight out of Kabul should have empty seats,” the former officials say.
Driving the news: In a letter organized by members of the Truman National Security Project, over 300 former officials are writing to President Biden and Congress to make “an urgent appeal to save our Afghan allies who we have depended on and whose lives now depend on us.”
- “As national security and human rights experts who have served as diplomats, humanitarians, frontline civilians, elected officials, and in uniform, we implore you to use every power vested in your offices to act.”
- The signees, including 53 former ambassadors, are demanding that the administration help people who “share our democratic values” escape from the Taliban.
- “They are journalists, activists, academics, and colleagues to U.S. and foreign government officials.”
The big picture: In addition to finding and evacuating U.S. citizens throughout the country, Biden is also under pressure to expedite the Afghan SIV applications, with a bipartisan group of 55 senators writing him Thursday, CNN reported.
- "The Taliban's rapid ascendancy across Afghanistan and takeover of Kabul should not cause us to break our promise to the Afghans who helped us operate over the past twenty years and are counting on us for assistance," the lawmakers wrote.
Go deeper: The Truman National Security Project signees are urging the administration and Congress to help evacuate Afghans, “regardless of their immigration status.”
- They are also calling for the U.S. government to lead a diplomatic effort to ensure that roads to the airport in Kabul remain safe and increase funding to other countries willing to accept at-risk Afghans.
Go deeper... Exclusive: Inside the White House scramble to protect Afghan allies
COVID-19 cases surge across U.S. due to Delta variant
As vaccination rates dwindle and the Delta variant becomes a growing public health concern, COVID cases appear to be surging across the U.S.
The big picture: "Twenty-four states have seen an uptick of at least 10% in Covid-19 cases over the past week," CNN writes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says between June 20 and July 3, the Delta variant accounted for more than 51% of all news cases.
Driving the news: Kansas reported the most number of new cases in over three months, AP reports. The city of Independence issued a public health advisory Friday, saying cases and hospitalizations were growing throughout the Kansas City metro and the state of Missouri due to the Delta variant.
- In California, Los Angeles County officials said they saw a 165% increase in new cases week over week.
- Arizona reported its biggest daily increase in two months with more than 900 new cases on Friday.
- Mississippi health officials acknowledged a "modest" increase in hospitalizations, mostly driven by the Delta variant, AP notes.
What they're saying: "We should think about the Delta variant as the 2020 version of Covid-19 on steroids," former White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt told CNN on Wednesday.
- "It's twice as infectious. Fortunately, unlike 2020, we actually have a tool that stops the Delta variant in its tracks: It's called vaccine," he added.
- Slavitt noted the variant presented a "very little threat" to fully vaccinated individuals.
Zoom out: Virus cases have ticked up around the world. The United Kingdom saw its highest case count since January as the disease spreads among younger age groups. On Friday, the government reported more than 35,700 new cases, the highest number since January.
- The Netherlands reimposed coronavirus restrictions on Friday amid a surge of new cases, which the government said were driven by the Delta variant.
- In Bangkok, health authorities reported more than 9,200 new cases and 72 new deaths. "More than 90% of the cases and deaths have occurred since early April," AP writes.



