Dana Mathewson

American groups attempting to rescue U.S. citizens, SIVs and green card holders left behind in Afghanistan claim the U.S. State Department, not the Taliban, is preventing them from taking off.

Three different individuals involved in private evacuation efforts told Fox News that the State Department is "recklessly endangering American lives” with their delays.

Rick Clay, who operates the private rescue group "PlanB,” told Fox News that the State Department is preventing the flights from leaving Afghanistan. Clay has roughly 4,500 names on his manifest, 800 of which have been turned over to the U.S. State Department for vetting.

Two other American individuals separately involved in evacuation efforts made similar claims that the State Department is the sole entity preventing their charter flights from leaving Afghanistan. Fox News declined to name the two other people to avoid jeopardizing ongoing rescue efforts.

"This is zero place to be negotiating with American lives. Those are our people standing on the tarmac and all it takes is a f****ing phone call,” one of those individuals told Fox News.

"If one life is lost as a result of this, the blood is on the White House’s hands. The blood is on their hands,” that individual continued, adding: "It is not the Taliban that is holding this up, as much as it sickens me to say that it is the United States government.”

The same individual suggested that the State Department’s refusal to let the planes evacuate Americans is motivated, in part, by embarrassment that private individuals are rescuing Americans whom the U.S. government failed to evacuate.  [emphasis added]

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