Pentagon Ramping Up Efforts to Evacuate Family Members of U.S. Service Members Still Trapped in Afghanistan
The Pentagon is currently addressing the evacuation of family members of U.S. service members still trapped in Afghanistan after U.S. President Joe Biden had withdrawn troops from the country by August.
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl issued a memo asking U.S. military personnel and DoD civilians who have immediate family members requiring help to leave Afghanistan to contact his office, according to The Daily Wire report.
Several dozen immediate family members of U.S. troops are still in Afghanistan, according to defense officials.
The officials noted that it is not yet clear how many of those family members want to leave Afghanistan, which is now being controlled by the Taliban.
The memo also instructs service members and Defense Department civilians to email a specific address with the subject "immediate family member." The emails will also need to attach passport details, contact and other personal information about the family members, according to an NBC News report.
The Pentagon will work with the State Department to evacuate family members who want to leave once the information has been consolidated.
An official noted that the U.S. military will not have a role in the actual plans of getting the people out of the country.
Many of the service members with family members trapped in Afghanistan are Afghan-born, with some serving as interpreters during the war and moved to the U.S. and enlisted before the military withdrawal.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in September, asking them for their more involvement on the matter.
McCaul wrote that the federal government has "turned their backs" on those still trapped. He noted that those family members will certainly be slaughtered by the Taliban if officials abandon them.
Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan
Since the Taliban's rise to power, many also believe that their rule could bring a stop to the fighting and hope to end corruption, particularly in areas far away from main cities, according to an Aljazeera report.
However, their reputation has been known to be violent and oppressive regarding women's rights, raising concerns in the global community about what the militant group would do with their current hold of Afghanistan.
Last month, shooters presenting themselves as Taliban attacked a wedding in eastern Afghanistan to stop music from being played. The gunmen killed at least three people.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that two of the three attackers had been arrested. They also denied that they were acting on behalf of the Islamist movement, according to The Guardian report.
The Taliban has tried to show a more moderate stance on their new government, even saying right after the U.S. withdrawal that women can continue to work in government in Afghanistan.
However, they are not guaranteed cabinet or other senior positions. This statement turned in another direction as many female teachers and students were barred from secondary school education, according to a CBS News report.
One woman who used to have a senior role at the ministry of foreign affairs said that she may "as well be dead."
The education ministry also ordered male teachers and students back to secondary school but did not mention the female population.
In September, the Taliban had seemed to shut down the former government's ministry of women's affairs and replaced it with a department enforcing their religious doctrine.
READ MORE: 2 Afghan Refugees Staying in Wisconsin Arrested for Trying to Rape Child, Strangle Woman
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Former US Army interpreter afraid for his family trapped in Afghanistan - from ABC News