Thread by @AndyKimNJ

WHAT NEXT? Many of us are deeply frustrated that we could not evacuate all Americans who wanted to leave Afghanistan. Now we need to hear specifics on what the plan is to get them out and continue support for Afghan partners. Here are some ideas for what happens next. THREAD

MAINTAIN TASK FORCE: State Dept must keep Afghanistan task force operational. There are major logistical challenges remaining and so many citizens/Afghans that still need help. Urge State to commit to keeping their 24/7 operation going. 2/11

IMMEDIATELY CONTACT CITIZENS: I know citizens left in Kabul including 4 yr old. They wanted to leave. Many were stuck at airport gates last night. They didn’t procrastinate. They, like our embassy, wanted to believe it wouldn’t all unravel so fast. They need constant contact.3/11

ACCELERATE AIRPORT FACILITATOR: Over the last week we heard chatter about having Turkey/Qatar or some other nation facilitate running of Kabul Airport. We need to expedite this urgently and need to immediately hear details from Biden admin on how and when this can happen. 4/11

THINK BEYOND JUST KABUL: There are possibilities for other airports in Afghanistan including Mazar-e Sharif where some were able to exit recently. 5/11

OPEN GROUND EXIT OPTIONS AND RESETTLEMENT: Increased diplomatic engagement needed with neighboring nations, especially Uzbekistan and Pakistan to facilitate possible land crossings. Nearly all border crossings are even more chaotic than the crowd around the airport. 6/11

CONSIDER PROXY EMBASSY: We should consider ID’ing an existing embassy in Kabul to provide support to Americans in case of urgent need. In places where we don’t have physical presence, we sometimes have other nations provide basic/emergency support. Qatar or another country. 7/11

DEVELOP AND ENGAGE COMPLETE SIV DATABASE: A constant refrain heard over last two weeks is that we don’t know the full extent of Special Immigrant Visa applicants and eligible family members. We cannot manage such a complex process if we don’t get control over scope. 8/11

PULL TOGETHER NGO/VETERAN GROUPS FOR COORDINATION: Thousands representing orgs or even just personal volunteer efforts helped identify and help Americans and Afghans. Biden admin should immediately pull all efforts together and map out and catalogs resources and contacts. 9/11

CARE FOR RELOCATED AFGHANS: Thousands of Afghans are now relocated to my district and communities around the US. Let us commit to caring for those that supported our military and those most vulnerable. Look here for more info: google.com/amp/s/www.pbs.… 10/11

MAINTAIN ATTENTION: In the coming days and weeks we will undoubtedly see a drop in media coverage on Afghanistan, but let us commit to keeping up our attention for those still in harm’s way. We still have more work to do. END