No mention of Afghanistan in Biden’s State of the Union address as Afghan evacuees left In limbo

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McCaul says Afghanistan withdrawal accountability, independence from China top priorities: ‘I have subpoena power’

Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is vowing to stop the export of technologies to China and hold the Biden administration to full account for its withdrawal from Afghanistan as top committee priorities.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, decided to highlight President Biden’s failures in Afghanistan since the U.S. withdrawal by inviting former Afghan Ambassador Roya Rahmani to be his guest to the State of the Union address.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., a Marine veteran, invited Shamsrrahman “Shams” Rahmani, an Afghan national who worked as a site manager for a military contractor in Afghanistan. Rahmani is a special immigrant visa (SIV) holder who finally made it to the United States in December after fearing for his life. 

The veterans group No One Left Behind was instrumental to the evacuation of him and his family.  

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  Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas; former Afghan Ambassador Roya Rahmani; and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (Office of Rep. Michael McCaul)

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  Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and former Afghan Ambassador Roya Rahmani on Capitol Hill Tuesday night for President Biden’s State of the Union Address.  (Office of Rep. Michael McCaul)

Analysts noted President Biden did not mention Afghanistan or the threat posed by ISIS or al Qaeda in his State of the Union Address. Nor did he mention the thousands of Afghan evacuees who remain in limbo at bases overseas. It has been 18 months since the U.S. military airlifted them out of Kabul during the chaotic Afghan withdrawal. 

New reports from Afghanistan suggest global terror groups are gathering strength now that the U.S. military is gone. 

Tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the U.S. as part of the evacuation still face immigration hurdles and legal jeopardy, including possible deportation due to State Department delays. Some leading Republicans in Congress refuse to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would give the evacuees a legal pathway to citizenship.

Fox News has learned that 2,000 Afghan evacuees are still awaiting their fate in the United Arab Emirates, where they remain at the Emirates Humanitarian City awaiting their paperwork to the U.S. or third countries. 

Among those families stuck in Dubai are at least 200 Afghans who are eligible for P1 and P2 humanitarian refugee visas who have cleared most of the screening to come to the U.S. Their biggest hurdle is the State Department, which has not stamped their papers for the onward travel to the U.S. arranged by the department. Some of those evacuees threatened a hunger strike this week to bring awareness to their plight. 

In an exclusive interview, Fox News spoke with Ali Maisam Nazary, the head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF). He represents the U.S.-trained Afghan commandos left in Afghanistan who are still fighting the Taliban and want support from the United States. 

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  Nazary provided Fox News with photos of U.S.-trained Afghan commandos wearing U.S.-issued equipment fighting the Taliban and other terrorist groups. (Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations of National Resistance Front of Afghanistan )

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  A U.S.-trained Afghan commando wearing U.S-issued equipment. (Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations of National Resistance Front of Afghanistan )

“After the takeover of the country by the Taliban terrorists, Afghanistan once again has become a hub and haven for international and regional terrorism for jihadists all around the globe. And for the past year and a half, it’s been these groups who have been continuing the global war on terror,” Nazary said. He says the world is in a pre-9/11 moment and can’t afford to take its eye off the vacuum that has been left in Afghanistan. 

“For the past one and a half years, they have been fighting against international and regional terrorism inside Afghanistan against global jihadism.” Nazary said. He spoke to the strength of the NRF forces. 

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“They have been fighting and struggling for Afghanistan’s freedom and to reestablish democracy in that country. So, the fight has continued. These commandos, who are the most well-trained forces in the region, many of them have continued,” Nazary said. 

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  NRF fighters stand on the snowy mountains of Afghanistan. (Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations of National Resistance Front of Afghanistan )

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  "They’ve proven their willingness and their determination to not only fight for their country’s freedom and to fight for democracy, but to fight for a fight against global jihadism and international terrorism," Nazary said. (Ali Nazary, head of Foreign Relations of National Resistance Front of Afghanistan )

Nazary provided Fox News with photos of U.S.-trained Afghan commandos wearing U.S.-issued equipment fighting under General Ahmad Shah Massoud, the son of the famous Afghan commander who was known as the Lion of the Panshir. He bravely fought the Soviets and was killed by al Qaeda on the eve of 9/11. Nazary claims the NRF now has a presence in 12 provinces. 

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  National Resistance Front of Afghanistan fighters stand behind their flag. (Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations of National Resistance Front of Afghanistan )

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  NRF fighters stand behind the flag representing the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. (Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations of National Resistance Front of Afghanistan )

“They’ve proven their competence. They’ve proven their willingness and their determination to not only fight for their country’s freedom and to fight for democracy, but to fight against global jihadism and international terrorism, which is threatening global security today,” Nazary told Fox News. 

Nazary warns that Russia and Iran are actively trying to recruit these U.S.-trained elite fighters and wonders why the U.S. government doesn’t want to keep supporting them or use them to train forces in Ukraine. 

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“When they’re being abandoned and ignored by those who trained them, funded them and advised them for 20 years, of course, there’s going to be other players and other countries who will exploit the situation and will recruit them and not only them, but even terrorist groups. So, time is of its essence,” Nazary explained.  

Jennifer Griffin currently serves as a national security correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) and is based out of the Washington D.C. bureau. She joined the network in October 1999 as a Jerusalem-based correspondent.