So why are these numbers so far off?
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, August 17, 2021 | The White House
"Q Jen,
how many Americans are in Afghanistan, both inside Kabul and outside Kabul? And should they get priority on evacuation flights? John Kirby said that it’s going to be a mix of SIV applicants and Americans, but should those remaining American citizens get priority? And how many are there in the country right now?
MS. PSAKI: Well, we are prioritizing a number of groups: American citizens; embassy employees and their families; our locally employed staff; SIV holders and applicants; Afghans who would be eligible for P-1/P-2 refugee programs, which includes, by the way, translators who may have assisted media organizations and others.
We are — there have been — how the process works, I should say — I’ll tell you —
is that there are individuals who will self-identify as American citizens — that number is around 11,000. Beyond that — around the country — beyond that, though, there are individuals who may not have self-identified, who may come and request assistance and come to the airport. "
Today we hear that about 4500 have been evacuated since Aug 14th and about 1500 are left for a total of about 6000. That's 5000 less than Psaki said on August 17th.
