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Vermont ready to take Afghan refugees, governor says

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Gov. Phil Scott said his administration has reached out to the White House to reiterate an earlier request for Vermont to take in more refugees as thousands flee Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power.

“We’re ready, willing and able to help those who are coming from war-torn countries,” Scott said Tuesday during his weekly coronavirus briefing.

The Republican governor said it was the right decision to end the nearly 20-year war that he said didn’t appear to be winnable but he said he disagreed with how President Joe Biden did it.

“I think we have a moral obligation to make sure that we protect those who helped protect us for those 20 years who are living in that country. And we probably should have stayed a little bit longer to make sure they got out first,” Scott said.

“It’s horrific what we’re seeing as those who are desperate to get out the country and maybe for good reason,” he said.

Biden called the anguish of trapped Afghan civilians “gut-wrenching” and conceded the Taliban had achieved a much faster takeover of the country than his administration had expected.

But the president expressed no second thoughts about his decision to stick by the U.S. commitment, formulated during the Trump administration, to end America’s longest war, no matter what.

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