'What stood out to me': Wolf Blitzer challenges State Department official on Mideast plans

CNN's Wolf Blitzer suggested multiple options to a State Department spokesman for evacuating Americans from the Middle East.

The State Department ordered nonemergency personnel and their families to leave six countries in the region and urged other Americans to depart as soon as possible as Iranian drones retaliate against U.S. bombing raids, but many have found limited options for getting back home during the military operation.

"Well, the president has spoken to this" said department spokesman Tommy Pigott. "We've seen updated travel guidance in terms of the security situation we have seen and the security challenges are part of what we are overcoming in order to help the American people. The secretary talking about the airport being hit, the secretary talking about certain airspace closures we are constantly identifying those additional options to help the Americans who need it."

Pigott encouraged stranded Americans to "proactively reach out for help" and provided the address to the State Department website, but the well-traveled Blitzer offered some suggestions drawn from his own reporting and his experience covering warzones.

"I mentioned yesterday, Tommy,that the British government hasbeen activating militarypersonnel, military aircraft togo into some of these countriesto land at various militarybases and evacuate theircitizens," Blitzer said. "But so far, the U.S. government, I haven't seen anyevidence that you haveauthorized the U.S. military todeploy cargo planes, other hugeaircraft, for example, to Israelor Kuwait or Saudi Arabia toevacuate U.S. citizens, even ifthe airspace is closed, there aremilitary air bases where theycould land, and you could informU.S. citizens, go to these basesand you'll get on a militaryplane and come back to the United States. Why hasn't thathappened?"

Pigott could offer few specifics.

"Well, what I can say is thatwe've seen the assisteddeparture of hundreds ofAmericans from Israel, forexample," Pigott said. "Those numbers arecontinuing to grow. Thesecretary [is] talking about how weare looking at options,including military flights. I'mnot going to get intooperational details or previewwhat those might be for thesecurity concerns that areevident in this, but restassured, when you call, we willproactively reach out."

"That'salso why that advice is soimportant: Be ready to go, beready to move when able so thatwe can overcome the security challenges," he added. "But we are lookingat every single option."

National security correspondent Kylie Atwood noticed the same problem that Blitzer had in the spokesman's assurances.

"Well, what stood out to mefrom what the spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, just told youguys is that there are U.S.operations that are ongoing toget these Americans out, but hedidn't cite any planes, anyflights that have evacuated fromthe countries in the regiontoday," Atwood said. "He said, he noted thatthere are some busses running.That is one thing that we arewatching incredibly closely,because the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said yesterday whenhe was on the Hill, that one ofthe challenges that the U.S.government is facing right nowis that their airspace closures,obviously in the region becauseit's kinetic activity that ishappening, so some of theflights have tried to go in.They haven't been able to landand get these Americans onboard. We're watching to seehow they're going to deal withthat challenge. It's a starkone, obviously because it couldbe dangerous for these flightsto go in, but these Americansreally do want to get out."

"Ithink it's important to note, however, that he told Americans," she added, "and this is a key thing, thatthey need to be ready to go sothat, when they do get thesemessages from the State Department, that they have anoption for them ...He didn't give an indicationthat Americans who have alreadyreached out to the State Department now need to reach outagain. He indicated that theyare already, you know, they havethat working list of the Americans that want to get out,but we still don't fundamentallyknow how many of the Americansin the region who want to leavehave received assistance to doso from the U.S. government."

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