Thousands of Americans who were in the Middle East when bombs started falling in Iran have gotten out, but it鈥檚 believed hundreds of thousands are still there and help from the State Department has been hard to come by.
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, of Virginia, said unanswered calls to the State Department are landing in his office for help.
鈥淲e have an awful lot of embassy families, people work for the Department of State or other related agencies that are overseas,鈥� Beyer said of constituents in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District.
Beyer represents Arlington County, the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church, and parts of Fairfax County.
鈥淚’ve heard a number of times from a woman whose husband, diplomatic security officer in the Middle East, and scared to death about his life,鈥� Beyer said. 鈥淚 can’t tell you which embassy, sadly, but they pulled the Marine security guard out, and they’re very worried about the kind of Benghazi attack that happened some years ago.鈥�
Beyer went on to criticize President Donald Trump’s administration for the lack of answers on getting people out.
鈥淚t’s really been difficult because the State Department themselves don’t know what to tell these people,鈥� Beyer said. 鈥淭hey should have pulled everybody out ahead of time, but they didn’t. They weren’t prepared.鈥�
The State Department鈥檚 website currently tells Americans overseas to follow the guidance that came in the latest security alert issued by the nearest embassy or consulate over there. It also lists phone numbers for Americans to call, whether they鈥檙e currently in the U.S. or overseas.
鈥淚 do think they’re trying to adapt as quickly as they can. It is tragic that they didn’t think about this ahead of time,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is one of those deals where we were really prepared with our bombs and our planes, but not at all prepared for the consequences. Once the first bullet flies, all hell can break loose, and right now it has for American citizens living overseas.鈥�
So, what鈥檚 his advice to anyone over there?
鈥淒o the best they can and keep calling us, and keep calling this Department of State,鈥� Beyer said. 鈥淲e all have to adapt, support each other and maybe even look at local resources for ways to get out of town.鈥�
What does that look like?
鈥淪ome of it’s just getting in a car and driving hoping you can get across the border,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s not even a bad idea to, if you’re in a major city, maybe go to the equivalent of Rehoboth Beach 鈥� go to some places out in the country where you’re not likely to be a target.
鈥淚t’s more likely that the Iranians will retaliate against the U.S. Embassy, rather than someplace out in the country,鈥� he added.
