Our people should be leaving today.
The State Dept. has been MIA in this evacuation.
No one is answering the phone at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon.
Phone calls to the main State Dept. EMERGENCY numbers are put on hold for upwards of 1 hour.
The registration system for U.S. citizens in Lebanon is a massive failure. Not only does it fail to register people, it doesn't send a confirmation so you think you are registered when, in actuality, you are not.
I know these things because I am STILL in Lebanon, with no contact (not even an email) from the State Department, one week after I "registered" with their online system. Finally, I got someone to pull some strings, finding out that I was NOT registered. At least NOW I'm registered. Not that it is doing any good.
The French have pulled well over 1,000 of their citizens AND some of ours out of Lebanon, while the U.S. has pulled out less than 100 at last count.
What the hell is taking so long?
Heads need to roll at State after this is over, especially those responsible for IT and contingency planning.
F&F had a student call in who is staying and going to classes.