Biden Says Evacuations Accelerating, U.S. May Extend August 31 Deadline For Removing All Troops From Afghanistan
By RFE/RL August 22, 2021
Thousands of Afghans again jammed the roads leading to Kabul's airport for another day, as President Joe Biden said U.S.-led evacuation efforts were accelerating.
In remarks at the White House on August 22, Biden said around 28,000 people had been evacuated from Kabul since August 14, with over 11,000 ferried out over the weekend. That number appeared to include not just U.S. military flights but also charter and allied military flights.
He also said his national security team was discussing the possibility of extending an August 31 deadline for the U.S. military to exit in order to ensure U.S. citizens, other foreigners, and at-risk Afghans are safely moved out of the country.
"Let me be clear, the evacuation of thousands from Kabul is going to be hard and painful," Biden said.
"We're working hard and as fast as we can to get people out," he said. "That's our mission. That's our goal."
The president again defended his administration's policy toward Afghanistan and the withdrawal of U.S. troops. His decision to stick by a hard deadline of August 31 for pulling U.S. troops entirely from the country has come under withering criticism, due to the lightning advances of the Taliban and the complete collapse of Afghan security forces.
Thousands of U.S., British, and allied troops have secured Kabul's airport, and struggled to keep crowds at bay and away from tarmacs as military and civilian aircraft take off carrying foreigners and Afghans.
The U.S. military has been in constant contact with the Taliban to facilitate the evacuations, and Biden said the group has been "cooperative in extending some of the perimeter" around the airport as thousands gather in the area.
Biden also said security situation was fluid and his administration had concerns about the threat from Islamic State militants in Afghanistan known as ISIS-K, a foe of the Taliban, around the airport.
"The threat is real, it is acute, it is persistent and something we're focused with every tool in our arsenal," White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN.
Growing security threats have prompted U.S. military planes to do rapid, diving, combat landings at the Kabul airport and other aircraft have been seen shooting flares on takeoff, apparently in an attempt to confuse possible heat-seeking missiles.
The U.S. Embassy issued a new security alert warning citizens not to travel to the Kabul airport without individual instruction from a U.S. government representative. Some U.S. citizens are being flown by helicopter from destinations within Kabul directly to the airport.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, ordered six commercial airlines to help transport people after their evacuation. In total, 18 commercial aircraft from major carriers like United, American, and Delta will be used to ferry people from temporary locations after arriving from Afghanistan. The planes will not travel to Kabul itself.
Afghan evacuees are currently being sent to a dozen countries for transit. Another 13 countries have agree to temporarily host Afghans while their visas for the United States and other countries are adjudicated.
Outside Kabul's airport, Taliban fighters on August 22 fired weapons into the air and sought to force people to form lines to avoid stampedes.
The chaos outside the Kabul airport over the past week has resulted in the deaths of seven Afghans, the British military said August 22-- a figure that is believed to be a major undercount. The British statement did not specify when or how exactly the deaths occurred.
A NATO official said that at least 20 people have died in the past seven days in and around the airport. Some were shot and others died in stampedes.
With the Taliban trying to consolidate its control over Kabul and establish law and order, the group faced a new challenge in a northern district from fighters who refuse to recognize the Taliban's claim to power.
The Al-Arabiya TV channel on August 22 cited the son of the late Ahmad Shah Massud, who was one of the main leaders of the country's anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s, as saying he will not surrender areas under his control to the Taliban.
Ahmad Massud also called on the formation of a comprehensive government to rule the country with the participation of the Taliban. And he warned that war will be "unavoidable" if the insurgents refuse dialogue, the TV channel reported.
With reporting by Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, dpa, AP, and AFP
Source: https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/kabul-afghanistan- taliban-biden/31421828.html
Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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