President Joe Biden will not extend his self-imposed Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized the capital of Kabul faster than expected.
WHITE HOUSE FIGHTS TO REGAIN CONTROL OF ITS MESSAGE ON AFGHANISTAN
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Biden has accepted the Pentagon’s recommendation to stick with this month’s deadline but has asked for contingency plans if the Taliban’s intransigence made it necessary, according to multiple reports.
The announcement that there would be no extension also comes after CIA Director William Burns met with top Taliban leaders in Kabul, though the agency has not released any details of what was discussed. The Taliban oppose any extension.
Biden faced competing pressures after footage of the chaos at and around Kabul’s airport last week was played around the world. Taliban-managed checkpoints to the airfield, the main entry to and exit from Afghanistan, were intermittently closed this week, contributing to the sense of panic.
Foreign partners, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, had implored Biden to keep forces in Afghanistan to ensure the safe airlift of Afghan allies and refugees to the United States and third countries. The Group of Seven met on Tuesday to discuss better coordination on the unfolding situation.
But Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen called any extension a “clear violation” of the loosely organized group’s agreement with the Biden administration.
To California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, it is “possible” but “very unlikely” the evacuation process will be completed by Aug. 31.
“Given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of SIVs, the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders, women leaders — it’s hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and the end of the month,” the House Intelligence Committee chairman said, referring to special immigrant visa holders.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters this week that service members being pulled out of Afghanistan did not preclude future evacuations of Afghans vulnerable to Taliban reprisals.
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“We will continue to get Afghans at risk out of the country, even after U.S. military forces have left,” he said.
