Joe Biden once more defended his determination to withdraw the US army from Afghanistan (File)
Washington:
President Joe Biden on Saturday doubled down on his determination to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan regardless of the Taliban’s speedy advances, however pledged to ship extra troops to evacuate civilians and warned the insurgents to not threaten that mission.
After consultations together with his nationwide safety crew, Biden mentioned a complete of “roughly 5,000” US troopers — up from 3,000 — will now assist set up evacuations and the tip of the US mission after 20 years on the bottom.
He warned the Taliban that any motion “that places US personnel or our mission in danger there, will likely be met with a swift and robust US army response.”
Biden’s announcement got here after Taliban captured the principle northern holdout metropolis of Mazar-i-Sharif and continued their speedy march in the direction of the capital Kabul.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani pledged Saturday to not let the “imposed struggle on folks trigger extra deaths,” and mentioned consultations have been going down to attempt to assist finish the struggle, with out providing particulars.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was a part of the crew that conferred with Biden, spoke by phone with Ghani on Saturday, his spokesman mentioned.
“They mentioned the urgency of ongoing diplomatic and political efforts to cut back the violence,” spokesman Ned Worth mentioned.
Blinken was additionally anticipated to “interact with key regional stakeholders” on the escalating Taliban march on Kabul, Biden mentioned.
Earlier, US Central Command mentioned extra American army personnel had arrived in Kabul to make sure the secure evacuation of American embassy staff and Afghan civilians who labored for US forces.
The Pentagon estimates it might want to evacuate about 30,000 folks earlier than it completes its withdrawal from Afghanistan by August 31, a deadline set by Biden.
Biden’s determination to tug troops out of Afghanistan has come below elevated scrutiny given the implosion of the nation’s armed forces, however he mentioned he had no different alternative — and laid a few of the blame on the toes of Donald Trump.
“Once I got here to workplace, I inherited a deal reduce by my predecessor… that left the Taliban within the strongest place militarily since 2001 and imposed a Could 1, 2021, deadline on US forces,” Biden mentioned.
“I confronted a alternative — comply with via on the deal, with a quick extension to get our forces and our allies’ forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and ship extra American troops to battle as soon as once more out of the country’s civil battle,” he added.
“I used to be the fourth president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan — two Republicans, two Democrats. I’d not, and won’t, move this struggle onto a fifth,” Biden mentioned.
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