Biden rebuffs allies will withdraw troops from Kabul end of August
Washington: US President Joe Biden plans to stick to his self-imposed August 31 departure deadline from Afghanistan, rejecting demands from some of Americaâs closest allies to delay the withdrawal of US troops.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who called an emergency meeting of the G7 nations to discuss the issue, led the push for Biden to extend the military mission to ensure as many people as possible can be evacuated from the Taliban-controlled country.
Biden has also faced calls from veterans groups and congressional Democrats to push back the withdrawal date. But the Taliban has threatened to retaliate in some form if the US stays in Afghanistan past the end of the month.
British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson led the push to try to convince US President Joe Biden to delay the withdrawal date from Afghanistan. Credit:Getty
Speaking after the virtual G7 meeting, Johnson said the leaders had agreed on a âroad mapâ for future engagement with the Taliban and will insist on the âsafe passageâ of people who want to leave Afghanistan beyond the end of August.
âThe number one condition weâre setting as G7 is that they have got to guarantee, right the way through, through August 31 and beyond, safe passage for those who want to come out,â Johnson said following the meeting.
âWe will go on right up until the last moment that we can.â
While avoiding publicly criticising Biden, Johnson made clear that he wanted the US troops to stay beyond the end of the month.
âYouâve heard what the President of the United States has had to say, youâve heard what the Taliban have said,â he said. âI think youâve got to understand the context in which weâre doing this. Weâre confident we can get thousands more out, but the situation at the airport is not getting any better.â
Evacuees walk towards their flight at Kabul airport.Credit:US Marine Corps
AdvertisementEarlier in the day UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace said: âWe want to stay longer if it is possible to do so. The two people with the biggest vote in the room are the US ... and the Taliban.â
He added that âthe scale of the challenge means that not everyone will get outâ.
âWe are ruthlessly prioritising people,â he told the BBC.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told reporters in Kabul that his group will accept âno extensionsâ to the evacuation deadline.
âAugust 31 is the time given and after that itâs something that is against the agreement,â Mujahid told a press conference.
âAll people should be removed prior to that date. After that we do not allow them, it will not be allowed in our country, we will take a different stance.â
Mujahid also said the Taliban would bar Afghans from accessing roads leading to the airport, while allowing foreigners to pass through, in order to prevent large crowds outside the walls. It was not immediately clear if they would stop Afghans who are escorted by foreigners or in the process of being evacuated by Western nations.
The Taliban will take over security at the airport after the withdrawal, Mujahid said. Itâs unclear when commercial flights would resume, putting pressure on the current evacuation efforts to get as many people out as possible.
The Washington Post revealed that CIA Director William Burns had secretly travelled into Kabul on Tuesday (AEST) to meet with the Talibanâs top political leader, Abdul Ghani Baradar,to discuss the withdrawal.
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, a Democrat, said it was âvery unlikelyâ the US would be able to evacuate all Americans and Afghan allies by August 31.
âItâs hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and the end of the month,â Schiff said.
Democratic congressman Jason Crow, who served as a military officer in Afghanistan and Iraq, was more definitive, saying it would be impossible to evacuate all Americans and allies in just a week.
âThe deadline must be extended,â he said.
These demands came even as the US continued to dramatically increase the pace of negotiations. The White House said that approximately 21,600 people were evacuated from Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, up from around 2000 a day late last week.
This was the highest daily figure since the evacuations began.
The US has evacuated about 58,700 people from Kabul since August 14, according to the White House.
with AP
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Matthew Knott is North America correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
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