Blowback may delay US withdrawal

President Joe Biden hints at possible change in pull-out plan, says US may keep soldiers in Afghanistan beyond August 31 deadline

WASHINGTON/KABUL: US President Joe Biden has said that he is committed to keeping troops in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated from the country, even if it means maintaining a military presence there beyond the stated August 31 deadline for complete withdrawal.

Biden pushed back against criticism that the US should have done more to plan for the evacuation and withdrawal, which has been marked by scenes of violence and chaos as thousands attempted to flee while the Taliban advanced.

In an interview on Wednesday with ABC News, Biden said the US will do “everything in our power” to evacuate Americans and US allies before the deadline. Pressed on how the administration would help Americans left in the nation after August 31, Biden said, “If there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay till we get them all out.”

Biden also said the Taliban haven’t changed and are going through an “existential crisis” about whether they want legitimacy on the global stage.

Biden, however, said there wasn’t anything his administration could have done to avoid the chaos. “The idea that somehow, there’s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don’t know how that happens,” he pointed out.

Up to 15,000 Americans were reportedly in Afghanistan after the Taliban took full control of the nation in recent days.

The US military has airlifted out of Afghanistan some 7,000 people fleeing the Taliban takeover of the country, Hank Taylor, a top general, said on Thursday.

The Biden administration has, meanwhile, suspended all arms sales to the government of Afghanistan.

Several killed in rally

Protests against the Taliban’s takeover of the country spread to more cities on Thursday, including Kabul, and a witness said several people were killed when the militants fired on a crowd in Asadabad in Kunar province.

“Our flag, our identity,” a crowd of men and women waving national flags shouted in Kabul on the day Afghanistan celebrated independence from British control.