Status: 08/24/2021 11:40 p.m.
US President Biden continues to set the end of the rescue mission on August 31, despite requests from the G7 to extend the mission. He called on the Taliban to continue giving local people access to the airport.
US President Joe Biden wants to complete the evacuation of American citizens and local workers from Afghanistan by August 31 and not seek an extension of the deadline. “The President has communicated that our mission in Kabul will end based on the achievement of our goals,” said the White House with a view to a summit of the G7 countries.
USA are working on contingency plans
At a press conference in the White House, Biden announced that the end of the operation also depends on the cooperation of the radical Islamic Taliban. His spokeswoman Jen Psaki had previously said that the Taliban must ensure continued access to the airport for those to be evacuated.
Biden said he had hired the Pentagon and the State Department to create contingency plans to adjust the schedule should this become necessary.
Biden also said the risk of an attack by the Islamic State or other terrorist groups increases the longer US soldiers stay at the airport.
Warning of Islamist attacks
Biden had set the deadline for completing the withdrawal of US soldiers from the Hindu Kush long before the Taliban came to power on August 15. At a meeting of the G7 there was resentment about the deadline.
It was perceived as disappointing that Biden could not be persuaded to extend the evacuation operation at Kabul airport. The EU remains concerned that European citizens and Afghans who have worked with them will not be able to get to the airport safely, said EU Council President Charles Michel, who attended the G7 summit.
Claudia Buckenmaier, ARD Washington, on the political struggle of the G7 over evacuation missions after August 31st
tagesschau24 9:00 p.m., 8/24/2021
The meeting of the heads of state and government of Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the USA took place virtually. The G7 countries agreed on the conditions for recognizing a future Taliban government in Afghanistan. “The legitimacy of any future government depends on the approach it is now taking to uphold its international commitments and commitments to ensure a stable Afghanistan,” they said in a statement.
The US has a leading role in Afghanistan, said Chancellor Angela Merkel after the summit. Without the country, other countries would not be able to continue with the evacuations, she said. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had campaigned for the deadline to be extended. “But you heard what the President of the United States had to say, you heard what the Taliban said,” said Johnson.
During their deliberations, the G7 countries also decided to coordinate their Afghanistan policy with other countries. That is why we should also work with the G20. Russia and China are also members of this group of states. The Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also called for a common European immigration policy for people from Afghanistan.
Taliban want withdrawal by August 31
Before Biden’s decision became known, the Taliban had once again emphasized that they would not tolerate a continuation of the evacuation flights beyond August 31. Life in Afghanistan is returning to normal, but chaos at the airport in Kabul is a persistent problem, said the spokesman for the militant Islamist group, Sabihullah Mujahid.
Therefore, the Taliban would “not accept extensions” of the deadline for completing the evacuations. Above all Afghans who worked for NATO or supported the previous government fear the revenge of the Taliban.
In Kabul and many other regions of Afghanistan, thousands of former local workers are waiting to leave safely. It is very unlikely that everyone will be able to leave the country.