Status: 08/20/2021 8:20 p.m.
Numerous Americans are still in Afghanistan. President Biden promised them that whatever the circumstances, he would get them to safety. In addition, one is in constant contact with the Taliban.
In view of the ongoing chaos at Kabul airport, US President Joe Biden has promised all Americans who are still in Afghanistan a safe exit: “We’ll bring you home,” stressed Biden at a press conference in Washington. When asked by a journalist whether such a commitment also applies to Afghan local staff such as translators, Biden said: “Yes, we are making the same commitment.”
13,000 people flown out
To this end, the evacuation flights from Kabul would continue. It will now be checked how many US citizens are still in the country, says Biden. Since the start of the evacuation mission about a week ago, the US has flown around 13,000 people, with 5,700 on Thursday alone.
In order to continue the mission successfully, one is in close contact with the radical Islamic Taliban. These control the city and the main entrances to Kabul international airport. At the same time, he warned the Islamists that any interruption in the rescue mission would be responded to with great severity. The US soldiers on the ground also keep a close eye on possible terrorist activities, be it by al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups.
Mission completed by August 31st?
Regarding the duration of the operation, Biden said he assumed that all those wishing to leave the country – both Americans and local staff – would be able to leave the country by August 31. The White House had originally targeted this date, but declared that more people would be flown out beyond that, should this be necessary. Overall, Washington expects that up to 65,000 people want to be brought to safety.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said after a video conference with the alliance’s foreign ministers that the US had signaled that its schedule would end on August 31. Biden emphasized that NATO, like Great Britain, Germany and France, played an important role in the evacuation mission. There are agreements and mutual support during the rescue flights. “We went in together and now, 20 years later, we’re going out together again,” said Biden.
US President Biden has come under massive criticism for the chaos surrounding the withdrawal of troops and the return of the Taliban to power. When asked by a reporter, however, he denied that this had damaged the US’s credibility with international allies.
Help for neighboring countries
The Democrat stressed that they would also work together to help Afghanistan’s neighbors. He promised them further humanitarian aid. Germany is also providing an additional 100 million euros for people fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan. This is also intended to support countries such as Uzbekistan or Pakistan, which are also facing increasing numbers of refugees.
This is also supposed to prevent Afghans from being rejected who are threatened with persecution in their homeland. Uzbekistan has sent 150 Afghan refugees back to their homeland. This was done in accordance with an agreement with the Taliban, said the Uzbek Foreign Ministry. The refugees had received security promises.