transcript
transcript
U.S. on Track for Aug. 31 Afghanistan Withdrawal, Biden Says
President Biden said that the U.S. was on track to complete evacuations and withdraw military forces from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, but that he had prepared military leaders to adjust the timetable “should that become necessary.”
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We are currently on a pace to finish by August the 31st. The sooner we can finish, the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops. But the completion by Aug. 31 depends upon the Taliban continuing to cooperate and allow access to the airport for those who we’re transporting out, and no disruption to our operations. In addition, I’ve asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans to adjust the timetable should that become necessary. I’m determined to ensure that we complete our mission, this mission, every day Every day we’re on the ground is another day we know that ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport, and attack both U.S. and allied forces, and innocent civilians. Additionally, thus far, the Taliban have been taking steps to work with us so we can get our people out. But it’s a tenuous situation. We’re already had some gunfighting break out. We run a serious risk of it breaking down as time goes on. Second, the G7 leaders and the leaders of the E.U., NATO and the U.N. all agreed that we will stand united in our approach to the Taliban. We agreed the legitimacy of any…
