WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden on Tuesday was trapped by his plan to remove nearly 6,000 US troops from Afghanistan at the end of August, depending on whether the Taliban worked together to enable the evacuation of more Americans and allies of Afghanistan.
Biden announced plans in April to attract 2,500 US troops who were still in Afghanistan after a 20-year war, but were forced to send thousands to evacuate those who were at risk as the US-supported government and the US-supported military collapsed.
A chaotic and dangerous evacuation from the Kabul airport that occurred has released a wave of criticism and presented Biden with his biggest crisis since serving in January.
What happens next? US officials said the withdrawal of troops must begin no later than Friday to be completed on August 31 and will take several days.
Forces at Kabul Airport include marines and fares.
When they packed their equipment and withdraw, the rate of evacuation by the US and allied forces – which reached 20,000 this week – would have been very slow.
How many people can be evacuated by deadlines? Since August 14, more than 70,000 people, including American citizens, personnel of NATO and Afghanistan are at risk, have been evacuated from Kabul, Biden said on Tuesday.
Biden said the United States would evacuate US citizens who wanted to go and officials said they would take refuge as much as Afghanistan Afghanistan.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the Pentagon believed that it had the ability to get all Americans who wanted to leave on August 31 and US officials said 4,000 Americans had been evacuated so far, but they did not know how many of them were still in the country, because not all registered at the US Embassy.
Pentagon is also committed to evacuating around 500 Afghan soldiers who have helped protect Kabul airport.
Despite the current evacuation rate, which has involved dozens of military transport aircraft from the United States and around the world, thousands of Afghans whose officials and advocacy groups said the potential retribution in the hands of the Taliban, would not be able to go by the Biden deadline.
What happened to people left behind? The Allied Wartime Association, a refugee resettlement group, estimates that 250,000 Afghans, including translators and drivers and other workers who helped US efforts, need to be evacuated, but only 62,000 were left since July.
The State Department said the aim was to help risk leaving Afghanistan even after withdrawing troops and that Washington would put pressure on the Taliban to ensure they could do it.
“What does not end when the military mission ends is our commitment to risky Afghanistan,” said Ned Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday.
“We will hold a Taliban for this; all over the world will also – that the individual who tries to leave after the US military is lost will have the opportunity to do it.” What leverage is the US owned? One of the biggest questions, Biden administration and the same-minded government is whether to recognize the Taliban government set.
It will have important consequences, including whether the Taliban will have access to reliable foreign assistance by the previous Afghan government.
The 2020 agreement signed by former Trump government explicitly stated that the Taliban “was not recognized by the United States as a country,” but there have been signs of Washington to talk to Islamic militant groups on several problems, such as counter terrorism.
The CIA Director William Burns met with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday at the official meeting of the highest level since the group took over Kabul on August 15.
US officials opposed groups such as Islamic countries and diplomats and US commanders had contacted Taliban officials throughout the evacuation.
What about the humanitarian crisis? The United States, its allies and the United Nations must decide how to deal with the so-towering humanitarian disaster.
The United Nations said more than 18 million people – more than half of the Afghan population – needed assistance and half of all Afghan children under the age of five who had suffered acute malnutrition amid the second drought in four years in four years.
The World Health Organization said it only had sufficient inventory in Afghanistan to survive a week after shipping was blocked by restrictions at Kabul Airport and concerning the upheaval would encourage Coronavirus infection.
The Taliban has convinced the United Nations to be pursuing humanitarian work, but the world’s body will demand women’s rights and access to all civilians.