WASHINGTON (CN) — A week after the pullout of U.S. forces and the Taliban's unfettered takeover of Afghanistan, President Joe Biden offered assurances Friday that any of America's allies still in the country who want to leave will be able to.
“We've secured the airport, enabling flights to resume, not just military flights but civilian charters and those from other countries,” Biden said. He added that the U.S. now has roughly 6,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan, some of whom are providing runway security, standing guard around the airport or otherwise assisting civilian departure.
The president said that the focus now is making sure every American or ally who wants to leave can get to the airport.
At the time of his speech from the White House, Biden said he had just spoken with the National Security Leadership Team about ongoing efforts to evacuate American citizens, third-country civilians, Afghan allies and vulnerable Afghans. He pressed that the U.S. is making significant progress on what he called “one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history.”
“Thousands more have been evacuated and private charter flights facilitated by the US government. These numbers include American citizens and permanent residents as well as their families,” the president said, adding that the U.S. is standing by Afghans who've worked alongside Americans, like translators and interpreters, and is facilitating flights for allies and partners, working in close operational coordination with NATO.
Not given asylum status in advance of America's military pullout, many Afghans who assisted U.S. and coalition forces are still waiting to be evacuated as the Biden administration seeks countries in which to temporarily house those in danger of Taliban retaliation. He has said those allies were not evacuated sooner because the Afghanistan government discouraged a swift exodus to avoid further tumult in the area.
“The United States stands by this commitment we've made to these people, and that includes other vulnerable Afghans such as women leaders and journalists,” Biden said.
Since July, the U.S. has evacuated more than 18,000 people, Biden said, and approximately 13,000 since the U.S. began its military airlift mission August 14.
Biden said the U.S. moved 5,700 evacuees out of Kabul Thursday. The president called it unclear how many Americans remain in the country.
Earlier in the week, Biden defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan and end the 20-year war that erupted after al-Qaida — a terror group that had been protected in Afghanistan by the then-ruling Taliban — carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Biden maintained that the mission of going into Afghanistan was to make sure that al-Qaida could not use the country as a base from which to attack the U.S. again.
On Friday, the president said that the U.S. has encouraged the Taliban to let the U.S. proceed with its evacuation mission and is monitoring security around the airport.
“We’ve made clear to the Taliban that any attack on our forces or disruption of our operations at the airport will be met with a swift and forceful response,” Biden said.
Taliban forces overran Afghanistan's capital city of 6 million Sunday within 10 days of the sped-up withdrawal of U.S. troops, and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani yielded control to an interim government led by Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as he fled.
Late last week, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul advised American citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately.
The Taliban's captured 12 provincial capitals by Thursday, prompting the State Department to announce that it would send troops to the Kabul International Airport to aid an evacuation of the embassy.
Both Biden and former President Donald Trump both expressed a desire to end America’s longest war. During the Trump administration, the number of troops on the ground was reduced to 2,500.
The Trump administration struck a deal last year with the Taliban, agreeing to pull U.S. forces from Afghanistan by May 2021 if Taliban leaders engaged in peace talks with the Afghanistan government and agreed not to serve as a safe harbor for groups like al-Qaida.
Handling the situation on his own terms, Biden announced in April that all U.S. troops would be removed from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. His administration then sped up the withdrawal with Aug. 31 set as the end date of the military mission.
Biden said last week that Afghans "must fight for themselves" but also committed Wednesday to keeping U.S. troops in the country until every American is out — even if this means maintaining American military presence past Aug. 31.
On Monday, Biden admitted that the Afghan government’s collapse occurred much more rapidly than anticipated.
Biden has said the U.S. had provided the Afghan government every tool it needed to fend off the Taliban, including the funding of its air force. American taxpayers have poured $89 billion into the Afghan National Army alone.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and other top U.S. officials made statements and television appearances earlier in the day to defend the Biden administration's decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan.
The U.S. will continue to support the Afghan people, Biden said, and will continue pushing for regional diplomacy.
He said that he expects his decision to draw criticism, but that he would rather be criticized for his actions than pass the decision on to a fifth U.S. president.
“Let me be clear,” Biden said Friday. “Any American wants to come home, we will get you home. Make no mistake, this evacuation mission is dangerous, and involves risks to our armed forces, and has been conducted under difficult circumstances. I cannot promise what the final outcome will be, and what it will be that it will be without risk of loss, but as Commander in Chief, I can assure you that I will mobilize every resource necessary.”
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