President Joe Biden has decided, in consultation with his national security team, to stick with the August 31 deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official.
Biden made the decision mindful of the security risks in remaining the country longer, the official said, and he has asked for contingency plans in case he determines at a later date the US needs to remain in the country for longer.Even as the United States flies tens of thousands of people out of the country, the situation in Afghanistan remains desperate and many Afghans who assisted the war effort are still awaiting their turn to leave.
The crisis talks of the G7 come as the Afghanistan evacuation effort has picked up steam in the past days, now far exceeding the administration's initial daily goals. The White House said on Tuesday that 12,700 people were evacuated by 37 US military flights and 8,900 were evacuated by coalition flights over the past 24 hours. The Pentagon added that the military has increased the pace of flights out of Kabul to one aircraft every 45 minutes.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Biden says still hoping for Afghan airlift to end by August 31In his latest address from the White House, the US president said he still hoped to complete the evacuation from Afghanistan by the August 31 deadline and said he had ordered civilian airlines to assist.
Read more »
U.S. evacuates 37,000 from Afghanistan as Taliban calls August 31 withdrawal deadline ‘red line'President Joe Biden has previously said that he may consider extending the departure date past August 31 but has yet to do so.
Read more »
Latest from Afghanistan: Biden says it's possible U.S. may extend Aug. 31 deadline to remove troops“Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.
Read more »
Biden says U.S. may extend Afghanistan withdrawal deadline as evacuations continueIn remarks Sunday, Biden again defended the administration's handling of the war's final days.
Read more »