EU's Josep Borrell slams US Prez Biden, says 'US security obstructing passage of Afghans'

A week after calling the fall of Afghanistan’s capital and the resurgence of the Taliban “a catastrophe” and “nightmare”, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, on 22 August, stressed over the need to extend a 31 August deadline for the evacuation of Afghan personnel and families.

Borrell also criticised US President Joe Biden for underplaying the commitment to nation-building in Afghanistan. He said the 31 August deadline set by the United States for the evacuation of tens of thousands of their Afghan personnel and families is "practically impossible".

US inspections and security measures are very hard: Borrell

As the Kabul airport is under the control of the US Military, the European Union foreign policy chief said that the troops are "overburdened" by the rules that hinder the smooth evacuation of the Afghans.

"The US inspections and security measures are very hard and were obstructing the passage of Afghan staff," Borrell said. The European Union’s foreign policy chief added that Brussels had lodged a complaint with the United States, demanding "more flexibility". It is worth mentioning that US President Biden had earlier set 31 August as the deadline to evacuate its troops from the war-torn country. However, the American government may alter the predetermined deadline in order to safely evacuate its troops.

'August 31 deadline must be extended'

Borrell said he has no idea of Biden's upcoming strategy but stressed the deadline must be extended in order to evacuate Afghan staff. “Twenty years on, you can say that we may have succeeded in the first tack of our mission, but failed in the second,” the Spanish politician said as EU lawmakers heaped on criticism of the West’s lack of commitment to Afghanistan. Borrell also criticized intelligence agencies for failing to anticipate the collapse of the Afghan force in a matter of days.

'Afghan takeover biggest intelligence failure'

“Where (was) our intelligence in order to have a clear look at what was going to happen? Nobody was expecting it. I don’t even (think) the Taliban were expecting it,” Borrell said. The EU foreign affairs chief informed that106 staff members of EU delegations and their families had safely left Afghanistan and landed in Madrid, while at least 300 remain behind. “There are still 300 more Afghani staff of European Union delegations blocked on the streets of Kabul trying to reach the airport and trying to have a seat on some of the European Union member state flights,” he said.

(With inputs from AP, Image: AP/@JosepBorrellF/Twitter)