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Updated August 20th, 2021 at 13:10 IST

US: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris briefed by national security team on Afghanistan crisis

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on August 18 were briefed by the national security team on the evolving situation in Afghanistan.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
US
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on August 18 were briefed by the national security team on the evolving situation in Afghanistan, the White House said. According to ANI, besides Biden and Harris, the meeting was also attended by US Secretary Of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Director of National Intelligence — Avril Danica Haines; Director Burns, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Ambassador Joseph Charles Wilson, Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, United States Navy rear admiral Peter Vasily, and other senior officials. 

During the meeting, the US officials discussed efforts to accelerate the evacuation of US citizens, Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans and other vulnerable Afghans, and to facilitate safe passage to Hamid Karzai International Airport. A White House official said that the President, Vice President and their team also discussed their focus on monitoring for any potential terrorist threats in Afghanistan, including from ISIS-K. 

It is worth noting that the Taliban has declared victory. The US has started evacuating its nationals and some Afghans with links to foreign governments and organisations. The United States has even sent additional 6,000 troops to ensure swift evacuation and said that thousands of American citizens, local embassy staff and their families, as well as other “vulnerable Afghan nationals” will be airlifted in the coming days. More than 60 countries, including the US and the UK, have issued a joint statement saying that the Afghan people “deserve to live in safety, security and dignity” and that security and civil order should be immediately restored. 

‘Vital interest remains preventing terrorist attack’: Biden 

Meanwhile, heart-wrenching clips of thousands of civilians, who are desperate to leave the war-torn country since the Taliban took control of the city, has surfaced online. Several people have been killed and several are left wounded as a result of chaos and gunfire. One clip even showed Afghans struggling to climb the ladder to get inside US military flights leaving the country. Two such desperate civilians tied themselves to the wheels of a military plane but plunged to their death as it took off from the runway.

Biden, who drew a flack for ramping up American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan paving way for the Taliban to gain ground, stood strong on his decision. He noted that the “vital interest” that the US had in Afghanistan was “preventing terrorist attack” and not “nation-building.” Critics of Biden have accused him of pushing the innocent Afghan nationals under Taliban control. However, he said, “Our mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to have been nation-building".

(With inputs from ANI)

 

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Published August 20th, 2021 at 13:09 IST

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