Afghanistan crisis: Discussions underway at White House about Joe Biden's next steps

After the Afghanistan government collapsed on Sunday with President Ashraf Ghani leaving the country and the Taliban's entry into the capital, speculations are going around over US President Joe Biden's next steps regarding the situation in Afghanistan. President Biden, who is right now at Camp David on his August vacation, has been attending regular briefings and is holding video conference calls with the members of the administration. The White House advisors are discussing how Biden should address the Afghanistan crisis.

US monitoring situation prevailing in Afghanistan   

According to a senior administration official, the White House advisors along with President Joe Biden are discussing how to address the situation prevailing in Afghanistan. Referring to the 2005 hurricane, it is said that the White House does not want this to become the Biden administration's Katrina. The Bush administration was slow in responding to the hurricane situation in 2005 due to the August vacation. 

Earlier, the White House tweeted the photo of Biden having a virtual meeting with the Vice President, national security team, and senior officials to hear updates about Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, discussions are underway for Biden to come to speak publicly and may soon return to White House if he decides to deliver an address to the public. Biden is the fourth US president to confront challenges in Afghanistan and has insisted he wouldn't hand America's longest war to his successor. But the President will likely have to explain how security in Afghanistan unraveled so quickly, especially since he and others in the administration have insisted that it wouldn't happen.

Taliban taking over Afghanistan

On August 15, Sunday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled from Afghanistan to Tajikistan amid the chaos in the country. The Afghanistan government collapsed as the Taliban entered the capital and took control over Kabul as well as the Presidential Palace. According to sources, the Taliban will be soon establishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Earlier, the situation started worsening after the US government started withdrawing troops from the country. The situation in Afghanistan has raised global concerns as the citizens are now looking for a safe haven. Also, people crowded at the airports to fly out of the country.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Image Credits: White House/ Twitter)