Biden announces 5 measures on Afghanistan, and sticks to the decision to withdraw
US President Joe Biden announced five new measures regarding the situation in Afghanistan, with the rapid progress of the “Taliban” movement towards the capital, Kabul, stressing his adherence to the decision to “withdraw.”
Biden mentioned the five measures he has taken, the first of which is “the deployment of nearly 5,000 American soldiers,” based on the recommendations of the American diplomatic, military, and intelligence teams, to ensure “the implementation of an orderly and safe account of American employees, other employees of the coalition countries, and the evacuation of An organized and safe place for Afghans who have assisted our forces during our mission, and people who are particularly vulnerable as the Taliban advances.”
Regarding the second measure, Biden said he had issued orders to the US “armed forces and intelligence” to “ensure that we maintain the ability and vigilance to confront future terrorist threats in Afghanistan.”
As for the third measure, he directed his Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, to “support Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and other Afghan leaders, in their quest to stop the bloodshed and reach a political solution,”
Regarding the fourth measure, Biden said that his administration “informed Taliban representatives in Doha, through our military leadership, that any action they take in Afghanistan, endangering American personnel or our mission there, will be met with a swift and strong American military response.”
In Action Five, the US president referred to the “appointment of Ambassador Tracy Jacobson, responsible for all government efforts to process and transport Afghans applying for special immigrant visas, and other Afghan allies,” saying, “We sympathize with the brave Afghan men and women who are now at risk. We are working to evacuate thousands of people who supported our cause, along with their families.”
“Over the course of our 20-year war in Afghanistan, America has sent its best young men and women, invested nearly a trillion dollars, trained more than 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police, provided them with the latest military equipment, and maintained their air force in a longer frame,” Biden said.
Biden stressed that “the US military presence for another year, or five years, would not have made a difference if the Afghan army was unable, or would not be able, to control his country.”
