And on the international front, Joe Biden has declared he is sticking to his August 31st deadline for evacuating Americans, endangered Afghans and others seeking to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
That has America's allies criticising Biden for meeting the Taliban's demands.
{SOT}
U.S. President Joe Biden: Every day we're on the ground is another day that we know ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport and attack both us and allied forces and innocent civilians.
The Taliban has so far been cooperative, and security and order are maintained despite a number of violent incidents.
21,600 people had been evacuated in the last 24 hours, and an additional 12,000 had been evacuated in the 12 hours that followed, according to the Pentagon.
Be that as it may, concerns about the fate of the thousands who fear retribution from the Taliban because of their past work with America continue to grow.
The Pentagon and Biden both insisted they are confident the airlift, which began on August 14, can evacuate all Americans by next Tuesday. Biden acknowledged it is indeed risky to continue the operations beyond the August 31st deadline.
Biden: We are currently on a pace to finish by August 31st. The sooner we can finish, the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops.
Currently, a plethora of foreign nationals remain in Afghanistan and are struggling to flee.
The Taliban, who have wrested control of the country 20 years after being ousted in a U.S.-led invasion after the 9/11 attacks, said the U.S.' decision to continue their operations beyond the August 31st deadline would run the risk of reigniting a war between the militants and the approximately 5,800 U.S. troops currently executing the airlift at Kabul International Airport.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned that the Taliban would prevent U.S. troops evacuating Afghans after the self-imposed deadline.
Meanwhile, Mujahid said he couldn't make sense of the fleeing of Afghans, accusing America of luring away engineers, doctors and other professionals upon which the country relies.
While Biden is sticking to his guns, his decision didn't sit well with Republicans, even Democrats. Democrat Adam Schiff of California couldn't espouse Biden's decision to complete the operations by August 31st, saying "it was hard for me to imagine".
Also concerned about the huge throng of people stuck outside the airport, one of the world's main refugee groups has castigated America for resting on its laurels for a job halfway done.
G-7 leaders are disappointed either, since they couldn't persuade Biden to accede to appeals to keep American troops at Kabul's airport beyond the August 31st deadline.
At the same time, one of the members of the G7, Britain, has reiterated that the Taliban cannot control Afghanistan on a no-holds-barred basis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said only if the Taliban concur that people can leave the country if they wish, both before and after the August deadline, will his country consider recognising the regime.
But can America invade Afghanistan again and regain control?
As it stands, chances are, America will not be given another bite at the cherry, since the Taliban have displayed its unyielding commitment to peace, normalcy and stability in Afghanistan.
Comentários