Biden defends the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, chaos and despair at Kabul Airport – EURACTIV.com

On Monday (August 16), after the Taliban took over the airport in the capital, Kabul, thousands of people were eager to flee Afghanistan, prompting the United States to suspend evacuation, as President Joe Biden faced increasing criticism for the U.S. withdrawal.

The chaotic scene at the airport included a group of people clutching a U.S. military transport plane and taxiing on a single runway. According to TV pictures, there appeared to be a person falling off the plane when the plane took off.

A U.S. official said that the U.S. military opened fire into the air to stop people trying to forcibly board military aircraft that evacuated U.S. diplomats and embassy staff.

According to reports, at least five people were killed, but a witness said that it is not clear whether they were shot or killed in the stampede. A U.S. official told Reuters that two gunmen were killed by U.S. troops after shooting into the crowd.

A Pentagon spokesperson said that there were signs that a US soldier was injured.

U.S. authorities said that after a delay of several hours, a German plane was transferred to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and another plane was forced to circle over the city. The evacuation flight resumed on Monday night.

After the Taliban quickly conquered Kabul, Biden decided to withdraw American troops after the 20-year war — the longest war in the country — and he said the cost of the war was more than $1 trillion.

The decline in Afghan cities at a rate of days rather than months predicted by US intelligence agencies, and concerns about the Taliban’s suppression of freedom of speech and human rights, especially women’s rights, have sparked criticism.

In a televised speech on Monday afternoon, Biden defended his decision, insisting that he must make a decision whether to ask the U.S. military to fight endlessly in what he called the Afghan Civil War or to implement the negotiations with former Republican President Donald Trump Exit agreement reached.

“I firmly support my decision,” Biden said. “Twenty years later, I learned with difficulty that there has never been a good time to withdraw American troops. That’s why we are still there.”

He blamed the Taliban’s takeover on the Afghan political leaders who fled the country and the Afghan army’s unwillingness to fight.

The Democrat faced a series of criticisms from even his own diplomats in dealing with the issue of the United States withdrawing, withdrawing its troops, and then repatriating thousands of people to help with the evacuation.

“Afghanistan is lost…every terrorist around the world is cheering,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters in his hometown of Kentucky.

Senator Mark Warner, one of Biden’s Democratic colleagues and chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said he wanted to know why Washington was not better prepared for the worst.

China’s State Broadcasting Corporation China Central Television reported that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken that the U.S. military’s hasty withdrawal had a “serious negative impact”, adding that Wang Yi promised to cooperate with Washington to promote stability.

The US State Department said Brinken also talked with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday to ensure regional stability.

NThat regime

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled on Sunday as Islamic militants entered Kabul with little opposition and said he wanted to avoid bloodshed. On Monday, his whereabouts are unknown, and the State Department declined to say whether he still considers him president.

After Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of “chilling” restrictions on human rights and violations of women and girls, the UN Security Council called for negotiations to establish a new government in Afghanistan.

According to a report by Al Jazeera, former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbudin Hikmatyar said that he will go to Doha on Tuesday to meet with a Taliban delegation, accompanied by former President Hamid Karzai and the High Commission for National Reconciliation. Chairman.

In the days before the Taliban occupied Kabul, special envoys from the United States, China and other countries had been meeting with Afghan government negotiators and Taliban representatives in Qatar for peace talks.

Many Afghans worry that the Taliban will return to the harsh practices of the past. During the reign from 1996 to 2001, women were unable to work and were punished by public stoning, whipping and hanging.

Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told Dunya News that the organization will improve security in Kabul and “respect the rights of women and minorities in accordance with Afghan norms and Islamic values.”

Shahin added that the new regime will ensure the representation of all ethnic groups and the Taliban are keen to cooperate with the international community to rebuild the country.

A sort ofAfghan soldiers run away

It took the Taliban more than a week to seize control of the entire country after a lightning sweep, because the government forces that had been trained for many years and equipped by the United States and other countries gradually disappeared.

U.S. military officers have long worried that corruption will weaken the determination of frontline soldiers to pay low, malnutrition, and supply instability.

Uzbekistan said that during the weekend, hundreds of Afghan soldiers fled to Uzbekistan with 22 military aircraft and 24 helicopters. One of the aircraft collided with an escorted Uzbek fighter jet, causing both sides to crash.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has authorized the deployment of another battalion to Kabul, which will bring the number of guards evacuated to approximately 6,000.

Shaheen said on Twitter that the fighters of the organization are strictly ordered not to harm anyone.

“No one’s life, property, or honor should be harmed, but must be protected by jihadists,” he said.