: With Thousands Awaiting Evacuation From Afghanistan, Biden is Willing to Keep Troops Past Deadline #WorldNEWS President Joe Biden indicated for the first time Wednesday that hes willing to keep forces

With Thousands Awaiting Evacuation From Afghanistan, Biden is Willing to Keep Troops Past Deadline #WorldNEWS
President Joe Biden indicated for the first time Wednesday that hes willing to keep forces in Afghanistan beyond his self-imposed Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawal, following widespread chaos that has complicated the evacuation mission.
If theres American citizens left, were going to stay until we get them all out, Biden told ABC News. He noted, however, that “Americans should understand that were going to try and get it done before Aug. 31.

In an exclusive interview, Pres. Biden tells me that U. S. troops will stay until all Americans are out of Afghanistan, even if past Aug 31 deadline. t. co/e62oNVKfHQpic. twitter. com/DPVXoYJgFK
— GeorgeStephanopoulos (@GStephanopoulos) August 18, 2021

The challenge is getting them all out in Taliban-held Kabul. The U. S. controls the capitals airport, but the militants control the streets. And Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday the U. S. military is not able to guarantee safe passage to the airport to evacuate the roughly 15,000 Americans remaining in the country, as well as the estimated 50,000 to 65,000 Afghan allies and their families who could qualify for Special Immigrant Visas given to translators, contractors and other aides.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=true]
The airport has emerged as the sole means of escape since the Taliban encircled the capital and cut off routes in and out of the city. Inside the airport gates, the first of roughly 6,000 U. S. troops have arrived to help establish an airfield perimeter, defend it from attack and evacuate all U. S. citizens who desire to leave the country. Outside those gates, however, the Taliban have erected a gauntlet of checkpoints that has made it difficult to pass.
“We’re going to get everyone that we can possibly evacuate, evacuated,” Austin told reporters at the Pentagon. “And I’ll do that as long as we possibly can until the clock runs out or we run out of capability. ” But he stressed: “We don’t have the capability to go and collect up large numbers of people. ”
The situation marks the first real diplomatic test between the U. S. and the incoming Taliban government in Afghanistan. Americans and Afghans stuck in Kabul will have to trust the Taliban to uphold a “safe passage agreement,” which was negotiated between General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U. S. military operations in the Middle East, and Taliban leadership in Doha, Qatar.
According to the U. S. State Department, there are already indications that the Taliban isn’t holding up its end of the deal. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Wednesday the U. S. has collected accounts that the militants are impeding Afghans from reaching the airport gates.