US on track to finish Afghanistan pullout but threat of attacks rising
American forces have evacuated 70,700 people in about 10 days, says Biden
WASHINGTON President Joe Biden said on Tuesday the United States is on pace to finish evacuations from Afghanistan by Aug 31 but left open the chance of extending the deadline, saying reaching that goal depends on cooperation from the Taleban .
The Taleban said earlier on Tuesday that all foreign evacuations from the country must be completed by Aug 31 and asked Washington to stop urging highly skilled Afghans to leave the country.
In remarks at the White House, Mr Biden said the US was racing to meet that deadline as concerns mount over the threat of militant attacks.
"The sooner we can finish, the better," he said.
"Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops."
Continued coordination with the Taleban remains crucial to meeting the deadline, he added, but he called it a "tenuous situation" with a "serious risk of breaking down as time goes on".
Mr Biden said he asked the Pentagon and the State Department to develop contingency plans to push past the deadline should that prove necessary.
UNDER FIRE
The Democratic president, whose administration has been under fire for its handling of the pullout, said US forces have helped evacuate 70,700 people since Aug 14.
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was growing concern about the risk of suicide bombings by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria at the airport, which has been overwhelmed by Afghans and foreign citizens rushing to leave.
One official said it was no longer a question of if, but when, militants would attack and the priority was to get out before it happened.
Some Democrats in the US Congress argued the evacuations must be completed regardless of the target date.
"To me, the mission of evacuating personnel takes priority over deadlines," said Representative Jake Auchincloss, a former Marine who commanded infantry in Afghanistan.
Leaders of the G-7 nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US - met virtually to discuss how to complete the chaotic withdrawal and deal with the Taleban now that it has seized power.
The talks did not result "in new dates" for the end of the evacuation mission, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. - REUTERS
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