Blinken announces a new chapter in the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan
The U.S. embassy announced on its website that it suspended operations on Tuesday, but will continue to assist U.S. citizens and families who are still in Afghanistan from Doha, Qatar.
“The State Department has no more priority than the safety of U.S. citizens abroad,” the statement said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took to Twitter to announce a “new chapter in U.S. engagement with Afghanistan.”
“As of today, we have suspended our diplomatic presence in Kabul and transferred our operations to Doha, Qatar. For now, we will use this message in Doha to manage our diplomacy with Afghanistan,” he posted.
Taliban leaders took control of Kabul airport on Tuesday and marked the departure of the country’s last U.S. plane by taking a symbolic walk down the airport’s only runway, according to a report.
“The world should have learned its lesson and this is the pleasant moment of victory,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a live video, according to the Associated Press.
Taliban take control of Kabul airport and celebrate “pleasant moment of victory”
Taliban leaders took control of Kabul airport on Tuesday and marked the departure of the country’s last U.S. plane by taking a symbolic walk down the airport’s only runway, according to a report.
“The world should have learned its lesson and this is the pleasant moment of victory,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a live video, according to the Associated Press.
He spoke to reporters at Hamid Karzai International Airport and said Americans “could not achieve their goal through military operations,” according to Al Jazeera.
Celebratory shots could be heard across Kabul before dawn, Reuters reported. A Los Angeles Times reporter posted a video of Taliban fighters inspecting a hanger after leaving the U.S.
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Biden sees Dem support for the withdrawal from Afghanistan diminish
President Biden has faced criticism from lawmakers in his own party in recent days as the last U.S. forces leave Afghanistan after a chaotic evacuation mission.
Much of the Democratic criticism of the management of Biden’s withdrawal has focused on its decision to keep an August 31 deadline for evacuations despite the administration’s acknowledgments that some Americans would be left behind. .
Public reproaches have added to the political pressure on Biden, who has faced scathing attacks from Republicans during the crisis.
Some of the most notable criticisms were from Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa. Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee said the evacuation “has been mishandled” following the suicide bombings that killed 13 members of the U.S. service.
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Blinken pledges to support Americans left in Afghanistan after the withdrawal
Secretary of State Tony Blinken pledged to give continued support to what he described as the “small number of Americans” still in Afghanistan after the last U.S. troops left the country on Monday.
Blinken said the State Department does not have an exact figure on the number of Americans still in the country, although it is believed to be “less than 200 and probably closer to 100.” He added that efforts to determine an exact number were complicated by “longtime residents in Afghanistan who have American passports and are trying to determine if they want to leave or not.”
“Our commitment to them, and to all Americans in Afghanistan and around the world, continues. The protection and well-being of Americans abroad remains the Department’s most vital and enduring mission.” State, “Blinken said. “If an American in Afghanistan tells us he wants to stay occasionally for a week or a month or a year, he puts his hand up and says,‘ I’ve changed my mind, ’we’ll help them to leave”.
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Biden breaks promise to “stay” in Afghanistan until all Americans evacuated
President Biden appears to have broken his promise to stay in Afghanistan until all Americans are evacuated.
Marine Corps General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. announced Monday evening that the last of the U.S. troops stationed at Kabul airport had left, completing the army’s withdrawal into the country, although there are likely to be hundreds of Americans left.
McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said some U.S. citizens who wanted to leave Afghanistan remained in the country.
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