US government strategic position regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan, announced by President Joe Biden, remained unchanged, even after Taliban took control of whole nation in 11 days. The only change was tactical toward "strategic position" to protect US national security and sending more forces to expedite the evacuation of American, foreign nationals and allied Afghans. Two days following Taliban entry to Afghan presidential palace, Biden in speech stressed on what he said in June "vital national interest" in Afghanistan has always been preventing a terrorist attack on US. US mission in Afghanistan was "never supposed to have been nation-building, it was never supposed to be creating a unified, centralized democracy," as Biden reiterated in his speech that US has achieved it goals in Afghanistan. Although Biden acknowledged that events in Afghanistan occurred rapidly than expected, he distanced US forces of any responsibility for chaos, stressed that US "gave Afghans every chance to determine their own future", while what US could not provide them the will to fight for that future. Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country. The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight, Biden said. As for the possibility of US forces stay passing Aug.31 deadline, to bring all Americans, Biden in an interview said Wednesday if American citizens remain US will stay until getting them all out. The nearly 6,000 US troops are helping to evacuate American citizens and at-risk Afghans and to protect the airport so other countries can evacuate their citizens as well, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in statement Monday. And as for State Department spokesman Ned Price, he said US would send more consular officers to Kabul and other locations to help with the evacuation effort. Last Friday, Biden Briefly closed to process evacuees at the transit points, as Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul has resumed flights where US military moved out 5,700 evacuees. US already evacuated more than 18,000 people since July, the civilian evacuations in Afghanistan involve "one of the largest and most difficult airlifts in history," and the only country in the world capable of projecting that much power is United States, Biden said. As for women rights, The European Union, the United States and 18 other countries issued a joint statement expressing their concern about the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule. They called those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan to guarantee their protection. Marking World Humanitarian, Biden affirmed commitment to put human rights at the center of US foreign policy, not through endless military deployments, but with "our diplomacy, economic tools, supporting aid workers and organizations, and rallying the world to join us." Data so far indicate US firm position on attaching importance at evacuations operations and withdraw from Afghanistan, Biden has decided to allocate up to $500 million to help refugees from Afghanistan, from Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for the purpose of meeting unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs of refugees, victims of conflict, and other persons at risk as a result of the situation in Afghanistan. As for future governance in Afghanistan, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Ashraf Ghani is "no longer a figure in Afghanistan." Meanwhile, Qatar helped facilitate a meeting between CIA Director William J. Burns and a top Taliban leader in Kabul on Monday, according to a source familiar. This meeting demonstrates what a significant role the Qataris are now playing in the future of Afghanistan, the source said. The fact that Burns visited with Abdul Ghani Baradar builds a rapport that could be built upon should the US intelligence community develop ties with the Taliban for potential future counter-terrorism cooperation. CNN reported earlier that the meeting occurred at Biden's direction, which reflects the view inside the administration that Burns is the most seasoned and one of the most trusted veteran diplomats on Biden's team. — Agencies
