Biden (Washington Insider Magazine) -A Taliban spokesman said the extremist group’s rulers in Afghanistan would not accept a prolongation of U.S. deployment in the country, equating it with an extension of a military “occupation.”
Speaking in Doha, Qatar, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sky News on Aug. 23 that the end of the month is “a red line.”
“If the U.S. or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations — the answer is no,” Shaheen told the British media outlet. “Or there would be consequences.”
He would not specify what action would be taken should U.S. President Joe Biden order an extension of his Aug. 31 deadline to evacuate personnel and thousands of Afghans.
Meanwhile, Kabul airport on Aug. 23 saw a firefight erupt on its grounds, with Afghan guards and western military elements exchanging fire with unidentified gunmen, Reuters reported.
The airport for weeks has been the epicenter for thousands of Afghans and foreign expatriates looking for a flight out of the country in an attempt to flee the Taliban. According to Reuters, more than 20 people have been killed in the chaos at the airport due to shootings and mass stampedes of people desperate for a way to leave Afghanistan.
The German military reported that one person was killed, and three Afghan guards are being treated for wounds following the clash. U.S. forces were reportedly involved in the incident. Taliban forces have been sighted roaming outside the airport premises in an attempt to maintain order.
The Taliban completed their reconquest of the country after 20 years with the capture of Kabul on Aug. 15.
The takeover follows the decision by the Biden administration to evacuate U.S. troops after a protracted, two-decade war that saw a $2 trillion dollars spent in the country and the death of 2,400 U.S. servicemen.
Biden has vehemently defended his decision, saying that although the situation developed much faster than many anticipated, that he stands “squarely behind his decision”.
In an Aug 16 televised speech, he said: “American troops cannot and should not be fighting and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.”
Now, the timeline for evacuation may be extended, The Hill reported on Aug. 22. The report stated that the Biden administration has considered keeping U.S. in troops past the previously firm Aug. 31 deadline.
In an interview with NBC, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan declined to rule out the possibility of sending more troops to Afghanistan to secure the airport in Kabul.
“At the moment, we believe we have sufficient forces on the ground. But every single day, the president asks his military commanders, including those at the airport and those at the Pentagon, whether they need additional resources, additional troops. So far, the answer has been no,” he said.
Biden himself weighed in on the topic in an Aug. 22 address regarding the situation.
“Our hope is we will not have to extend. But there are going to be discussions, I suspect, on how far along we are in the process” he said, the New York Times reported.
There are an estimated 6,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Kabul helping with the evacuation. Sullivan stated that in the case of the airport being blocked to American forces, or disruption of operations by the Taliban, that the U.S. response would be “swift and forceful,” the Hill reported.
