US President Joe Biden offered the American public an update on the ongoing withdrawal efforts in Afghanistan on Friday, ultimately admitting that he is unable to say exactly what the "final outcome will be" in the Central Asian nation.
Biden told reporters at the White House that while the US was doing "everything" it could to provide "safe evacuations," troubles were unavoidable amid the mass evacuation efforts.
"Any American who wants to go home, we will get you home," Biden said. "I cannot promise what the final outcome will be or that it will be without risk of loss but as commander-in-chief, I will mobilize every resource necessary."
However, he also acknowledged that sending additional American troops to retrieve US forces would inevitably prompt "an awful lot of unintended consequences" when asked whether a perimeter would be implemented around Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai International Airport.
He did go on to reject claims that Taliban forces were preventing Americans from arriving at the airport, saying he has received "no indication" of such claims but that "we will do whatever needs to be done." The president later backtracked his remarks slightly and explained that large crowds at the airport were the result of a "mad rush."
People wait outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 17, 2021.
© REUTERS / STRINGER
The US president did not offer an exact figure of Americans who are still in Afghanistan, saying officials were still working to verify tallies. It was detailed that approximately 6,000 American soldiers were on the ground and that 18,000 evacuations have been conducted since July, of which 13,000 have taken place since August 14.
"This is one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history," the president said.
He did reiterate his past statement that the US could stay past the August 31 deadline, but that he also believed the evacuation of all Americans and visa-carrying Afghan nationals will be completed within the set timeline. "We're going to make that judgment as we go," he said.
Asked about the reaction of NATO allies to the US withdrawal process, Biden noted that they had been made aware of the US' plans and that he had received their support on the US pullout.
"I have seen no question of our credibility from our allies around the world," he said, underscoring that he had not seen any criticism from allies of the US' handling of the evacuations.
Taliban fighters stand guard in front of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.
© AP Photo / Rahmat Gul
It's worth noting that over the last several days, US allies have been vocal about the troop pullout and how it may lead to the further deterioration of Afghanistan. In fact, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace earlier stated that the US withdrawal would create an environment for new extremist groups to emerge.
Biden further stated that an official G7 meeting would be convened in the coming week to "coordinate our mutual approach ... on Afghanistan and moving forward." However, he also revealed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had held a meeting earlier in the day with G7 foreign ministers to coordinate potential responses on the withdrawal.
The Friday address came just hours after reports surfaced detailing that evacuation flights departing from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul had been temporarily halted after it was determined that Qatar needed to pull back on in-takes.
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III safely transported approximately 640 Afghan citizens from Hamid Karzai International Airport Aug. 15, 2021.
Dramatic scenes in Kabul and more specifically at the international airport began to surface shortly after Taliban forces reclaimed the capital city on Sunday. Fearing what a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan would bring, many rushed to the tarmac with the hopes of boarding evacuation flights being scheduled by the US.
In light of the chaotic scenes that unfolded, Biden earlier addressed the nation to explain and underscore that an extended stay in Afghanistan was no longer in the cards for the US, and that it would be sticking to its August 31 deadline. The president had stressed that the little resistance showed by US-trained Afghan forces against the Taliban proved that the US needed to pull out.
The US initially began its nearly 20-year military occupation of Afghanistan weeks after the 2001 terrorist attacks once Taliban officials failed to turn over Osama bin Laden and shut down its al-Qaeda* training camps.
*The Taliban and al-Qaeda are listed as terrorist organizations in Russia.