Biden vows 'sustained' help as Afghanistan drawdown nears

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ERIC TUCKER, BEN FOX and AAMER MADHANI

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday promised Afghanistan’s top leaders a “sustained” partnership even as he moves to accelerate winding down the United States’ longest war amid escalating Taliban violence.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chair of the High Council for National Reconciliation, met at the Pentagon with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin before their sit-down with Biden at the White House later in the afternoon. While Biden vowed that the U.S. was committed to assisting Afghanistan, he also insisted that it was time for the American military to step back.

“Afghans are going to have to decide their future,” Biden said in brief remarks at the start of his meeting with the Afghan leaders. Biden did not elaborate on what a ’’sustained” partnership might entail.

The leaders’ visit to Washington comes as the Biden administration has stepped up plans for withdrawal ahead of the president’s Sept. 11 deadline to end a nearly 20-year-old war that has come with a breathtaking human cost.



President Joe Biden, right, meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, center, and Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah, left, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-europe-afghanistan-government-and-politics-70d94ada1f9ee7e15c1a3028c9d12326

[True Dough]

1. Sometimes you just can't fix broken

Afghanistan is that way because of the Taliban, which is as determined as it is backwards and misogynistic. The best we can do is monitor closely and hope to prevent some sort of "leader" from emerging who can muster a terrorist attack on America.

[jimfields33]

2. What a mess

The taliban is already taking over many places and we’re not fully gone yet. I don’t think we’ll see good news out of Afghanistan. Thankfully super majority agree with pulling our. It’s past time.

[True Dough]

3. Truly a pathetic situation

When you think of all the loss of life over decades to keep the Taliban relegated the fringes and the efforts to improve life and society, and as soon as the protection of those freedoms is gone, the forces of evil swoop in just like that.

Such a damn shame.

[jimfields33]

4. I agree.

Hopefully the Afghan people will recognize this and fight back. It won’t be easy, but it’s their country.

[ansible]

6. They have been fighting back against us for the past 20 years

It's hopeless, they want islam.

[Jakes Progress]

5. So are they going to get the translators and drivers out this time?