Biden rejects pleas from G7 leaders to extend Afghan evacuation beyond August 31st: President insists he is 'on pace' to complete the mission in seven days if the Taliban allows Americans and local allies to get to Kabul airport
President Joe Biden delivered a snub to his international allies on Tuesday, dismissing the desperate pleas of G7 leaders to extend the Kabul evacuation beyond August 31, after the Taliban issued a chilling warning to western forces who stay and banned Afghans from leaving.
The move gives the Biden administration just seven days to evacuate thousands of American citizens and local allies still stranded on the ground.
And it means that officers will have to begin ordering U.S. troops home within days in order to meet the deadline for clearing the airport.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the president told allies that any delay increased the risks to troops.
'He also made clear that with each day of operations on the ground, we have added risk to our troops with increasing threats from ISIS-K, and that completion of the mission by August 31 depends on continued coordination with the Taliban, including continued access for evacuees to the airport,' she said.
But she added that the president had asked the Pentagon and State Department for contingency plans in case the departure had to be delayed.
The US ramped up the airlift by evacuating 21,600 people in the past 24 hours, but they still don't know the exact number that need to be rescued - and now time is rapidly running out.
A senior State Department Official said the U.S. had evacuated more than 4,000 Americans plus their families in all.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were among the leaders who urged Biden to keep boots on the ground longer during the Tuesday meeting. European leaders are worried there is not enough time to evacuate everyone who wants out.
Biden spoke for seven minutes during the virtual meeting, according to officials.
He was scheduled to deliver an update on progress at midday, but the time came and went without word from the White house.
It suggested a frantic atmosphere behind the scenes as aides and advisers juggled logistics and coordinated with the Pentagon and State Department after Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid refused to extend the troop deadline despite secret talks with CIA Director Bill Burns.
'They are capable of evacuating their citizens and troops by August 31', the defiant Taliban spokesman said. 'All people should be removed prior to that date. After that we do not allow them. We will take a different stance.
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President Joe Biden will stick to his August 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan despite pressures from G7 leaders to extend it
Biden met with G7 leaders on Tuesday morning to discuss Afghanistan
An aerial picture taken Monday shows crowds and traffic outside the Kabul airport as Americans and Afghan allies attempt to flee Afghanistan
Satellite images from Monday show a massive crowd around a gate near a military checkpoint outside the Kabul airport
The Pentagon recommendation was made on Monday based on concerns about security risks to American forces, a senior administration official said. Biden had asked the Pentagon for contingency plans to stay longer should it be necessary, the official noted.
American officials told the Taliban that the U.S. withdrawal by Biden's Aug. 31 deadline is contingent on the group's cooperation in facilitating evacuations, the official said.
Former President Trump kept up his critical commentary claiming, without evidence, that terrorists were arriving on evacuation flights.
'Biden surrendered Afghanistan to terrorists and left thousands of Americans for dead by pulling out the military before our citizens,' he said.
'Now that out of the 26,000 people who have been evacuated, only 4,000 are Americans.
'You can be sure the Taliban, who are now in complete control, didn’t allow the best and brightest to board these evacuation flights.'
Officials say they are doing their best to screen evacuees before they ever set foot inside the U.S. but the first step is getting people of Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday the group will not extend the August 31 deadline for all U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday the United States would evacuate any American who wants out.
And the Pentagon said it was confident it had the planes and manpower to rescue thousands more Afghans who had fought alongside Americans or offered other critical services.
But panic rippled around Kabul on Tuesday when the Taliban refused to extend the deadline and told Afghan citizens not to travel to the airport.
'The road to Kabul airport is closed for locals and open to foreigners,; said Mujahid.
It suggested CIA chief Burns had failed in his mission to extend the timetable after flying into Kabul on Monday for a secret meeting with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, according to The Washington Post.
Burns was dispatched to Afghanistan as the administration continues to grapple with a chaotic scene at the airport and struggles to evacuate Americans from Kabul.
Baradar is now playing the role of the Taliban's counterpart to Burns 11 years after he was arrested in a joint CIA-Pakistani operation, which put him in prison for eight years.
The president joined G7 leaders on a virtual call Tuesday morning for an emergency meeting on Afghanistan amid intense pressure from NATO and world leaders for U.S. to stay and prevent a looming humanitarian disaster.
Washington pulled off its biggest haul of evacuations since the crisis started over the last 24 hours to early Tuesday morning, with 37 military jets evacuating 21,600 people from Kabul, the White House announced.
But they still don't know the number of American citizens and Afghan allies stranded on the ground that need evacuating.
'Since August 14, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 58,700 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 63,900 people,' a White House official said.
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The comments come less than 24 hours after President Joe Biden sent CIA Director William Burns went to Kabul on Monday for a secret meeting with the Taliban's de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar
Likely discussed at the meeting Monday was the August 31 deadline for total troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. U.S. soldiers guard Kabul airport on Tuesday as thousands of desperate Afghans crowd at the gates in the hopes of fleeing the Taliban
President Joe Biden said U.S. military would stay in Kabul past the deadline if needed to continue evacuating Americans stranded in Afghanistan
Taliban fighters stand on top of containers doing crowd control outside the Kabul airpor
From Sunday to early Monday morning, 28 military jets rescued around 10,400 people. The latest numbers reveal that over half of the total evacuations from Afghanistan have taken place in the last two days.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing: 'There's been no change to the timeline of the mission which is to have this completed by the end of the month.'
'We continue to make progress every day in getting Americans, as well as SIV applicants and vulnerable Afghans out.'
He said that the increased flow meant that the U.S. had the capability to get everyone out by the end of teh months.
All evacuees are being tested on arrival in the U.S. for COVID-19, according to a senior administration official.
'We're also in the process of figuring out exactly how and when we'll offer vaccination to those arriving from Afghanistan and obviously the goal is to get that process finalized and up and running as quickly as possible, and we expect exactly that,' the official added.
They also undergo security screening at transport hubs outside the country before boarding flights to the U.S.
'That process involves biometric and biographic security screenings, conducted by our intelligence, law enforcement and counter terrorist professionals who are working quite literally around the clock to vet all of these Afghans before they're allowed into the United States,' he said.
The president is still hesitant, however, to deploy troops outside the Kabul airport because he doesn't want a Black Hawk Down-style incident, he told commanders last week, referring to a botched mission in Somali when 18 Americans were killed in 1993.
Meanwhile, congressional Republicans raised fears that Kabul's collapse would allow Al Qaeda to find new safe haves in the country where Osama bin Laden planned the 9/11 attacks.
Rep. Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret, said: 'The Taliban taking over means Al Qaeda 3.0 comes roaring back, except we're in a worse position than before.
'Are we going to have another pulse night club? Are we going to have another San Bernardino? Are we going to have another 9/11 because of that incompetence?
'That blood is and will be on Joe Biden's hands.'
Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban delegation in Qatar's capital city Doha said Monday U.S. military continuing to evacuate past this month would amount to 'extending occupation' and that is 'a red line'.
'If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations – the answer is no. Or there would be consequences,' he told Sky News in an interview. '
'It will create mistrust between us,' Shaheen continued. 'If they are intent on continuing the occupation it will provoke a reaction.'
After the interview Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said: 'We have seen the public statements by the Taliban spokesman about their views on 31 August, I think we all understand that view.'
'The goal is to get as many people out as fast as possible,' he added, 'and while we're glad to see the numbers that we got yesterday, we're not going to rest on any laurels.'
'The focus is on trying to do this as best we can by the end of the month and as the Secretary of said, if there needs - if we need, if he needs - to have additional conversations with the Commander in Chief about that timeline, he'll do that but we're just not at that point right now.'
Monday's warning signals the Taliban could seek to shut down the airlifts out of the Kabul airport in just over a week. Lawmakers, refugee groups, veterans' organizations and U.S. allies have said ending the evacuation on August 31 could strand countless Afghans and foreigners still hoping for flights out.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder and head of the political office of the Taliban - Held for eight years in Pakistani prison before being released on orders from the U.S. government
Pictured: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, co-founder and deputy leader of the Taliban, makes a video statement on August 16 following the fall of Kabul
Age: 53 years old
Taliban Rank: Co-founder, head of political office
Joined: 1994
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the co-founders of the Taliban, was freed from jail in Pakistan three years ago at the request of the U.S. government.
Just nine months ago, he posed for pictures with Donald Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to sign a peace deal in Doha which today lies in tatters.
On Sunday, his forces seized Kabul and he is now tipped to become Afghanistan's next leader in a reversal of fortune which humiliates Washington.
While Haibatullah Akhundzada is the Taliban's overall leader, Baradar is head of its political office and one of the most recognisable faces of the chiefs who have been involved in peace talks in Qatar.
His name Baradar means 'brother', a title which was conferred by Taliban founder Mullah Omar himself as a mark of affection.
The 53-year-old was deputy leader under ex-chief Mullah Mohammed Omar, whose support for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden led to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11.
Baradar arrived in Kandahar Province on Tuesday, landing in the insurgent group's former capital just days after they took control of the country.
A Taliban spokesman said on Twitter that Baradar and a high level delegation 'reached their beloved country in the afternoon' from Qatar.
Born in Uruzgan province in 1968, Baradar was raised in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban movement. He fought with the mujahideen against the Soviets in the 1980s until they were driven out in 1989.
Afterwards, Afghanistan was gripped by a blood civil war between rival warlords and Baradar set up an Islamic school in Kandahar with his former commander Mohammed Omar.
The two mullahs helped to found the Taliban movement, an ideology which embraced hardline orthodoxy and strived for the creation of an Islamic Emirate.
Fuelled by zealotry, hatred of greedy warlords and with financial backing from Pakistan's secret services, the Taliban seized power in 1996 after conquering provincial capitals before marching on Kabul, just as they have in recent months.
Baradar had a number of different roles during the Taliban's five-year reign and was the deputy defence minister when the US invaded in 2001.
He went into hiding but remained active in the Taliban's leadership in exile.
In September 2020, Baradar was pictured with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who 'urged the Taliban to seize this opportunity to forge a political settlement and reach a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire,' the US said in a statement
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In 2010, the CIA tracked him down to the Pakistani city of Karachi and in February of that year the Pakistani intelligence service arrested him.
But in 2018, he was released at the request of the Trump administration as part of their ongoing negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar, on the understanding that he could help broker peace.
In February 2020, Baradar signed the Doha Agreement in which the U.S. pledged to leave Afghanistan on the basis that the Taliban would enter into a power-sharing arrangement with President Ashraf Ghani's government in Kabul.
He was pictured in September with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who 'urged the Taliban to seize this opportunity to forge a political settlement and reach a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire,' the US said in a statement.
Pompeo 'welcomed Afghan leadership and ownership of the effort to end 40 years of war and ensure that Afghanistan is not a threat to the United States or its allies.'
The Doha deal was heralded as a momentous peace declaration but has been proved to be nothing but a ploy by the Taliban.
The jihadists waited until thousands of American troops had left before launching a major offensive to recapture the country, undoing two decades of work by the US-led coalition.
Before details of Burns' secret meeting, State Department spokesperson Ned Price was asked on Monday why no senior U.S. officials had engaged with Baradar yet.
'Our discussions with the Taliban have been operational, tactical,' Price said. 'They have been focused largely on our near-term operations and near-term goals… what is going on at the airport compound.'
'That is what we're focused on at the moment.'
Burns also made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan in April as concerns mounted about the Afghan government's ability to fend off the Taliban after the U.S. withdrawal.
During a congressional hearing earlier this year, Burns said neither the Islamic State nor Al Qaeda in Afghanistan had the capability to mount attacks inside the U.S. – but admitted that during a troops withdrawal, the ability to act on threats will be depleted.
'When the time comes for the U.S. military to withdraw, the U.S. government's ability to collect and act on threats will diminish,' Burns said at the time. 'That's simply a fact.'
During the G7 meeting on Tuesday morning, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to press Biden for an extension to get out the maximum number of foreigners and Afghan allies possible.
Even his own ministers said they knew that Biden's previous comments made it unlikely he would bend.
'It is definitely worth us all trying, and we will,' said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
Meanwhile, U.S. Special Operations rescued 16 Americans from an unspecified location around two hours outside Kabul. The Pentagon revealed it was carried out by helicopter without disclosing further details.
CIA director Bill Burns - the veteran US diplomat who oversaw US relations in the Middle East and negotiated with Iran and Libya over weapons deals
On Monday, President Biden's top spy William Burns held a secret meeting with the Taliban's de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar. Burns was thought to have broached the subject of extending the deadline for US troop removal beyond Aug. 31 to get out more Americans and allies, a proposal the Taliban have scoffed at. The group warned about 'consequences' if the deadline is extended.
Who is Burns, Biden's CIA director and the highest level official to meet face-to-face with the Taliban amid the chaos unfolding as they take over Afghanistan?
A career foreign service officer, Burns previously served as deputy secretary of state, under secretary of political affairs, US ambassador to Russia, assistant secretary of near eastern affairs and ambassador to Jordan.
In 2013, Burns, alongside national security adviser Jake Sullivan, led secret negotiations with Iran and Libya that ultimately led to the Iran Nuclear Deal. Burns was reportedly in the 'driver's seat,' of negotiations, meeting with Iranian officials with only a tight circle of officials in the know. Burns had reportedly been meeting with Iranian officials as early as 2008, when President George W. Bush dispatched him.
In April 2021, Burns had told the US Senate Intelligence Committee that 'here is a significant risk once the U.S. military and the coalition militaries withdraw' but added that the U.S. would retain 'a suite of capabilities.'
'When the time comes for the U.S. military to withdraw, the U.S. government's ability to collect and act on threats will diminish. That's simply a fact,' Burns said at the time, adding that neither the Islamic State nor al-Qaeda had capabilities to launch attacks on the US homeland.
That same month, Burns had made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan as concerns mounted about the Afghan government's ability to fend off the Taliban after US withdrawal.
Burns oversees a spy agency that trained Afghan special forces in their now-defunct battle against the Taliban.
A military plane takes off from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday
Washington pulled off its biggest haul of evacuations since the crisis started over the last 24 hours to early Tuesday morning, with 37 military jets evacuating 21,600 people from Kabul. Here families board a C-17 evacuation flight on Monday
Rescue efforts became increasingly urgent on Tuesday as Spain warned it would have to leave people behind and France said it would stop airlifts on Thursday - five days before the deadline.
The airport has become a relative safe haven but accessing it has proven near impossible due to Taliban checkpoints and chaos among the crowds outside the perimeter.
While Biden and his administration have said the Taliban has promised safe passage to the airport for American citizens, there are reports that Americans are being assaulted as they try to reach Hamid Karzai International.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin admitted over the weekend that American citizens still trapped in Kabul are being beaten by these Islamic militant fighters and prevented from reaching the airport.
James Miervaldis, Chairman of No One Left Behind, told DailyMail.com: 'We have at least 1,200 families with Special Immigrant Visas in hand stuck outside the airport. How is the State Department going to evacuate them?'
The veteran nonprofit charity is working to get Afghan translators and others who worked with the U.S. over the last two decades out of the country.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said negotiations with the Taliban are continuing as the administration looks for additional ways to safely move more Americans and others into the Kabul airport.
'We are in talks with the Taliban on a daily basis through both political and security channels,' he said.
Kirby also said Tuesday: 'There's no question that ... as we work through this that the daily communication with Taliban commanders is going to have to continue.'
'That's just, that's just a hard fact there,' he added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken didn't dispute on Sunday that the U.S. does have to ask the Taliban for 'permission' to conduct evacuations.
'Someone in our audience might listen to you, Mr. Secretary, and say, 'Oh, so we have to ask the Taliban for permission for American citizens to leave.' True or not true?' CBS News' Face the Nation fill in host Major Garrett asked Blinken of the 'agreement' between the Islamic militant group and Washington.
'They are in control of Kabul. That is the reality,' Blinken responded without denying the claim Garrett detailed.
'That's the reality that we have to deal with,' he added.
'How comfortable are you with that, Mr. Secretary?' the host questioned the State Department chief.
He continued to deflect in saying: 'What I am focused on, what we're all focused on, is getting people out and making sure that we're doing everything possible to do that.'
After more than a week of evacuations plagued by major obstacles, including Taliban forces and crushing crowds that are making approaching the airport difficult and dangerous, the number of people flown out met - and exceeded - U.S. projections for the first time.
The Pentagon said it added a fourth U.S. military base, in New Jersey, to three others - in Virginia, Texas and Wisconsin - that are prepared to temporarily house arriving Afghans.
Major General Hank Taylor, the Joint Staff deputy director for regional operations, told reporters there are now about 1,200 Afghans at those military bases. The four bases combined are capable of housing up to 25,000 evacuees, Kirby said.
Afghan evacuees continued to arrive at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington on Monday. Exhaustion clouded the faces of many of the adults.
Taylor said at a Pentagon briefing Tuesday: 'It has been challenging to keep up with the flow.'
'We have made progress in caring for and safeguarding these vulnerable individuals and getting them moving on where we are committed to doing more,' he added, 'and to continue to expand and improve our facilities from adding shelter to additional sanitation, hand washing stations refrigerator trucks, providing cold water, and the appropriate food, and we're working with our partners to increase this capacity, as soon as possible.'
Kriby, who also spoke at the briefing Tuesday gave an update on the babies who were pictured being taken care of by U.S. military.
'I just have a slight update on the, on the baby count,' Kriby said, confirming there are three – one on a C-17 and two others who already arrived in Rammstein, Germany.
'I am told that moms and dads and babies are all fine and healthy,' he said.
How does it feel to be here, a journalist asked one man arriving in D.C.
'We are safe,' he answered.
Airbnb also announced on Tuesday that it is dedicated to allocating enough room to house 20,000 Afghan refugees in locations nationwide, partially funded through donations to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund.
'As tens of thousands of Afghan refugees resettle around the world, where they stay will be the first chapter in their new lives,' founder and CEO Brian Chesky said in a statement on the initiative.
'For these 20,000 refugees, my hope is that the Airbnb community will provide them with not only a safe place to rest and start over, but also a warm welcome home.'
Biden is ready to strike deal with Taliban to pardon Afghan drug lord who has been in US prison for 16 years in exchange for the last American hostage abducted last year but demands proof of life first
The US could release an Afghan drug lord to the Taliban in exchange for their last American hostage - but only if they provide a confirmation of life.
Drug lord Bashir Noorzai, who is a top figure in the Pashtun tribe which elusive Taliban Supreme Commander Hibatullah Akhundzada belongs, has been held in a federal prison for the last 16 years.
He travelled to the US in 2005 under the pretext of diplomatic talks, but upon arrival he was arrested by the DEA for his role in a global heroin trade.
And now, Newsweek reports that President Biden is prepared to swap Noorzai with the Taliban in exchange for Mark Frerichs, who was the last American to be taken hostage by the group.
Frerichs was taken hostage by the Taliban in January last year by a group believed to be associated with the Haqqani network - a militia group based on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and who aligned with the Taliban.
Speaking to the publication, a government official, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'We are eager to explore ways to bring Frerichs back. But these explorations are predicated on receiving a recent proof of life. The bottom line is that any progress moving forward lies in receiving a proof of life.'
A swap deal involving Frerichs and Noorzai has been welcomed by Charlene Cakora, who is Frerichs' sister.
Drug lord Bashir Noorzai , who is a top figure in the Pashtun tribe which elusive Taliban Supreme Commander Hibatullah Akhundzada belongs, has been held in a federal prison for the last 16 years
She said in a statement sent to the publication that although she didn't like the idea of letting Noorzai go, it was worth it to have her brother released.
And she urged President Biden to move quickly to ensure a deal can be struck.
However, a former senior U.S. official has said that the foundation of any hostage swap is a solid proof of life which is 'itself is sort of its own art form'.
The potential hostage swap comes as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee warned that President Biden is 'unlikely' to meet his August 31 deadline to evacuate US citizens and their allies from Afghanistan.
Now, reports suggest the President is considering the possibility of trading Noorzai with the Taliban in for Mark Frerichs, who was the last American hostage taken by the group
Adam Schiff made the grim prediction after an intelligence briefing Monday evening, as the Taliban rejected a mooted extension to the withdrawal date.
Schiff said a full evacuation was 'possible' but 'very unlikely given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of SIV's, the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders, women leaders.'
Speaking outside the US Capitol, Schiff continued: 'I am encouraged to see the numbers of people evacuated, increasing readily to the point where we evacuated 11,000 people in a single day,' Schiff continued.
'Nonetheless, given the logistical difficulties of moving people to the airport and the limited number of workarounds, it's hard for me to see that being fully complete by the end of the month. And I'm certainly of the view that we maintain a military presence as long as it's necessary to get all U.S. persons out and to meet our moral and ethical obligation to our Afghan partners.'
He added: 'Given the number of Americans who still need to be evacuated, the number of SIVs, the number of others who are members of the Afghan press, civil society leaders women leaders, it's hard for me to imagine all of that can be accomplished between now and the end of the month,' he said.
Who is Bashir Noorzai?
Haji Bashir Noorzai is a drug lord and financial backer of the Taliban.
In 2005, he flew from Dubai to the US under the pretext of diplomatic talks.
However, upon his arrival in New York City, he was arrested by the DEA for his role in the establishment of a global heroin trafficking operation - the funds of which had been helping the Taliban.
After a trial, he was sentenced to life in a US federal prison.