House Panel to Review Biden, Trump Decisions: Afghanistan Update
President Joe Biden is sticking to the deadline he set for evacuations from the Kabul airport, according to a senior administration official, leaving less than a week to fly out thousands of people from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The U.S. knows of about 1,500 Americans who are still in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. He gave the estimate a day after President Joe Biden rebuffed allies urging him keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan past his Aug. 31 deadline.
With the U.S. sticking to its withdrawal timetable, evacuations must end within the next few days to allow enough time to get remaining troops out. Fears for people whose ties to outside powers leave them vulnerable are growing after more reports of reprisals and a threat by the Taliban to stop Afghans from traveling to the airport.