White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki spoke with reporters during her briefing on Afghanistan Friday, saying another terror attack in Kabul is “likely” and American troops are “still in danger.”
“The National Security Team the President he met with this morning advised the President and Vice President that another terror attack in Kabul is likely. They’re taking maximum measures at the airport and surrounding areas as a result,” said Psaki.
“The threat is ongoing, it is active, our Troops are still in danger,” she added.
#BREAKING: White House confirms that another terrorist attack in Kabul is likely. National Security team met President Biden and advised that another terrorist attack in Kabul is likely. Maximum force protection measures being taken at the Kabul airport. pic.twitter.com/WqggU2SgZq
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 27, 2021
An image of President Biden hunched at his podium went viral on social media Thursday after the Commander-in-Chief spoke with reporters following a deadly terror attack in Kabul that killed at least 13 US Service Members.
“Do you bear any responsibility for the way that things have unfolded in the last two weeks?” asked Fox News’ Peter Doocy.
“I bear responsibility, fundamentally, for all that’s happened… You know as well as I do that a former president made a deal with the Taliban that he would get all American forced out of Afghanistan by May 1…” said Biden.
DOOCY: "Do you bear any responsibility for the way that things have unfolded in the last two weeks?"
BIDEN: "You know as well as I do that a former president made a deal with the Taliban that he would get all American forced out of Afghanistan by May 1…" pic.twitter.com/cUb24FhJar
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 26, 2021
A defining image. pic.twitter.com/nER7WyiEK0
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) August 26, 2021
Watch Psaki’s comments above.
BIDEN: My Withdrawal Plan from Afghanistan Was ‘Rational, Logical, and Right’
President Biden addressed the nation Sunday afternoon on the chaos unfolding in Afghanistan, saying his decision to abruptly exit the country was “rational, logical, and right.”
“There are number of places where we’re doing that, without permanently placing American forces there… But look, that’s the job. My job is to make judgments no one else can or will make. I made them, I’m convinced I’m absolutely correct in not sending more women and men to war,” said Biden.
“I don’t trust anybody, there’s not a lot of people I trust. The Taliban has to make a fundamental decision. Are they going to attempt to be able to unite and provide for the well-being of the people of Afghanistan?” he added.
A firefight erupted at Kabul’s international airport early Monday as thousands of American troops struggle to evacuate citizens and foreign allies from Afghanistan amid the Taliban’s rapid take-over.
“One Afghan security personnel was killed and three others wounded when the firefight erupted between Afghan security forces and unknown attackers, the official account of the German Joint Forces Operations Command said in a tweet Monday,” reports CNBC.
“The German military also said that American and German forces were involved in the progression of the fighting, but that all of the German forces on the ground were unharmed,” adds the financial news outlet.
A report from Fox News highlights the scope of the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan as the network claims the Taliban now control 75,000 vehicles, 200 aircraft, 600,000 weapons and $85 billion in funding.
Watch the President’s comments above.
CHAOS KABUL: US Troops Kill 2 Gunmen at the Airport, Biden to Address the Nation at 3:45PM
US Troops shot and killed two armed gunmen at Kabul’s Airport Monday as thousands of Afghans attempted to flee the country while the Taliban rapidly seizes control.
“In separate incidents at the airport on Monday, U.S. troops shot and killed two armed men at the airport and at least three Afghans clinging to the side of an Air Force jet were run over and killed,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
At least 7,000 US Soldiers will be deployed to protect the airport and evacuate American citizens in the days ahead.
President Biden will address the nation at 3:45 from the White House.
Biden will address the country today, as Afghans clinging to US planes fall to their deaths in Kabul. Hard to script a worse propaganda victory for our enemies as we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11. There is nothing Biden can say now to right the wrong of his failed policy.
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) August 16, 2021
A reporter on CNN described the chaos unfolding in Afghanistan’s capital city Monday; telling viewers the Taliban fighters are chanting “Death to America” but they “seem friendly at the same time.”
“The Taliban fighters have flooded the capital. Smiling and victorious, they took the city of six million people in a matter of hours, barely firing a shot,” says the narrator.
“They tell us they’re here to maintain law and order,” she adds. “They’re just chanting ‘Death to America’ but they seem friendly at the same time.”
CNN REPORTER ON TALIBAN: "They're just chanting 'death to America,' but they seem friendly at the same time."
The same reporter then says the Taliban have a "welcoming spirit" as they wave rifles in the air.
Yes, this is a real clip. pic.twitter.com/VdXWplr8V2
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) August 16, 2021
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan weighed-in on the chaos engulfing Afghanistan Monday; admitting the Biden administration was caught off-guard by the “speed” of the Taliban advance.
“The president did not think it was inevitable that the Taliban were going to take control of Afghanistan,” Sullivan told ABC News. “He thought the Afghan national security forces could step up and fight because we spent 20 years, tens of billions of dollars, training them, giving them the best equipment, giving them support of U.S. forces for 20 years.”
“When push came to shove, they decided not to step up and fight for their country,” Sullivan added.
Scenes of panic and chaos played out at the airport in Kabul as crowds of people desperate to escape Afghanistan rushed onto the tarmac.
Some clung to the sides of planes, even as one taxied down the runway, in a bid to flee the Taliban.https://t.co/pAgoGW7tos pic.twitter.com/4YGQd2iEzk
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 16, 2021
“We planned for a wide range of contingencies, one of those was the need to flow in a substantial number of forces to secure the airport and be able to facilitate that evacuation,” Sullivan explained. “We have now successfully drawn down the U.S. embassy in Kabul. We have moved all of those personnel either to the airport or out of the country. And we flowed in several thousand troops who had been prepositioned in theater for precisely this purpose.”
BREAKING: Seven people are dead amid the chaos at the Kabul airport, including some who fell from a departing American military transport jet, senior U.S. military officials say. https://t.co/2JPKZXpx4n
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 16, 2021
“We are working to do that, first, by securing the airport today and then in the days ahead, by taking people out one flight a time, flight after flight,” Sullivan said. “We fully intend to continue an evacuation process to bring out people who worked alongside of us in Afghanistan.”
Biden to address nation on Afghanistan "soon" https://t.co/sUMBFFi2Za pic.twitter.com/SbvXd4d3zT
— The Hill (@thehill) August 16, 2021
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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