Afghanistan: Biden on meeting the imminent US withdrawal deadline: ‘It can happen, but it is difficult’

Afghanistan: Biden on meeting the imminent US withdrawal deadline: ‘It can happen, but it is difficult’

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“I am in the process of making that decision now as to when they will leave. The fact is that it was not a very solidly negotiated deal that the President, the ex-President, made. So we are in consultation with our allies, as well as the government, and that decision – is in progress now, “said Biden in an interview that aired on Wednesday on ABC’s” Good Morning America “program.

Biden predicted that he did not think it “would take much longer”, but said that a full withdrawal by May 1 “may happen, but it is difficult”.

He went on to blame the transition process between the Trump administration and his own, saying that “the failure to make an orderly transition from the Trump presidency to my presidency … has cost me time and consequences.”

“This is one of the issues that we are talking about now, in terms of Afghanistan,” he added.

The Biden government is running out of time, with less than 50 days to go before the May 1 deadline, when the United States must withdraw all forces from Afghanistan under a peace agreement signed between the Trump administration and the Taliban. But any decision, from a complete withdrawal to an increase in troop levels, will require planning and coordination weeks before that date.
Biden is running out of time to make a decision on the future of the US mission in Afghanistan as the situation worsens

Several defense officials previously told CNN that the US-led NATO alliance would like to see decisions made no later than April 1 because of the challenges of removing US weapons and equipment, amid concerns about some of them falling. in the hands of the Taliban.

A Pentagon report said the total withdrawal could be devastating “for the survival of the Afghan state as we know it”.

The situation in Afghanistan is thorny for Biden, who opposed an increase in the US presence there during the Obama administration and said he wants to lessen US involvement in the nearly 20-year conflict. Biden may face internal criticism if he does not proceed with the withdrawal, but at the same time, Afghanistan remains unstable, the Taliban have increased their control over wider areas of the country and the gains made by women and girls are at risk.

But while Biden weighs his options, the US military continues its operations in the country, having carried out air strikes this week against the Taliban.

The US air strikes in the past two days targeted “Taliban fighters actively attacking and maneuvering in (Afghanistan National Security Forces) positions” in Kandahar, said Col. Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for the US Forces in Afghanistan, in a tweet on Wednesday.

The Taliban “strongly condemned” US air strikes in Kandahar, with spokesman Qari Mohammad Yusuf Ahmadi saying that Taliban members were killed and wounded, but did not specify how many.

Ahmadi called the attacks “a clear violation of the Doha Agreement, which cannot be justified in any way”.

The “Doha Agreement”, signed by the United States and the Taliban just over a year ago in Doha, Qatar, established a series of commitments on both sides regarding troop levels, counterterrorism and intra-Afghan dialogue with the aim to carry out “a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.”

CNN contacted the Afghan government to comment on the air strikes.

CNN’s Oren Liebermann and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

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