The United States works with Qatar and Turkey to bring the Kabul airport back into operation

After the withdrawal of the troops from Afghanistan on August 30, the Government of Joe Biden wants to achieve the departure of collaborators and North American citizens who remain in the country.

The White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, assured this Tuesday that they are working for the departure of collaborators and fellow nationals who have not been evacuated from the country, for which she is working with Qatar and Turkey to “ensure that the civil part of the Kabul airport to be operational again ”.

The official defended the deadlines set by the president, Joe Biden, for the departure of US troops from Afghanistan.

In a press conference, after the withdrawal on Monday night of the last US military from the Central Asian country, Psaki reiterated that Washington’s decisions have been based on defense and intelligence advisers, which led to the proposal, for example, the withdrawal for August 31 instead of for September 11, as was first bet.

“We needed 120 days to reduce our presence in Afghanistan, so we comply with that,” he specified, to influence, as the president has also done, that the decisions after the Taliban took power on August 15 have been based in that a presence in the country did not align with the interests of the United States.

Specifically, he referred to the fact that at present “it is not evaluated that any terrorist group on the ground has the capacity to attack the United States in national territory”, which, in his opinion, represents “a great difference with the capacity of terrorists to attack US troops in Kabul ”, as happened in the evacuation mission with an attack in the vicinity of the airport.

After completing the evacuations, the United States confirmed the presence of between 100 and 200 US citizens who are still in the country, to which the White House reiterated its “commitment” to remove them from the territory when requested and through diplomatic channels.

“We have enormous influence over the Taliban, including access to the global market, that is why we will be observing the insurgents,” he warned, while stressing that the observation will be a shared task with the international community. He also pointed to the diplomatic activity from Doha to “operate” in the continuation of the evacuations, as well as maintain contact with the Taliban, who have expressed their “commitment” to this.

Along the same lines, he referred to the “operational” part for an additional evacuation, which requires the opening of the airport and regional airports, and also “guaranteeing that there are trips by land”, and that “it is possible to leave through the borders”.

“On the airport front, the most specific piece that we are working on with the Qataris and the Turks, who are important partners here, is to get the civilian side of the airport operational again so that we can use it for people flights, as well as for humanitarian assistance, which we would work through programs such as the World Food Program (WFP) ”, he said.

This is how he detailed several of the channels that Washington will use to fulfill its new commitments with the Afghan people and the Americans in the country, a task that will be led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Regarding the Taliban, he also reiterated that they will make “clear” Washington’s approach to fulfilling its commitments and respecting Human Rights, and has stressed that neither the United States nor the international community “are in a hurry” to recognize them, which would depend on the conditions”.

BIDEN’S “STRONG” EVALUATION

On the other hand, Psaki supported Biden’s speech on Tuesday in which he defended his decisions on the withdrawal and evacuation of Afghanistan, alluding to the fact that they have avoided “another decade” of war in the Asian country.

“He has made a compelling assessment of why it was time to withdraw from a 20-year war that has resulted in the loss of thousands of lives. I think he did it firmly, it is no longer in the interest of national security to be on the ground, “he reiterated.

In reference to Biden’s criticism of former President Donald Trump, who, as he has said, left no choice but to withdraw from the country or another “war” after the signing of the agreement with the Taliban in 2020, the White House spokeswoman He recalled that the current president “faced” the situation by making the changes he considered best , such as keeping Zalmay Khalilzad as the US envoy for Afghanistan.

He also explained that Biden has made it clear that in the face of challenges it is now necessary to “establish missions with clear and achievable goals, not goals that we will never achieve.” “We must remain clearly focused on the fundamental interests of the national security of the United States,” he insisted, to warn, however, that Washington “does not hesitate to use force when justified.”