？
Close
Joe Biden defends Afghanistan withdrawal as ‘rational, logical and right’
As the withdrawal from Afghanistan remains mired in chaos, Kamala Harris has used a visit to Singapore to insist that the US is in fact still a major power. “The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader,” she said, “and we take that role seriously.”
The Biden administration, meanwhile, is still struggling to evacuate scores of Americans who remain in Kabul. Joe Biden gave an address to the American people yesterday in which he once defended both the decision to pull out of the country and the way it has been managed. “I think history is going to record this was the logical, rational, and right decision to make,” he said.
The speech came as a leaked cable from the American embassy in Kabul revealed the depth of anger and despair at what is happening on the ground. Describing the situation as “extremely physical”, the cable quoted one staff members saying that they were “happy to die here, but with dignity and pride”.
Recommended Leaked cable reveals US embassy anger at handling of Afghanistan withdrawal Taliban PR photo mimics America’s iconic Iwo Jima image Ex-Navy SEAL from team who shot Bin Laden says he’d save Americans by shooting ‘everyone I see’ in Afghanistan
Key points Joe Biden has once again defended his Afghanistan strategy in address to the nation Leaked embassy cable shows depth of despair among Americans on the ground Violence at Kabul airport continues as warnings of Isis attacks circulate Fox News and others continue to pile on criticism
Show latest update 1629730573 Beyond Afghanistan: Democrats’ budget struggle
One of the Biden administration’s biggest domestic hurdles is coming up: the struggle to get a massive infrastructure bill through Congress. The Senate has already passed it after months spent striking a bipartisan compromise, but the ultra-thin Democratic margin in the House makes it a hard sell.
Now, Senator Joe Manchin – the Democrat resented by many in his party for refusing to help kill the filibuster, among other things – has sent a message to the lower chamber calling on moderates and progressives to get the bill passed rather than “holding it hostage”.
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 15:56
1629729035 Biden laughs off declining numbers: “I haven’t seen that poll”
Joe Biden has so far enjoyed historically high approval ratings for a new president, but in recent weeks they have begun to come down to earth – and the situation in Kabul is weighing heavy, with a sizeable majority of Americans disapproving of the execution of the withdrawal. Personally, Mr Biden is now hovering at 50-50 in terms of overall approval.
But when asked yesterday what he thought of his latest numbers, he was nonchalant, simply saying he hasn’t looked at them.
Read more here:
Biden claims he hasn’t seen polls showing people are unhappy with him ‘I think history is going to record this was the logical, rational, and right decision to make’
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 15:30
1629727993 Translator’s family ‘threatened with death by Taliban’, reports CNN
CNN’s Brianna Keilar reports that according to letters she obtained, the Taliban have issued a death sentence for the brother of a US-allied translator – this as the US comes under more pressure to evacuate not just American citizens and formal Afghan employees, but the families of those who have helped American forces.
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 15:13
1629727072 Evacuation numbers rising: White House
According to a White House official, the US evacuated 10,400 people from Kabul yesterday – the largest number taken out of the country by US aircraft in any 24-hour stretch.
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 14:57
1629725413 Threat of an Isis attack in Kabul ‘acute'
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said the Biden administration is taking seriously the possibility of an attack by the so-called Islamic State at Kabul airport.
“The threat is real, it is acute, it is persistent and it is something that we are focused on with every tool in our arsenal,” Mr Sullivan said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “We are working hard with our intelligence community to try to isolate and determine where an attack might come from.”
Read more here:
US sees ‘acute’ Isis threat at Kabul airport, says Biden aide American troops seeking to prevent a potential terrorist attack on the airport there
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 14:30
1629724420 Number of people at Kabul airport reportedly falling
CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh reports that the crowd at Hamid Karzai International Airport has sharply dropped after the events of this weekend, with the number of Americans awaiting evacuation there falling particularly fast.
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 14:13
1629722564 Kamala Harris: the US is still a ‘global leader'
Kamala Harris is on her second international trip, this time to Singapore and Vietnam – and she has already taken the chance to insist that the US is as important and reliable a player on the world stage as ever.
“The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously,” she said. Her words come as critics of the Biden administration’s Afghan withdrawal strategy worry that the chaos on the ground will send a signal that American commitments to foreign partners are no longer to be counted on.
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 13:42
1629721813 Baby on board
An Afghan woman has successfully delivered a daughter after going into labour on a US C-17 flying from the Middle East to Ramstein air base in Germany. After initially suffering complications, she was successfully stabilised with the help of some careful piloting.
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 13:30
1629720733 Pentagon to charter commercial planes for refugees
Pentagon commanders have commandeered 18 commercial aircraft from different US airlines to relocate Afghan evacuees once they are moved from Kabul to waystations in other countries.
Among the airlines contributing will be American, Delta, United, and several others. They will be taking part under the Civil Reserve Air Fleet programme, which has been activated to help evacuate Afghans who worked with American forces and thus are at risk of reprisals by the Taliban.
Pentagon commandeers commercial jets for Afghanistan rescue Biden administration under intense pressure to get those at risk out of the country
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 13:12
1629719233 Taliban mock legendary Iwo Jima image
The Taliban has wasted no time ramping up its propaganda efforts as it takes control of Afghanistan, and it is now taking direct shots at American military pride.
In a picture released last week, Taliban “special forces” fighters are shown raising their flag in an Afghan landscape, clearly imitating Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima – one of the most famous photographs in American military history.
Andrew Naughtie 23 August 2021 12:47
Newer 1 / 2 Older