Washington ; US troops may stay in Afghanistan past an August 31 deadline to evacuate Americans, President Joe Biden said on Wednesday and the Pentagon said the U.S. military does not have the ability to reach people beyond the Kabul airport.
”If there’s American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” Biden told in an interview conducted on a day many U.S. lawmakers pressed him to extend the deadline that he had set for a final pullout.
Biden has come under fierce criticism for his handling of the withdrawal, which in recent days has been dominated by scenes of chaos in and around the Kabul airport with people desperately trying to get out of the country.
Biden defended his decisions, saying problems were inevitable in ending the 20-year U.S. involvement there.
MC
