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As the Taliban moved quickly in the Afghan capital and the United States withdrew from its embassy in Kabul, Secretary of State Anthony Brinken refused to compare it with Kabul. U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam Decades ago.
In a series of American media interviews on Sunday, Brinken once again defended President Joe Biden’s decision. Withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan By the end of August, despite increasing criticism that it allowed the Taliban to quickly take over major cities across the country.
“Remember, this is not Saigon,” Brinken told CNN, referring to the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. “We took a mission to Afghanistan 20 years ago, and that mission was to deal with those who attacked us on 9/11-we successfully completed this mission.”
A photo that immortalized the US defeat in Vietnam, showing evacuees boarding a helicopter on the roof of a building, was quickly spread on social networks after Washington recently stated that it would be sent About 3,000 U.S. soldiers Help the embassy staff leave Afghanistan.
Photo 1: U.S. diplomats evacuated the U.S. from the embassy by helicopter #Taliban Enter #accept From all directions. #Afghanistan (2021)
Photo 2: When the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Communist Party of Vietnam captured Saigon, American diplomats evacuated the United States from the embassy by helicopter (1975) pic.twitter.com/YamWmzjOay
-Stefan Simanowitz (@StefSimanowitz) August 15, 2021
Since then, this deployment has increased, with Biden announced on Saturday He has authorized a total of approximately 5,000 soldiers to help draw down personnel.
Brinken confirmed on Sunday that as part of an ongoing effort, American personnel are being transferred from the Kabul embassy compound to a facility at the airport.
Diplomats are being transported to the airport by helicopter, where the US military is providing security as Americans, their local allies and other foreigners have evacuated. Sources told Reuters that most American employees are expected to be evacuated from Kabul within the next one or two days.
“This is why the President sent multiple troops to ensure that as we continue to reduce our diplomatic presence, we proceed in a safe and orderly manner, while maintaining a core diplomatic presence in Kabul,” Brinken said in an interview with ABC News. .
Al Jazeera’s Heidi Chou-Castro reported in Washington, DC that Brinken also warned the Taliban that if the Taliban interfere with American personnel or withdraw troops, they will “react quickly and decisively”.
Chou-Castro said it is a shame to compare the Biden administration with Saigon, “especially because the United States seems [have been] Just a week ago, President Biden said that he would not be evacuated from the roof of the embassy, which caught him off guard.”
“Now you see damage control,” she said, referring to Blinken’s interview on Sunday. She added that U.S. Republican lawmakers described the situation as “a total disaster” and put more pressure on the Democratic president’s government.
Earlier this week, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Biden of blaming Biden for what he described as the “large-scale, predictable and preventable disaster” taking place in Afghanistan.
He said in a statement: “President Biden’s decision allows us to move towards a worse sequel to the humiliation and fall of Saigon in 1975.” statement.
The Taliban has advanced rapidly in recent weeks. During this period, the organization occupied 26 of the country’s 34 capital cities, prompting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled Sunday country.
Gani’s departure is Taliban militants encircle Kabul, Announcing that they will move further into the capital. At night, the Taliban said it had controlled most of the suburbs of the city.
The US Embassy issued a security alert earlier on Sunday, warning that the situation at the airport is changing rapidly. “There are reports of a fire at the airport; therefore, we are instructing American citizens to take refuge on the spot,” it said.
A NATO official said that the organization is maintaining its diplomatic presence in Kabul and helping to maintain the operation of the airport. France, Germany and the Netherlands, all NATO member states, said on Sunday that they also moved diplomats from their embassies.
At the same time, with the withdrawal of American personnel, observers questioned whether the Biden administration has done enough to help Afghans who have helped the United States in its decades-long military mission.
Ali Noorani, President and CEO of the US-based National Immigration Forum, said: “It’s surprising that the government has not developed and implemented a plan to protect the tens of thousands of Afghan nationals working with our military. .” Advocacy Group.
In a statement on Sunday, Noorani called on the United States to immediately withdraw as many Afghan applicants as possible to the United States’ special visa program, and “united the international community to prepare for the possible large wave of Afghan refugees.”
On Saturday, Biden said that increased deployment of US troops will also help evacuate some Afghans who have passed the special visa program.
A White House official said that the President of the United States met with his national security team through a security video conference during the Camp David presidential retreat on Sunday to hear the latest news about the evacuation and security situation.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated at a press conference that the safety of American personnel and Afghans who support Americans should be Washington’s top concern.
“The first task is for us to bring back, first, all American personnel…but secondly, all the brave Afghans who help our military must provide them with an exit to the United States,” Schumer said.
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