Withdrawal from Afghanistan could be delayed by US military. The reason is the profits made by Taliban rebels. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said this on monday.
Kirby emphasized that President Joe Biden gave the date of withdrawal by September and it remains the same. Although, the process could be rearranged based on circumstances.
Pentagon Spokesman’s statement
He told reporters,”The situation in Afghanistan changes as the Taliban continue to conduct these attacks and to raid district centers as well as the violence, which is still too high,”
“If there needs to be changes made to the pace, or to the scope and scale of the retrograde, on any given day or in any given week, we want to maintain the flexibility to do that,” he said.
“We’re constantly taking a look at this, every single day. What’s the situation on the ground. What capabilities do we have. What additional resources do we need to move out of Afghanistan and at what pace.”
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“All of these decisions are literally being made in real time,” he added.
Last week, Pentagon officials said that the withdrawal is half completed. Biden ordered this in April after nearly two decades fighting Al-Qaeda. He helped government forces battle the Taliban.
At the time of Biden´s order around 2,500 US troops and 16,000 contractors were in the country. There were mostly US citizens in the country. The Pentagon has already turned over several of its important bases to government security forces. Also it has removed hundreds of cargo planeloads of equipment.
The US military could delay its withdrawal. That can be decided after viewing the situation. Kirby said US forces continue to support Afghan troops in fighting the Taliban.
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“So long as we have the capability in Afghanistan, we will continue to provide help to Afghan forces,” he said.
“But as the retreating gets closer to completion, those capabilities will decrease and will no longer be available.”
