On Friday, US President Joe Biden assured visiting Afghan leaders Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah of continued American support following the withdrawal of troops, but emphasised that Afghanistan’s fate will now be in the hands of its people.
Biden and Ghani met at the White House with Abdullah, the chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, amid growing concerns about the current government’s fate, as well as the Taliban’s continued escalation of violence, which has backed out of peace talks until US troops leave.
At the same time, Afghan President Ghani sought to project confidence in the face of a resurgent Taliban. He dismissed a US intelligence report that predicted the fall of Kabul within six months of the last US troops leaving in July, saying that such dire predictions had previously proven to be false.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday in Paris that the US is assessing the situation on the ground in Afghanistan and “whether the Taliban is, in any way, serious about a peaceful resolution of the conflict.”
“Our troops may be leaving but our support for Afghanistan is not ending in terms of support and maintenance of helping maintain their military as well as economic and political support,” Biden said, seeking to assure the Afghan leaders.
