(RightWing.org) – Over the weekend, President Joe Biden said he might extend the withdrawal efforts in Afghanistan beyond the August 31 deadline agreed to with Taliban leaders. On Monday, August 23, administration officials indicated they expected Biden to make a firm decision on the matter within 24 hours. However, the Taliban cut him off at the knees before he had a chance.
Monday afternoon, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told Sky News that if the US sought an extension, “the answer is no, or there would be consequences.” Continuing, he said such a request would “create mistrust” between the two nations.
Hashmat Ghani, politician and brother of exiled Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, tells @KimberleyeLeo the Taliban "will be provoked" if Western troops stay in Kabul beyond August 31.
Latest: https://t.co/vCluG2YOds pic.twitter.com/qVIU7W6mkx
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 24, 2021
Hashmat Ghani, the brother of Afghanistan’s recently exiled president, told Sky News he believed a request for an extension would provoke the Taliban. He also took a thinly veiled stab at the Biden administration by pointing out that other countries, like the United Kingdom, had successfully accomplished timely evacuations in the past.
As it turned out, Biden told world leaders he would not seek an extension during a Tuesday virtual G7 summit meeting, presumably breaking under the mounting pressure.
However this situation ultimately plays out, it appears Biden has shown the world his willingness to allow terrorist groups like the Taliban to take the upper hand. Whatever happened to the long-standing rule that the US doesn’t negotiate with terrorists?
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