The evacuation of Americans from Afghanistan has been “extremely successful”. President Biden said so in a speech on American TV. Ninety percent of Americans who wanted to leave Afghanistan have been brought safely to the US.
According to Biden, 100 to 200 Americans are left behind in Afghanistan. “We remain committed to removing people at risk from the country, no deadline for them,” Biden said. “We’re not done there yet. And we will hold the Taliban to their promise to let anyone who wants to leave. We don’t take them by their word, we judge them by their actions.”
Biden also remembered the 13 US servicemen who were killed in the IS attack on Kabul airport last week. “These thirteen heroes gave their lives. We will never forget them.”
Yesterday, the last American soldiers left Afghanistan, after twenty years of presence. The official departure deadline was today. “It was a choice between leaving or letting the situation escalate,” Biden said.
‘Later departure is provocation’
President Biden had previously hinted that a departure later than August 31 might be necessary, but later retracted. The Taliban immediately said that leaving after the deadline would be seen as a provocation.
For example, the Taliban took over the airport from the US:
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