Live Updates: Joe Biden Addresses Taliban’s Afghanistan Takeover, Efforts to Evacuate Americans
President Joe Biden cut short his Camp David presidential retreat to address the US on the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan.
The remarks will be streamed live at 3:45 pm (EDT), and can be viewed here.
The speech, which will take place in the East Room of the White House, will be his first public remarks since the Taliban seized control of the presidential palace in Kabul on Sunday and the Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport became a scene of chaos as people looking to flee the country swarmed the runways Monday.
Officials from the US military said that seven people died during the turmoil at the Kabul airport, including several who fell out of a departing American military jet, the Associated Press reported.
Biden’s administration has been planning for months to completely withdraw US forces from Afghanistan by September 11. However, as Afghan troops quickly fall at the hands of the Taliban, many are criticizing the decision.
Some administration officials have expressed surprise at the speed of the Taliban’s takeover, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan who spoke about the situation in Afghanistan on Monday on NBC’s Today.
“It is certainly the case that the speed with which cities fell was much greater than anyone anticipated,” Sullivan said .
By: RUTEMBESA Anicet
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