US racing against time in Afghanistan as Aug 31 withdrawal deadline looms

The United States, which set the August 31 deadline to exit trouble-torn Afghanistan, faces a difficult, if not impossible, task to keep the date. The Pentagon, which is controlling Kabul airport operations, says it actually has to wind down evacuations several days before August 31, to be able to remove its own troops, reports AFP.

The US needs to remove its own 6,000-plus troops on the ground, hundreds of US officials, 600 Afghan security troops guarding the airport and significant amounts of equipment. There is a growing worry in Washington that the deadline does not give them time enough to remove all remaining US citizens — the number remained unclear — as well as Afghan evacuees, the agency adds.

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The US allies — Britain, France and Germany — have already signalled that they might not be able to complete all of their planned evacuations by August 31 and wanted the US to extend into September.

For this purpose, leaders of G7 advanced countries held a video summit on Tuesday to discuss staying beyond August 31. But, Taliban are in no mood to cooperate. As G7 leaders met, Taliban, which took control of the country on August 15, made it clear that they would not agree to any extension.

So, why did the US set such a tight date to complete the exit process?

Former US President Donald Trump had conveyed to the Taliban that the US forces would withdraw from Afghanistan by May 1 this year. President Biden, after a review, set the August 31 deadline.

Washington and NATO partners expected that Afghan forces would be able to slow, if not stop, the Taliban campaign against them. US intelligence said that government forces should be able to hold on at least six months after the US departure, reports AFP.

But the rapid advance by the Taliban stunned all. Government troops gave in without any resistance, upsetting the US calculations. Looking at the current situation and projections for evacuation, Biden has asked “for contingency plans to adjust the timeline should that become necessary,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.