{"id":117228,"date":"2021-06-25T23:30:09","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T23:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=117228"},"modified":"2021-06-25T23:30:09","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T23:30:09","slug":"biden-calls-on-afghans-to-decide-their-future-as-withdrawal-nears-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/biden-calls-on-afghans-to-decide-their-future-as-withdrawal-nears-end\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden calls on Afghans to 'decide their future' as withdrawal nears end"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, on Friday at the White House where he called on Afghans to decide the future of their country as the last U.S. troops pack up after 20 years of war and government forces struggle to repel Taliban advances.<\/p>

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the White House, in Washington, U.S., June 25, 2021. REUTERS\/Jonathan Ernst<\/figcaption>

Biden, seated beside Ghani and Abdullah in the Oval Office, called them \u201ctwo old friends\u201d and said U.S. support for Afghanistan was not ending but would be sustained despite the U.S. pullout.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want,\u201d said Biden, saying the \u201csenseless violence has to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ghani said Afghan security forces had retaken six districts on Friday. He said he respected Biden\u2019s decision and that the partnership between the United States and Afghanistan is entering a new phase.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are determined to have unity, coherence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Ghani said the United States\u2019 decision to withdraw troops was a sovereign one and it was Kabul\u2019s job to \u201cmanage consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that Biden had clearly articulated that the U.S. embassy would continue to operate and security aid would continue and in some cases move on an accelerated schedule.<\/p>\n

The Oval Office meeting could be as valuable to Ghani for its symbolism as for any new U.S. help because it will be seen as affirming Biden\u2019s support for the beleaguered Afghan leader as he confronts Taliban gains, bombings and assassinations, a surge in COVID-19 cases and political infighting in Kabul.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a time when morale is incredibly shaky and things are going downhill, anything one can do to help shore up morale and shore up the government is worth doing,\u201d said Ronald Neumann, a former U.S. ambassador to Kabul. \u201cInviting Ghani here is a pretty strong sign that we\u2019re backing him.\u201d<\/p>

Slideshow ( 4 images )<\/span><\/figcaption>

Biden\u2019s embrace, however, comes only months after U.S. officials were pressuring Ghani to step aside for a transitional government under a draft political accord that they floated in a failed gambit to break a stalemate in peace talks.<\/p>\n

Biden has asked Congress to approve $3.3 billion in security assistance for Afghanistan next year and is sending 3 million doses of vaccines there to help it battle COVID-19.<\/p>\n

U.S. officials have been clear that Biden will not halt the American pullout \u2013 likely to be completed in the coming weeks -and he is unlikely to approve any U.S. military support to Kabul to halt the Taliban\u2019s advances beyond advice, intelligence, and aircraft maintenance.<\/p>\n

Earlier, the Afghan leaders met for a second day on Capitol Hill, where Biden\u2019s withdrawal decision met objections from many members of both parties.<\/p>\n

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, welcoming Ghani to a bipartisan leadership meeting, said she looked forward to hearing about what more can be done with U.S. humanitarian aid, especially for women and girls.<\/p>\n

Many lawmakers and experts have expressed deep concerns that the Taliban – if returned to power – will reverse progress made on the rights of women and girls, who were harshly repressed and barred from education and work during the insurgents\u2019 1996-2001 rule.<\/p>\n

WORRIES ABOUT AL QAEDA<\/h2>\n

The Ghani-Abdullah visit comes with the peace process stalled and violence raging as Afghan security forces fight to stem a Taliban spring offensive that threatens several provincial capitals and has triggered mobilizations of ethnic militias to reinforce government troops.<\/p>\n

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking during a visit on Friday to Paris, said Washington is \u201clooking very hard\u201d at whether the Taliban are \u201cserious about a peaceful resolution to the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crisis has fueled grave concerns that the Taliban could regain power – two decades after the U.S.-led invasion ended their harsh version of Islamist rule \u2013 allowing a resurgence of al Qaeda. U.S. and U.N. officials say the extremists maintain close links with the Taliban.<\/p>\n

U.S. officials respond that the United States will be able to detect and thwart any new threats by al Qaeda or other Islamists. The Taliban insist al Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

U.S. government sources familiar with U.S. intelligence reporting describe the situation as dire. Ghani, they said, has been urged to do more to step up pressure on the insurgents while U.S.-led coalition forces are still there.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, on Friday at the White House where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":117227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nBiden calls on Afghans to 'decide their future' as withdrawal nears end - Fin2me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/biden-calls-on-afghans-to-decide-their-future-as-withdrawal-nears-end\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Biden calls on Afghans to 'decide their future' as withdrawal nears end - Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, on Friday at the White House where [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/biden-calls-on-afghans-to-decide-their-future-as-withdrawal-nears-end\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-25T23:30:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Biden-calls-on-Afghans-to-decide-their-future-as-withdrawal-nears-end.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/biden-calls-on-afghans-to-decide-their-future-as-withdrawal-nears-end\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/biden-calls-on-afghans-to-decide-their-future-as-withdrawal-nears-end\/\",\"name\":\"Biden calls on Afghans to 'decide their future' as withdrawal nears end - 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