Pres. Joe Biden Snaps at Reporters Asking Afghanistan Questions Instead of July 4th; Jen Psaki Says People Are 'Overreading' His Responses
White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended President Joe Biden after he cut off reporters asking questions about the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan instead of the upcoming July 4th.
According to Daily Mail, Joe Biden told reporters on Friday, July 2, that he wanted to talk about "happy things" since it's July 4th after he was asked about the U.S. troops who left Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war.
At her White House press briefing, Jen Psaki had accused reporters of reading too much into Biden's snappy responses. Psaki said the president wants to convey that he is heading into July 4th weekend, "a weekend for family, we can celebrate America." She added that the president was ready to be done answering questions.
"I think people are a little overreading into his response," said Psaki, adding that Joe Biden has already answered three questions on Afghanistan.
Jen Psaki noted that the president does not think the war in Afghanistan could be won "militarily" and that the U.S. will continue on its diplomatic negotiations, Fox News reported.
The press secretary also said the administration had identified a group of Special Immigrant Visa applicants who served as interpreters for the U.S. military.
Jen Psaki said their lives are now in danger as they are targeted by the Taliban. But she noted that they would be relocated outside Afghanistan before the troops withdraw.
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U.S. Troops Leaving Afghanistan
American troops and its Western allies have left the U.S. military base in Afghanistan, the officials confirmed on Friday, July 2. The troops' withdrawal effectively ends the major U.S. military operations in the country for nearly two decades, The New York Times reported.
Afghan officials said the American exit was completed quickly that some looters managed to get into the base before being arrested.
The withdrawal highlights Washington's efforts to signal messages such as that its longest foreign war is ending and that the U.S. is not abandoning the country in the middle of a Taliban offensive.
Joe Biden told reporters that the U.S. is on track, exactly where the U.S. is expected to be. Some U.S. intelligence predicts that the Afghan government could fall to its rivals, the Taliban, from six months to two years after the Americans complete the withdrawal.
The Taliban are inching closer to Kabul after seizing about a quarter of the country's districts in the past two months.
The top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, said that civil war is certainly a path that can be expected. Fox News reported that the Afghan leader President Ashraf Ghani said last week that the decision of Joe Biden had been a strategic one.
Ghani said they respect the decision. He noted that it's dealing with the new chapter of their friendship and relationship that they are focusing on. Meanwhile, Joe Biden promised Ghani at the time that the U.S. is going to stick with the country.
Taliban Attacks
Late last month, Taliban fighters have launched an attack on Ghazni in an attempt to dominate the central Afghan city. Afghan officials confirmed the offensive attack, noting that the Afghan forces were trying to regain control of lost ground, Aljazeera reported.
Abdul Jami, a provincial council member in Ghazni, said the situation in the area is changing. Jami noted that most of the lost areas in the outskirts are being taken back by the Afghan forces.
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