Pres. Joe Biden Wants to Get Every American Out of Afghanistan by August 31
President Joe Biden on Wednesday commits to getting the Americans out of Afghanistan by August 31, the deadline he set for U.S. troops to fully withdraw from the South Asian country.
But Joe Biden told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that he's willing to extend the mission beyond the August 31 deadline just to get every American out of Afghanistan.
The president said he would make sure that the U.S. troops would be available for every American who wished to be out of Afghanistan.
"Americans should understand that we're gonna try to get it done before Aug. 31st... And if you're American force, if there's American citizens left, we're gonna stay to get them all out," Biden noted.
On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted that around 10,000 to 15,000 Americans were still in Afghanistan, The Daily Wire reported. Austin said most of them were located outside Kabul.
President Joe Biden Says Evacuation Mission Needs to Go Faster
As thousands of Americans were reported to be in Afghanistan, Joe Biden acknowledged that the evacuation mission should go faster to meet the August 31 deadline of a total withdrawal. The president noted that a faster evacuation would be possible if they could get out at least 7,000 individuals per day.
"The commitment holds to get everyone out that, in fact, we can get out and everyone who should come out. And that's the objective," Biden said.
Joe Biden's comments came as the Taliban forces accelerated in taking over Afghanistan. The Taliban effectively sealed their control of the country on Sunday, and the Taliban forces immediately seized a significant amount of hardware and weapons from the U.S. military.
The U.S. gave the said weapons to Afghanistan to use in their fight with the Taliban. As the Taliban took over the city of Kabul on Sunday, the group hijacked the streets and searched the offices and homes of government officials and media outlets.
Joe Biden blamed the Afghan forces for their loss, claiming that the military of the South Asian nation was not willing to fend for themselves. Reports said close to 2,500 Americans, nearly 70,000 Afghan military, and almost 50,000 civilians died in the war against the Taliban and other terrorist groups in the country.
U.S. Department of Defense Cannot Rescue Americans Who Are Not in Kabul Airport
The U.S. Department of Defense noted that they could not rescue Americans who could not go to the Kabul airport. Austin noted that they could not "go out and collect large numbers of people."
Austin said they would continue to provide assistance and stay on the ground as long as "the clock runs out or we run out of capability."
In a security alert also issued on Wednesday, the U.S. State Department instructed Americans in Afghanistan to make their way to the Kabul airport. However, the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan said it could not guarantee safe passage to the airport.
This article is owned by Latin Post
Written By: Joshua Summers
WATCH: Joe Biden Defends Decision to End U.S. War in Afghanistan - From Good Morning America