Biden facing critical choice on August 31 deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan as evacuations accelerate
CNN
President Joe Biden could decide Tuesday whether to keep US troops in Afghanistan past August 31, a deadline the Taliban says is firm but that US allies are pressuring him to extend as a massive airlift effort from Kabul accelerates.
It did not appear likely he would; the Pentagon said as the meeting got underway there had been "no change to the timeline of the mission, which is to have this completed by the end of the month." Even as the United States flies tens of thousands of people out of the country, the situation in Afghanistan remains desperate and many Afghans who assisted the war effort are still awaiting their turn to leave. US officials have described in stark terms the real threat of terror attacks at the Kabul airport as crowds gather outside the gates.
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