Biden adviser doesn’t rule out sending more troops to Kabul

President asks defense chiefs if more troops are needed ‘every single day’, Sullivan says

US Afghanistan

President Joe Biden asks his defence chiefs “every single day” whether they need more troops or other resources to ensure safe evacuations of Americans, Afghan citizens, and citizens of other countries from the Kabul airport, his national security chief said on Sunday.

Jake Sullivan told NBC’s Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that “so far” Mr Biden’s top generals have not indicated a need for more forces beyond the 6,000 deployed to assist with evacuations and securing the perimeter at Hamid Karzai International Airport, but left open the possibility that such an assessment could change.

“At the moment, we believe we have sufficient forces on the ground. But every single day, the president asks his military commanders, including those at the airport and those at the Pentagon, whether they need additional resources, additional troops. So far, the answer has been ‘no’. But he will ask again today,” said Mr Sullivan.

The Biden administration has rushed to get thousands of evacuees out of the airport following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul and the fall of the Afghan government last week. US officials, including Mr Sullivan, have stressed that the Taliban has agreed thus far to allow evacuations to continue safely, while noting that the possibility of attacks from Isis-aligned forces remains.

During a speech this week, Mr Biden appeared to dispute several reported facts of the situation on the ground in Kabul, namely regarding the ability of Americans to safely reach the US-held zone without interference from the Taliban as well as whether Al Qaeda continued to pose a threat based from Afghanistan.

Roughly 5,000 US troops are currently in the country to facilitate the safe removal of Americans and others. In recent days, US officials including Mr Biden himself have sought to reassure critics of the withdrawal following horrifying scenes that unfolded last Sunday and Monday, when videos emerged of Afghans falling from departing US military aircraft after attempting to cling to the side of the planes.

Just one weekend ago the Biden administration’s message was very different, with State Department chief Antony Blinken insisting that the situation occurring in Kabul was not comparable to the US withdrawal from Vietnam; administration officials in the days following have remained firm in their assertion that the pullout was justified and necessary while admitting that the fall of Afghanistan’s government occurred far more rapidly than US experts predicted.