Secretary of State Antony Blinken was vacationing within the Hamptons simply hours earlier than Taliban insurgents invaded Kabul and accomplished their retaking of Afghanistan 20 years after their ouster by U.S.-led forces, in response to a brand new report.
In response to an in depth timeline of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul compiled by The Washington Submit, the actions by U.S. officers within the days main as much as the collapse steered “no speedy trigger for alarm,” with lots of them “surrendering to the customary rhythms of Washington in August.”
WHITE HOUSE IN CHAOS STRUGGLES TO KEEP BIDEN ON TIME
Blinken, like different U.S. officers, needed to be referred to as again from his trip as soon as issues began quickly deteriorating in Afghanistan, the report stated.
“By August, the dominant view was that the Taliban wasn’t prone to pose a severe risk to Kabul till late fall,” The Submit reported. “On the Friday afternoon earlier than Kabul fell, the White Home was beginning to empty out, as lots of the senior workers ready to take their first holidays of Biden’s younger presidency. Earlier within the day, Biden had arrived at Camp David, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken was already within the Hamptons.”
Biden has confronted widespread criticism over his execution of the army withdrawal and his actions throughout and after the collapse of Kabul. The president has repeatedly defended his plan to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, whereas lots of of U.S. residents and tens of 1000’s of Afghan allies and Afghans weak to Taliban reprisal stay stranded within the nation. A State Division spokesman stated Sunday that 250 Americans stay in Afghanistan, three days after ISIS-Okay terrorists attacked the airport in Kabul, killing 13 U.S. service members and greater than 170 Afghans.
Biden assured People simply final month {that a} Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was not going and that he trusted “the capability of the Afghan army.” The president largely prevented cameras throughout the debacle, watching the Aug. 15 fall of Kabul unfold from the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.
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Three days after the Kabul collapse, Biden was fiercely criticized after he gave public remarks about COVID-19 and failed to handle the state of affairs in Afghanistan or take any questions. On Tuesday, his remarks from the White Home have been delayed greater than 4 hours after being rescheduled twice, and the U.S. evacuation effort in Afghanistan was the final subject he addressed after touting his Construct Again Higher agenda.
In the meantime, White Home press secretary Jen Psaki had an “out of the workplace” e-mail message for one week beginning the identical day Kabul collapsed, however returned to the White Home the following day. Fox Information reached out to the White Home Sunday for a separate story and White Home deputy press secretary Andrew Bates at present has an “out of the workplace” auto-reply message from Aug. 28 via Sept. 5. The auto-reply directs the press to succeed in out to different press officers in his absence.
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