Washington : US President Joe Biden has acknowledged the mass evacuation from Afghanistan is “not without risk of loss”.
Speaking at the White House, Mr Biden said the US had rescued 13,000 people to date in “one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history”.
But the president’s suggestion that US evacuees were not being hampered by the Taliban was contradicted by his own defence secretary.
Mr Biden has faced international blowback over the Taliban’s takeover.
“Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home,” said Mr Biden, who cut short his holiday to address the crisis.
Taking questions from reporters, the president said the US military would make the “same commitment” to 50-65,000 Afghan allies hoping to leave, before adding the evacuation of American citizens was the “priority”.
“Make no mistake, this evacuation mission is dangerous. It involves risks to our armed forces and it’s being conducted under difficult circumstances,” said Mr Biden.
“I cannot promise what the final outcome will be or that it will be without risk of loss. But as commander in chief, I can assure you that I will mobilise every resource necessary,” he added.
He also said it would not be necessary to send US troops into Kabul to extract trapped Americans, claiming that the Taliban was permitting airport entry to anyone holding a US passport.
However, numerous reports from Kabul have suggested US citizens are having trouble reaching the airport. And Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers in a briefing on Friday that Americans trying to leave Afghanistan have been beaten by Taliban fighters, reports Politico.
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