June 28, 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political adversary, Abdullah Abdullah, on Friday to talk over Washington’s support for Afghanistan as the last U.S. troops are ready to leave Afghanistan after 20 years of war and government forces struggle to repel Taliban advances.
“Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want,” said Biden, saying the “senseless violence has to stop.”
The Oval Office meeting was valuable to Ghani for its symbolism for any new U.S. help because such assistance will be seen as affirming Biden’s support for the careworn Afghan leader as he confronts Taliban gains, bombings and assassinations, a surge in COVID-19 cases and political infighting in Kabul.
Before the formal initiation of talks, Biden said on Twitter that he looked forward to the meeting and that “as the U.S. military drawdown continues, we affirm our enduring support for the Afghan people.”
He has asked Congress to approve $3.3 billion in security assistance for Afghanistan next year and is sending 3 million doses of vaccines there to help it battle COVID-19.
Biden also urged Ghani and Abdullah, foes in Afghanistan’s two last presidential elections, “to be a united front” and he will reaffirm U.S. support for a negotiated peace deal.
U.S. officials, however, have been clear that Biden will not cease the American withdrawal – likely to be completed by late July or early August – and he is unlikely to approve any U.S. military support to Kabul to stop the Taliban’s advances beyond advice, intelligence, and aircraft maintenance.
Before meeting Biden, Ghani and Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, met at the Pentagon with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other top U.S. civilian and military officials. Austin reaffirmed continued U.S. security aid to Afghanistan, according to a pool report from the opening of the talks.
Speaking of a “new phase” in the U.S.-Afghan relationship, Ghani asserted that the “narrative of abandonment is just false,” and that his forces have made “significant progress” even though the situation “presents challenges,” the pool report said.
Earlier, the Afghan leaders met for a second day on Capitol Hill, where Biden’s withdrawal decision met objections from many members of both parties.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, welcoming Ghani to a bipartisan leadership meeting, said she looked forward to hearing about what more can be done with U.S. humanitarian aid, especially for women and girls.
Many lawmakers and experts have expressed deep concerns that the Taliban – if returned to power – will reverse progress made on the rights of women and girls, who were harshly repressed and barred from education and work during the insurgents’ 1996-2001 rule.
