White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The White House Press Secretary addressed American’s concerns amid escalating threats from ISIS-K and the Taliban. In a briefing on Tuesday, a reporter asked Jen Psaki about evacuations thus far.
The reporter’s question shed light on a recent comment made by a Taliban spokesperson, who said the terrorist group would block Afghans from accessing the Kabul airport. Psaki refuted the comment by saying the administration has been working with both Special Immigrant Visa applicants and Americans about how and when to get to the airport.
However, she noted concerns of security risks involved with the influx of people.
“There are a number of Afghans, who, they may not qualify for these programs and we’ve seen over the past several days a rush of people attempt to come to the airport,” she stated. “We certainly understand that, but that also creates security risks and one that we have great concern about”.
Jen Psaki refuses to say what Biden would do if Americans are left behind after all U.S. troops leave Afghanistan.
“We expect there could be some but I’m not going to get into it further” pic.twitter.com/yrxGq4tsQz
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 24, 2021
Psaki went on to recap Joe Biden’s recent meeting with G7 leaders and noted Biden expressed fears over prolonged exposure to ISIS-K.
“He also made clear that with each day of operations on the ground, we have added risks to our troops with increasing threats from ISIS-K,” she explained. “Completion of the mission by August 31 depends on continued coordination with the Taliban including continued access for evacuees to the airport”.
Psaki added Biden has asked the Pentagon for contingency plans so he would be able to adjust the August 31 pullout date if necessary.
Source: One America News Network
