Biden pledges US aid to war veterans in Afghanistan | Stories of Abdullah Abdullah

United States President Joe Biden met with Afghan leaders Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah at the White House on Friday to demonstrate US commitment to Afghanistan as US troops leave.

“The relationship between Afghanistan and the United States will not end,” Biden told an Oval Office meeting with Ghani and Abdullah.

“It’s encouraging, and you know, our troops are leaving, but our support for Afghanistan is not going away,” Biden said.

Most of the 4,000 U.S. troops now in Afghanistan will be evacuated in the next two weeks, and the U.S. expects to remove U.S. officials and institutions by July 4, before the deadline, according to The Associated Press.

Briefly speaking to reporters at the summit, Biden praised Ghani and Abdullah for their “hard work” and for their efforts to “bring about unity among Afghan leaders throughout the region”.

“The people of Afghanistan have to decide for themselves the future, what they want. And it will not be because of our lack of support,” Biden said.

Ghani thanked American troops and their families for their commitment to Afghanistan over the past 20 years but said the war-torn country was now on the brink of civil war.

“It is a moral choice, an ideology of integration or exclusion,” Ghani said, adding that Afghan government forces are pushing Taliban militants into conflict areas.

“We are determined to be united, cohesive, committed to the rest of the world and we are not saving anything,” Ghani said.

“You will see that with determination, solidarity, and harmony, we will overcome all obstacles.”

Ghani and Abdullah had already met on Friday with Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and CIA officials to discuss the US military’s findings and future plans.

“We are encouraged and satisfied that this agreement is underway,” Ghani told the White House.

Among the security forces, Ghani was due to speak at a press conference in Washington, DC, a White House meeting with Biden.

Biden has set a deadline for U.S. and foreign troops to leave Afghanistan by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the US attack following al-Qaeda threats in New York and Washington, DC.

As many as 650 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan to provide security to US spies and other countries in Kabul after the U.S. military is over, US officials told the AP.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks before meeting US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on June 25 [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview that the military had “Worthy to take action” if the US retains its troops in Afghanistan after September 11, the deadline to end the operation is over.

“If he is here, then I think I will continue to do this work. He has broken and we have the right to take action,” Shaheen said.

Hundreds of U.S. troops will remain at Kabul airport, possibly until September, to help Turkish troops provide security there in what U.S. officials have called a temporary move until the Turkish-led security operation.

Turkey already has 500 troops in Afghanistan already as part of NATO’s mission and has been tasked with protecting the airport, the Turkish security ministry said.

Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed security at the airport when the two met in Brussels at the end of a NATO summit in early June.

Biden has a “strong belief” that “after 20 years, it’s time to bring our troops home”, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday before the meeting.

“We are doing this in an orderly and timely manner,” Psaki told reporters at the White House.

Clashes between Afghan and Taliban government forces have intensified in recent weeks as Taliban instigated Afghan militants and police raise hopes. a new civil war.

Since May, militants in the armed forces have taken over many areas Major regional cities. Taliban’s advances have caused concern to the UN and to US officials.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meeting with his French counterpart in Paris on Friday, said the Taliban threats were inconsistent with the framework of peace talks The US joined the military.

“We are watching very closely what is happening in Afghanistan,” Blinken told reporters at a press conference in Paris.

“We are also looking at whether the Taliban are serious about resolving the conflict peacefully,” Blinken said.

“We are still in talks but the attempts to take the country by force are not conducive to finding a sense of peace,” he said.

As the eviction approaches, Biden’s management is preparing to leave translating into the thousands of Afghan translators, operators and assistants who worked for the US.

“We have identified a group… that has been interpreting and interpreting – as well as others at risk – who have helped us. He will be relocated outside Afghanistan before the end of our operation by September, “Psaki said on Friday.