U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan until every American is out, Biden says
18 August 2021
U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated, even if that means staying past the White House's Aug. 31 deadline, President Biden said in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that was previewed Wednesday evening.
Why it matters: Around 10,000 to 15,000 Americans are still in the country now controlled by the Taliban according to various reports; between 50,000 and 65,000 Afghans and their families await evacuation assistance from the U.S, according to Biden.
- Pundits have called the Aug. 31 deadline unrealistic.
What he's saying: "The commitment holds to get everyone out that, in fact, we can get out and everyone who should come out. And that's the objective. That's what we're doing now. That's the path we're on. And I think we'll get there," Biden said.
- His goal is still to complete the mission by Aug. 31, but he conceded that it could take longer.
- "It depends on where we are and whether we can get — ramp these numbers up ... 7,000 a day coming out," Biden added. "If that's the case, they'll all be out."
The big picture: Since Afghanistan fell on Sunday, thousands of Afghans have fled their homes and pleaded with the world to open their borders.
- Though the U.S. is working to relocate allied Afghans and their families, processing for the necessary visas has been backlogged for months.
- Hundreds of desperate Afghans ran alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it took off from Kabul on Monday. Several died attempting to cling onto the plane.
Go deeper... Evacuating Afghanistan
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.