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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will address the nation on Tuesday as U.S. and coalition forces ramp up emergency evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, a mission expected to end within a week.
He would have to respect the timetable he had previously set for the complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
Biden’s remarks, which are delayed until 4:30 p.m. ET, come after an emergency G-7 meeting in which leaders of the world’s seven major industrialized democracies were to pressure the U.S. president to it extends the self-imposed departure date of August 31.
Biden has previously said he may consider extending the departure date beyond August 31, but has yet to do so. However, the Taliban said the withdrawal deadline was a “red line” and that there would be consequences if foreign troops remained in Afghanistan beyond that date.
Thousands of Afghans have fled to the gates of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in search of a flight out of the country as the Taliban consolidate their control of the country.
The White House said on Tuesday that the United States had evacuated or helped remove about 58,700 people from Afghanistan since Aug. 14, of whom about 21,600 were airlifted for 12 hours on Monday.
Since the end of July, the United States has relocated around 63,900 people, the White House said. According to the State Department, several thousand Americans are still awaiting evacuation.
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