US vows to ‘use every appropriate tool’ against Taliban if the group prevents evacuations from Afghanistan
- The nature of Washington’s engagement with the Taliban ‘depends entirely on the actions and conduct of the Taliban’, says US Secretary of State
- The US is trying to process up to 1,500 Americans who have yet to be evacuated
Speaking in solemn tones, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said Taliban cooperation on meeting humanitarian needs, counterterrorism, and the protection of the rights of women would be necessary for Washington to recognise the group as Afghanistan’s official government.
The nature of Washington’s engagement with the group “depends entirely on the actions and conduct of the Taliban”, Blinken said, when asked if his department would give it legal recognition.
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Up to 1,500 US citizens remain in Afghanistan, Antony Blinken says
“If a future government upholds the basic rights of the Afghan people, if it makes good on its commitments to ensure that Afghanistan cannot be used as a launching pad for terrorist attacks directed against us and our allies and partners, then we’ll do it.”
“If [the Taliban] makes good on its commitments to allow people who want to leave Afghanistan to leave, that’s a government we can work with,” Blinken added. “If it doesn’t, we will make sure that we use every appropriate tool at our disposal to isolate that government, and … Afghanistan will be a pariah.”
More than 82,000 people have been airlifted from the country via Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul since August 14, according to Blinken.
Speaking in a separate briefing at the Pentagon, Major General Hank Taylor said “approximately 88,000 have safely departed” and that “there are more than 10,000 people currently...at the airport awaiting departure”.