黑料社

WASHINGTON 鈥� U.S. President Joe Biden met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, on Friday to discuss Washington鈥檚 support for Afghanistan as the last U.S. troops pack up after 20 years of war and government forces struggle to repel Taliban advances.

Biden, seated beside Ghani and Abdullah in the Oval Office, called them 鈥渢wo old friends鈥� and said U.S. support for Afghanistan was not ending but would be sustained despite the U.S. pullout.

鈥淎fghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want,鈥� said Biden, saying the 鈥渟enseless violence has to stop.鈥�

Ghani said Afghan security forces had retaken six districts on Friday. He said he respected Biden鈥檚 decision and that the partnership between the United States and Afghanistan is entering a new phase.

鈥淲e are determined to have unity, coherence,鈥� he said.

The Oval Office meeting could be as valuable to Ghani for its symbolism as for any new U.S. help because it will be seen as affirming Biden鈥檚 support for the beleaguered Afghan leader as he confronts Taliban gains, bombings and assassinations, a surge in COVID-19 cases and political infighting in Kabul.

鈥淎t a time when morale is incredibly shaky and things are going downhill, anything one can do to help shore up morale and shore up the government is worth doing,鈥� said Ronald Neumann, a former U.S. ambassador to Kabul. 鈥淚nviting Ghani here is a pretty strong sign that we鈥檙e backing him.鈥�

Biden鈥檚 embrace, however, comes only months after U.S. officials were pressuring Ghani to step aside for a transitional government under a draft political accord that they floated in a failed gambit to break a stalemate in peace talks.

Hours before the talks, Biden said on Twitter that he looked forward to the meeting and that 鈥渁s the U.S. military drawdown continues, we affirm our enduring support for the Afghan people.鈥�

He has asked Congress to approve $3.3 billion in security assistance for Afghanistan next year and is sending 3 million doses of vaccines there to help it battle COVID-19.

Biden will urge Ghani and Abdullah, foes in Afghanistan鈥檚 two last presidential elections, 鈥渢o be a united front鈥� and he will reaffirm U.S. support for a negotiated peace deal, said White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

U.S. officials, however, have been clear that Biden will not halt the American pullout 鈥� likely to be completed by late July or early August 鈥� and he is unlikely to approve any U.S. military support to Kabul to halt the Taliban鈥檚 advances beyond advice, intelligence, and aircraft maintenance.

Before heading to meet Biden, Ghani and Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan鈥檚 High Council for National Reconciliation, met at the Pentagon with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other top U.S. civilian and military officials.

Austin reaffirmed continued U.S. security aid to Afghanistan, according to a pool report from the opening of the talks.

Speaking of a 鈥渘ew phase鈥� in the U.S.-Afghan relationship, Ghani asserted that the 鈥渘arrative of abandonment is just false,鈥� and that his forces have made 鈥渟ignificant progress鈥� even though the situation 鈥減resents challenges,鈥� the pool report said.

Earlier, the Afghan leaders met for a second day on Capitol Hill, where Biden鈥檚 withdrawal decision met objections from many members of both parties.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, welcoming Ghani to a bipartisan leadership meeting, said she looked forward to hearing about what more can be done with U.S. humanitarian aid, especially for women and girls.

Many lawmakers and experts have expressed deep concerns that the Taliban 鈥� if returned to power 鈥� will reverse progress made on the rights of women and girls, who were harshly repressed and barred from education and work during the insurgents鈥� 1996-2001 rule.

Worries about Al Qaeda

The Ghani-Abdullah visit comes with the peace process stalled and violence raging as Afghan security forces fight to stem a Taliban spring offensive that threatens several provincial capitals and has triggered mobilizations of ethnic militias to reinforce government troops.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking during a visit on Friday to Paris, said Washington is 鈥渓ooking very hard鈥� at whether the Taliban are 鈥渟erious about a peaceful resolution to the conflict.鈥�

The crisis has fueled grave concerns that the Taliban could regain power 鈥� two decades after the U.S.-led invasion ended their harsh version of Islamist rule 鈥� allowing a resurgence of al Qaeda. U.S. and U.N. officials say the extremists maintain close links with the Taliban.

U.S. officials respond that the United States will be able to detect and thwart any new threats by al Qaeda or other Islamists. The Taliban insist al Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan.

U.S. government sources familiar with U.S. intelligence reporting describe the situation as dire. Ghani, they said, has been urged to do more to step up pressure on the insurgents while U.S.-led coalition forces are still there.