On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not deny that the US has to seek the Taliban for permission to leave Afghanistan.
Biden Has an Agreement With the Taliban
In a recently published article in MSN News, on Sunday, Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told a news outlet that the president has reached an agreement with the Taliban under which the group will allow all American citizens to access the evacuation site, including through any checkpoints along the way to Hamid Karzai International Airport.
However, critics of the Biden administration raised many questions if this is really occurring, particularly since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated over the weekend that Taliban militants are abusing and assaulting Americans in Kabul including the Afghans who worked with the American troops as interpreters.
Biden and his staff have told Americans stuck in Afghanistan many times that the Taliban has agreed to allow them to go to the airport provided they have the proper documentation and passport, according to a recently published news article in CBS News.
The U.S. Secretary of State Admits the Agreement and Negotiation
Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not deny the U.S. government or Pres. Joe Biden asked permission from the Taliban officials to allow the American citizens to have safe passage in their checkpoints to reach the Kabul International airport.
Blinken explained that Taliban has the full control in Kabul and that means that they need to negotiate with the militant group. Furthermore, Blinken continued to explain that his main focus right now is to evacuate American citizens and Afghans who worked with the U.S. troops safely, according to a published report in Daily Mail.
Furthermore, Blinken's remarks are unexpected given the current administration's strong condemnation of President Donald Trump's team for talking with the Taliban about pullout conditions during his presidency. This is after Blinken said that there is a need to contact the Taliban group amid the chaos in Afghanistan.
Blinken Defended the Negotiation Between Biden and Taliban Group
In a recently published article in Mogaz News, Blinken justified the administration and Pentagon's need to communicate with Taliban commanders to arrange evacuations, saying that the Taliban now govern Afghanistan is justifiable.
However, when asked if there is legitimacy in the negotiation between Biden and the Taliban group, Blinken answered that this does not give the group legitimacy. He emphasized that this only happened because the Taliban has full control in Kabul.
Blinken explained they have had communication with the Taliban for a long time, both on a political level in Doha dating back many years and now on the ground in Kabul, to deconflict and work through any issues with passengers getting to the airport.
It has been critical in ensuring that the U.S. can really promote its own interests in terms of getting people out as securely and efficiently as possible. So that is the nature of Biden's connection with the Taliban organization in terms of negotiations.
