(RepublicanInformer.com)- The Taliban seems to have all the advantages right now when it comes to the situation unfolding in Afghanistan.
But, on Tuesday, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, claimed that’s simply not the case. She was asked specifically what “leverage” the United States has over the Taliban, and she responded by saying, “we have enormous leverage over the Taliban.”
In justifying her statements, Psaki referred to comments Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a day earlier. Specifically, she referred to the “access to the global marketplace,” saying that it’s “not a small piece of leverage.”
She explained:
“In order to gain access to the global marketplace, we’re going to be watching closely as will the global community. I would note that yesterday, the U.N. Security Council also … passed a resolution that made clear to what the expectation is in terms of safe travel and evacuation, or departure, I should say, of individuals who want to leave Afghanistan.
“Nearly half of the countries in the world have also signed onto a statement making clear that is the expectation.”
Psaki is following along in a similar tone to what President Joe Biden has been taking toward the Taliban. While he’s evacuating all Americans out of the country without extending the original deadline to do so, he’s also fighting back with words and actions.
Biden said the U.S. wouldn’t forgive and forget the suicide bombing that happened at the Kabul airport last week, and he lived up to his word there. The U.S. has conducted airstrikes in the region specifically targeting the ISIS-K group the Taliban seems to be letting roam free there.
Psaki followed up her comments by saying the White House would continue to talk with the Taliban “through our ongoing channels that we have with the Taliban on the diplomatic front.”
Still, Psaki and the White House are facing questions about not just the ongoing role of the U.S. in Afghanistan, but the debacle the Biden administration has caused there in just the last few months.
There are no more U.S. troops in the region, yet there are still Americans who are trapped in the country. However, Psaki said it was “irresponsible” to say any American was “stranded” in Afghanistan.
At a press briefing last week, she said:
“I think it’s irresponsible to say Americans are stranded. They are not. We are committed to bringing Americans, who want to come home, home. We are in touch with them via phone, via text, via e-mail, via any way that we can possibly reach Americans to get them home if they want to return home.”
On Tuesday, Biden himself addressed the nation to speak about the ongoing dilemma in Afghanistan and what the U.S. will do from here on out. He didn’t take any questions from reporters following his remarks, as he looks to control the message for a situation that is way out of hand already.
