The White House is depending on the Taliban to give evacuating Americans “safe passage” to the Kabul airport just six weeks after President Biden said that he doesn’t trust the terrorist organization.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan joined White House press secretary Jen Psaki at the podium for a press conference on Tuesday, where they took questions about the fallout from the troops withdrawal from Afghanistan, which gave way to a swift Taliban takeover of the country.
Sullivan told reporters that the administration expects the Taliban “will have to be watched and observed over time” on whether it is “prepared to meet their obligations to the basic human rights and human dignity of people, to the safe passage of people, to the airport.”
“The Taliban have informed us that they are prepared to provide the safe passage of civilians to the airport, and we intend to hold them to that commitment,” Sullivan also said during the briefing.
Sullivan noted the administration is “in contact with the Taliban to ensure the safe passage of people to the airport.”
The president was asked just six weeks ago if he trusted the Taliban, to which he replied: “No, I do not trust the Taliban.”
Thousands of American civilians remain in Afghanistan awaiting evacuation.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told Fox News in an interview on Monday that between “400 and 500 people” contacted his office in a period of between 12 and 18 hours “pleading for assistance,” after opening his phone lines up to all Americans stranded “behind Taliban lines.”
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