CIA director William Burns held a covert, face to face meeting with the de facto Taliban leader Monday.
This meeting was the first in person meeting between the Biden Administration and the Taliban since Kabul was captured.
Unfortunately, we have no idea what exactly was discussed between the two men. Though many suspect the topic involved the August 31 deadline to evacuate troops from the Kabul airport.
The Washington Post reported, The Biden administration is under pressure from some allies to keep U.S. forces in the country beyond the end of the month to assist the evacuation of tens of thousands of citizens of the United States and Western countries as well as Afghan allies desperate to escape Taliban rule.
Britain, France and other U.S. allies have said more time is needed to evacuate their personnel, but a Taliban spokesman warned that the United States would be crossing a “red line” if it kept troops beyond the 31st, which he said would trigger unspecified “consequences.”
This has not been confirmed, but as of today Joe Biden has officially announced that the deadline will not be extended, and all troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of the month.
This is very concerning, as thousands of Americans remain trapped in the country with no safe passage to the airport, or insurance that they will be evacuated if they make it there.