Paula Lugones
08/26/2021 18:33
Clarín.com
World
Updated 08/26/2021 7:13 PM
With a somber tone and tears in his eyes, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, said that the American soldiers killed in the attack on Thursday in Afghanistan were "heroes" and promised that the attacks will not go unpunished: "We will not forgive.
We will not forget.
We will hunt them down and make them pay, ”he
warned.
In a speech at the White House, the president said he was "outraged" and "heartbroken" over the suicide attacks in the Kabul airport area that killed about 70 people,
including 12 members of the armed forces.
from the US and dozens of Afghan civilians seeking to leave the country.
They are the most serious attacks against US forces in Afghanistan since 2011, when they shot down a helicopter loaded with soldiers.
The attacks on Thursday were claimed by the ISIS-Khorasan group, an
Afghan faction of the Islamic Army that is a rival of the Taliban.
"I will defend my people and our interests with all the strength I have," he said.
And he warned that they will go ahead with their evacuation plans, which should culminate on August 31: “
We will not let this interrupt our mission.
Our mission will continue.
We are going to evacuate the Americans, ”he said.
And he added that "these terrorists are not going to win."
Wounded in a Kabul hospital.
AP Photo
More troops?
However, he
did not rule out the possibility of expanding the number of troops
in Afghanistan if necessary.
Biden spent the entire day concentrated in the White House Crisis Room on this fierce crisis and even postponed
a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Neftali Bennet.
The attack in Kabul
hits hard on the Biden government
, which expected to complete the total evacuation of US citizens and Afghans who collaborated with the West on August 31.
The question was whether Biden would change his strategy on Afghanistan but, according to the president's words, the evacuation would continue as scheduled.
They were tough statements, to be sure, but no concrete announcement of a new strategy.
In fact, when the press conference ended, he said goodbye to the journalists saying:
"It is time to end this war of more than 20 years."
Although up to now Western forces had been evacuating at an accelerated rate, the attack complicated the dynamics.
Several European countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium,
had slowed down the rate of evacuations due
to the threat.
Canada directly canceled them.
ISIS
Consulted by
Clarín
, Aved Ali, former official of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Department of National Security before joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said that “ISIS-Khorasan maintains a solid capacity backed by logistics, experience, equipment and people
to sustain their campaign within the country
, despite facing pressure from the Afghan security forces, the Taliban and, until recently, the international coalition.
United States President Joe Biden at the White House.
AP Photo
For this expert, today a professor of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and former official of the National Intelligence Council, the National Counterterrorism Center and the National Security Council under the government of Donald Trump, “it is very likely that today's attack It only reinforces President Biden's
desire to completely get rid of US involvement
in Afghanistan, which may include suspending activities at the US embassy for some time given the security environment. "
He added: “Biden said repeatedly that he does not see an enduring vital national interest of the United States
in maintaining an American military footprint
in Afghanistan.
As a result, it would be highly unlikely that the US presence would stay past the August 31 deadline. "
Laura Neack, professor of Political Science at the University of Miami, agrees with this vision.
Consulted by
Clarín
said that “this attack will probably accelerate the withdrawal, which will make it difficult for some people who have not arrived at the airport to leave Afghanistan.
Biden is firmly committed to withdrawal and this attack will only confirm the president's course of action. "
The US foreign policy expert added that “the attack will be answered, but not with the extension of the United States' stay.
The capabilities of the United States against terrorism are not limited by the national territory.
Without a doubt, the meeting between the US CIA director and the Taliban earlier this week
was about intelligence pointing to this attack. "
PB
Look also
Afghanistan: ISIS claimed double responsibility for the Kabul airport attack
Donald Trump condemned the attacks in Afghanistan: "This tragedy should never have been allowed to happen"