Pentagon: US Concerned about Taliban Advances as American Troops Withdraw
Voice of America
WASHINGTON - The U.S. is “watching with deep concern” as Taliban insurgents take control of more and more territory in Afghanistan while American forces are quickly returning home under President Joe Biden’s withdrawal orders, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Sunday.
“This is the time for [Afghan government troops] to step up and defend their country,” Kirby told the “Fox News Sunday” show. “This is a moment of responsibility.” Over nearly two decades, the U.S. has supplied Afghanistan with billions of dollars in weaponry to defend itself, but with Biden pulling U.S. troops out of the country by August 31, control of the country is increasingly uncertain. Taliban insurgents say they already control 85% of the country, a contested claim. But Kirby did not dispute a Fox News assessment that 13 million Afghans live under Taliban control, 10 million under Afghan government rule and 9 million in contested regions.This handout photo taken June 9, 2024, and provided by the South Korean Defense Ministry shows unidentified objects believed to be North Korean trash from balloons that crossed the inter-Korea border, on a street in Seoul. A North Korean military guard post, top, and South Korean post, bottom, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, May 31, 2024.
A textbook is seen on a high school student's desk during a philosophy class at the Averroes school, France's biggest Muslim educational institution that has lost its state funding, Lille, France, March 19, 2024. Middle school students, some wearing a hijab, listen to teacher Ilyas Laarej during an Islamic ethics class at the Averroes school, France's biggest Muslim educational institution that has lost its state funding, Lille, France, March 19, 2024. High school student Noha Fouad and her friend walks toward a classroom and in front of a banner that says "Ramadan Kareem" in the courtyard of the Averroes school, Lille, France, March 19, 2024. A middle school student scribbles on a piece of paper during an Islamic ethics class at the Averroes school, France's biggest Muslim educational institution that has lost its state funding, Lille, France, March 19, 2024. Students wearing abayas put their shoes back on as they prepare to leave the prayer room at the Averroes school, France's biggest Muslim educational institution that has lost its state funding, Lille, France, March 19, 2024.
FILE - Students protest for more public university funding and against austerity measures proposed by President Javier Milei, featured on the sign, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 23, 2024. FILE - Sally Otto, owner of a downtown craft collective, speaks May 21, 2024, in Greeley, Colo. FILE - Kristina McGuffey with her 12-year-old daughter, Molly, and 9-year-old son, Wyatt, speaks while making a purchase at a downtown craft collective May 21, 2024, in Greeley, Colo.
U.S. WWII veteran Harold Terens, 100, left, and Jeanne Swerlin, 96, arrive to celebrate their wedding at the town hall of Carentan-les-Marais in Normandy, France, June 8, 2024. U.S. WWII veteran Harold Terens, 100, left, and Jeanne Swerlin, 96, celebrate their wedding in Normandy, France, June 8, 2024. U.S. WWII veteran Harold Terens, 100, left, and Jeanne Swerlin, 96, kiss in Normandy, France, June 8, 2024.