White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that President Joe Biden doesn’t believe there is a military solution for Afghanistan.
“I will say that the president has been consistent in his view that there’s not a military solution to Afghanistan, that we have been there for far too long. That has been his view for some time well documented, well reported on,” Psaki said.
Biden is expected to announce in the coming days that he will extend the deadline for all U.S. troops to be out of Afghanistan to Sept. 11, 2021, senior administration officials said. (RELATED: Biden: Will Be ‘Tough’ For US To Meet Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal Deadline)
Former President Donald Trump entered an agreement with the Taliban in 2020 to remove all U.S. forces from the country by May 1. The U.S. agreed with the condition that the Taliban maintains their end of the agreement to contain terrorism, but the group has repeatedly not held up their end of the agreement.
Two administration officials briefed on the matter confirmed Biden’s timeline to the Daily Caller and spoke on the condition of anonymity since they weren’t cleared to publicly explain the plans.
WATCH:
Biden said during his first solo-press conference in March that it would be challenging to fulfill Trump’s deadline. The president also said, when asked whether he can picture troops remaining in Afghanistan in 2022, “I can’t picture that being the case.”
Psaki said the president thinks the U.S. should concentrate on present threats, since the war in Afghanistan started 20 years ago.
“I will leave it to the president to lay out his specific plans for withdrawing troops, the reasoning and his commitment to focusing on the threats and opportunities we face around the world today,” Psaki said.
Psaki said Biden’s plan was developed with help from the national security team, military leaders and “with partners and allies around the world.” The White House press secretary said Biden, U.S. allies and partners are working together to ensure that “we are focusing on the threats we’re facing.”
“I will leave it to the briefings that you will be receiving and his speech tomorrow to outline in more further detail,” Psaki said.
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