在美国盟友对阿富汗混乱撤军的批评和延长他8月31日最后期限的压力下，总统乔·拜登周二几乎与七国集团的合作伙伴会面，只剩下一周的时间来疏散数千名平民和撤出数千名美军。
尽管七国集团的盟友很高兴，拜登决定坚持8月31日的最后期限美国官员告诉美国广播公司首席全球事务记者玛莎·拉德达茨。拜登预计将在周二下午白宫更新阿富汗危机的讲话中谈到这个问题。
国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文他说，各国领导人正在开会，“以确保世界主要民主国家在前进的道路上团结一致。”
沙利文周一表示:“我们正在与合作伙伴合作，解决阿富汗人民迫切的人道主义需求，我们将持续保持警惕，应对阿富汗和其他多个地区的恐怖主义威胁。”。
据一名白宫官员称，自8月14日塔利班逼近阿富汗首都以来，美国已经从喀布尔疏散并协助疏散了约58，700人。@IanPannell有最新的。https://t.co/JveCvKnJKipic.twitter.com/O1aA3idlQ6
—早安美国(@GMA)2021年8月24日
据一名白宫官员称，随着撤离的最后期限临近，自8月14日塔利班控制政府以来，已有约5.87万人撤离喀布尔。自7月底以来，美国已经重新安置了大约63，900人。
当被问及仍有多少美国人需要撤离时，官员们含糊其辞，只说有“数千人”，并将其归咎于公民到达时没有在大使馆登记或离开时取消登记。
除了疏散人群之外，美国官员还担心ISIS-K可能在机场发动袭击，试图利用外面拥挤的人群试图进入的情况。
美国一直在以闪电般的速度加快撤离速度，因为塔利班领导人表示，8月31日是军队撤离的“红线”，并在周二上午的新闻发布会上加倍努力，表示他们将拒绝美军在本月底之前的任何存在或撤离。
拜登总统表示，美国军队将逗留直到每一个美国和阿富汗的SIV申请人都被撤离，这与塔利班的立场直接相左。
知情人士向美国广播公司证实，在中央情报局局长威廉·伯恩斯周一会见塔利班领导人阿卜杜勒·加尼·毛拉·阿卜杜勒·加尼·巴拉达尔后，他们对这一最后期限采取了坚定的立场。这是拜登政府官员和塔利班自激进组织接管喀布尔以来举行的最高级别的面对面会议。
“我们每天都在通过政治和安全渠道与塔利班进行谈判，”沙利文周一在报道彭斯会议之前表示。
在美国撤军的余波中，人们对美国领导力的怀疑增加了，七国集团领导人几乎肯定会向拜登提出他们的担忧，尽管拜登在过去一周一直在用手机灌输信心，并让他们了解最新进展。
自8月17日以来，拜登已经与七位世界领导人进行了交谈，并两次与英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊(Boris Johnson)进行了交谈，后者的议会痛斥拜登执行了撤军。
议会外交委员会主席汤姆·图根哈特称之为自苏伊士危机以来“最大的外交政策灾难”。国防委员会主席托比亚斯·埃尔伍德说，“美国回来了吗?”英国前首相特蕾莎·梅问其他成员，“我们是不是觉得我们不得不跟随美国，希望在一个翅膀和祈祷的夜晚一切都会好起来?”
在接受美国广播公司新闻记者乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯的独家采访时，拜登为撤军进行了辩护，并表示他认为这件事本可以处理得更好。
“我不认为事情会以这样的方式处理，我们会后知后觉地回头看看——但不管怎样，有一种方法可以摆脱混乱，我不知道这是如何发生的。我不知道这是怎么发生的，”他说。
总统还承认塔利班接管国家的速度比预期的要快。
奥巴马总统还分别与七国集团中的德国总理安格拉·默克尔、法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙、西班牙总统佩德罗·桑切斯和意大利总理马里奥·德拉吉进行了交谈。他还与卡塔尔埃米尔塔米姆·本·哈马德·阿勒萨尼和阿布扎比王储穆罕默德·本·扎耶德进行了通话。
Biden under pressure from G-7 leaders to extend Afghanistan withdrawal deadline
Amid criticism from U.S. allies over the chaotic withdrawal in Afghanistan and pressure to extend his Aug. 31 deadline, PresidentJoe Bidenmet virtually with G-7 partners on Tuesday with just a week left to evacuate thousands of civilians and to pull out thousands of U.S. troops.
Despite the please from the G-7 allies,Biden has decided to stick with the Aug. 31 deadline, U.S. officials told ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz. Biden was expected to address the issue in White House remarks updating the Afghanistan crisis Tuesday afternoon.
National security adviserJake Sullivansaid leaders are meeting "to ensure the world's leading democracies are aligned and united on the way forward."
"We are working with partners to address the acute humanitarian needs of the Afghan people and we will remain persistently vigilant against the terrorism threat in Afghanistan and in multiple other theaters," Sullivan said Monday.
The United States has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of some 58,700 people from Kabul since Aug. 14 when the Taliban closed in on Afghanistan's capital, according to a White House official.@IanPannellhas the latest.https://t.co/JveCvKnJKipic.twitter.com/O1aA3idlQ6
— Good Morning America (@GMA)August 24, 2021
As the deadline to evacuate looms, approximately 58,700 people have been evacuated from Kabul since Aug. 14, when the Taliban took control of the government, according to a White House official. Since the end of July, the U.S. has relocated approximately 63,900 people.
Officials have been vague when asked how many Americans still need to be evacuated, only saying that there are "thousands," and blaming it on citizens not registering with the embassy when they arrive or deregistering when they leave.
Adding to the scramble to evacuate, U.S. officials are also concerned about a possible attack from ISIS-K at the airport looking to exploit the situation of the packed crowds outside trying to gain entrance.
The U.S. has been working at a lightning pace to speed up evacuations as Taliban leaders have said that Aug. 31 is a "red line" for troops to leave and doubled-down during a Tuesday morning press conference, saying they will reject any U.S. military presence or evacuations past the end of the month.
President Biden has said that U.S. troops willstayuntil every American and Afghan SIV applicant has been evacuated, which is directly at odds with the Taliban's position.
Their firm stance on that deadline comes after CIA Director William Burns met with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar on Monday, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News, the highest level in-person meeting between a Biden administration official and the Taliban since the militant group took over Kabul.
"We are in talks with the Taliban on a daily basis through both political and security channels," Sullivan said Monday before the Burns meeting was reported.
Doubts about American leadership have risen in the fallout of the American withdrawal and G-7 leaders are all but certain to raise their concerns with Biden, even as he’s worked the phones to instill confidence and keep them updated on progress in the past week.
Since Aug. 17, Biden has spoken to seven world leaders, and twice spoke with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who’s parliament has lambasted Biden for the execution of the withdrawal.
Tom Tugendhat, chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called it the "biggest foreign policy disaster" since the Suez crisis. Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Defense Committee, said, "Whatever happened to 'America is back'?" And former UK Prime Minister Teresa May asked fellow members, “Did we feel we just had to follow the United States and hope that on a wing and a prayer it'd be all right on the night?”
In an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, Biden defended the withdrawal and said he didn't think it could have been handled any better.
"I don't think it could have been handled in a way that, we're gonna go back in hindsight and look -- but the idea that somehow, there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don't know how that happens. I don't know how that happened," he said.
The president has alsoconcededthat the speed of which the Taliban took over the country was faster than expected.
The president has also spoken separately with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, among the G-7 allies. He also held calls with Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed.
