President Biden and his administration's top staff cleared public events from their schedules Thursday as the deadly bombings near Kabul's airport killed US service members and complicated an already desperate evacuation of Americans and at-risk Afghans.
Biden also canceled a planned 3 p.m. virtual meeting with governors on Afghan refugee resettlement.
Although Biden's decision to withdraw from the 20-year conflict had broad public support, he's faced withering criticism for his administration's planning for the final evacuations and has seen his approval numbers crater.
The streets around Kabul's airport have been packed with would-be refugees and American citizens since the Taliban retook the Afghan capital last week.
Biden said he intends to stick to an Aug. 31 deadline to remove US troops after the Taliban threatened to take the airport by force after that date.
Late Wednesday, the US government warned Americans to avoid the Kabul airport due to intelligence of a looming attack.
Among those still stranded in Afghanistan are 24 schoolkids and 16 parents from Southern California, who took a trip to the war-torn country to visit extended family over the summer and have reportedly been trying to make their way to the Kabul airport to get on evacuation flights while they still can.
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Biden to address public after US troops killed at Kabul airport
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