Vice President Kamala Harris says there should be a “robust analysis” of the chaotic withdrawal of Afghanistan, but right now, the focus should be on the evacuation of Americans and Afghans.
During an event in Singapore, the vice president was asked about the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“I think there’s gonna be plenty of time to analyze what has happened,” Harris began. “But right now, we are singularly focused on evacuating American citizens, Afghans who worked with us, and Afghans who are vulnerable.”
She continued, “The president has, I think shown great emotion and expressing sadness about some of the images we have seen, but we cannot be in any way distracted from what must be our primary mission, which is evacuating people from them, who deserve to be back.”
When asked again about Afghanistan, Harris said, “There’s no question there will be and should be a robust analysis of what has happened, but right now, there’s no question that our focus has to be on evacuating American citizens, Afghans who worked with us, and vulnerable Afghans, including women and children. That has to be our primary focus and where we are placing our attention on the issue of Afghanistan.”
Watch the video below:
.@VP Harris on Afghanistan withdrawal operation:
— The Recount (@therecount) August 23, 2021
“There’s no question there will be and should be a robust analysis of what has happened, but right now there’s no question that our focus has to be on evacuating American citizens … and [vulnerable] Afghans …” pic.twitter.com/8jUaVnLjNp
Harris’ comments come after the Taliban took over Afghanistan as the U.S. withdrew its forces.
As dramatic images surfaced of Afghans clinging to the sides of U.S. military jets, questions swirled around why the Biden administration downplayed to the public the chance of the collapse of Afghanistan’s government and chaos.
Biden told reporters last month that the chance of a Taliban take over was “highly unlikely.”
In remarks at the White House on Friday, President Joe Biden said that there will be “plenty of time to criticize and second-guess” the withdrawal, but added that he is “focused on getting this job done” and evacuating Americans and Afghan allies.
But during an interview with ABC News last week, the president said he does not think “there’s a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing.”
And on Sunday, Biden defended the execution of the evacuation as he said, “There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see on television. It’s just a fact. My heart aches for those people you see.”