WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2021) President Joe Biden spoke with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan about the ongoing drawdown of US civilian personnel from Afghanistan, the White House said.
"Today President Biden spoke with Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan about the ongoing efforts to safely drawdown the civilian footprint in Afghanistan," the White House said via Twitter on Friday.
The call came following a decision by the Biden administration on Thursday to send several thousand troops to Kabul in order to help evacuate Americans at the US embassy and Afghan Special Immigrant visa applicants alike.
Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said earlier on Friday that the United States does not expect to have more than 1,000 troops remaining in the country to support the diplomatic mission once the evacuation mission has been complete.
Kirby added that the Taliban appear to be trying to "isolate" Kabul in an attempt to get the city to surrender with relatively little bloodshed, like they did with many provincial capitals in the country.
