News

Biden Admin On Taliban ‘Trying To Isolate Kabul’: ‘Can’t Speak For What Their Intentions Are’

   DailyWire.com
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - AUGUST 13: U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby participates in a news briefing at the Pentagon August 13, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia. Kirby discussed the deployment of 3,000 troops to Afghanistan to help to evacuate U.S. embassy personnel as the Taliban seized control of Kandahar and Herat, the second and third largest cities in Afghanistan, just weeks prior to President Joe Biden's plan to completely withdraw U.S. troops there.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Department of Defense Secretary John Kirby told the media on Friday that as the situation in Afghanistan continues to rapidly deteriorate, he could not speculate on what the Taliban’s intentions were as they surrounded the nation’s capital, Kabul.

“Kabul is not, right now, in an imminent-threat environment,” Kirby claimed. “But clearly, if you just look at what the Taliban’s been doing, you can see that they are trying to isolate Kabul. Now, what they want to do if they achieve that isolation, I think only they can speak to. But you can see a certain effort to — to isolate Kabul. It is not unlike the way they’ve operated in other places of the country, isolating provincial capitals, and sometimes being able to force a surrender without necessarily much bloodshed.”

“I can’t speak for what their intentions are,” he said. “What I can tell you is that we’re taking the situation seriously, and that’s one of the reasons why we moved these forces, or we’re moving these forces into Kabul to assist with this particular mission, because we know that time is a precious commodity here.”

WATCH:

TRANSCRIPT:

QUESTION: Now you said you won’t speculate about movements on Kabul, but how would you describe the situation now? Is Kabul under a threat? Is Kabul isolated? What is it?

MR. KIRBY: Right now, without getting into a battlefield assessment every day — I don’t want to do that — but they’re — Kabul is not, right now, in an imminent-threat environment. But clearly, David, if you just look at what the Taliban’s been doing, you can see that they are trying to isolate Kabul. Now, what they want to do if they achieve that isolation, I think only they can speak to. But you can see a certain effort to — to isolate Kabul. It is not unlike the way they’ve operated in other places of the country, isolating provincial capitals, and sometimes being able to force a surrender without necessarily much bloodshed.

Again, I — I can’t speak for what their intentions are. What I can tell you is that we’re taking the situation seriously, and that’s one of the reasons why we moved these forces — or we’re moving these forces into Kabul to assist with this particular mission, because we know — we know that — that time is a precious commodity here.

QUESTION: Is it isolated now?

MR. KIRBY: I — I’m — I don’t want to get into a specific intelligence assessment on — on the battlefield. I — I just don’t want to do that. But clearly, from their actions, it appears as if they are trying to get Kabul isolated.

Related:

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Biden Admin On Taliban ‘Trying To Isolate Kabul’: ‘Can’t Speak For What Their Intentions Are’