US VP Harris: Focus must stay on Afghan evacuation

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ALEXANDRA JAFFE

SINGAPORE (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris asserted Monday that the U.S. must maintain its focus on evacuating Americans and vulnerable Afghans and shouldn’t get distracted by questions over what went wrong in the chaotic U.S. exit from Afghanistan.

Speaking at a news conference in Singapore, Harris repeatedly declined to engage when asked what she felt should have been done differently in the withdrawal.

“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,” she said.

Harris took questions alongside Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the two met for about two hours to discuss issues ranging from the COVID-19 response to cybersecurity and supply chain cooperation. The news conference was dominated by Afghanistan, after the messy U.S. withdrawal sparked concerns about America’s commitments to its allies globally.



U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hold a joint news conference in Singapore Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/evacuations-a3811627fce72375e956d45e227e0a70

[FBaggins]

1. That's a potentially dangerous door to open

"vulnerable Afghans, including women and children" is a standard that will be impossible to complete successfully.

We can't evacuate 10-15 million people.

[Unwind Your Mind]

2. Off topic but

It’s refreshing to see one of our leaders meeting with another world leader and no one looks horrified or embarrassed