Biden promised that the United States would welcome Afghan allies escaping the Taliban into the U.S., but only after they have been “screened and cleared” at military bases and transit centers.
Biden said that the U.S. has set up processing stations in third countries, “working with more than two dozen countries across four continents.” When planes take off from Kabul, they go to U.S. military bases and these processing stations.
“Once screened and cleared, we will welcome these Afghans… to their new home in the United States of America,” Biden pledged.
The president also said the Taliban has to make a decision as to whether it will assume the responsibility to “unite and provide for” the “well-being” of the Afghan people.
“Look, the Taliban has to make a fundamental decision. Is the Taliban going to attempt to be able to unite and provide for the well-being of the people of Afghanistan, which no group has ever done, since hundreds of years?” Biden said.
The president also emphasized the growing terror threats from other countries, saying he is “under no illusion about the threat from ISIS-K,” a reference to the Islamic State’s Korasan Provice in Central Asia.