Just hours after President Biden announced he'd moved up the date of completion for America's military mission in Afghanistan, Taliban fighters escalated their offensives to lock down the country while claiming their insurgents now control 85 percent of Afghan territory. Afghan government officials, however, dispute the Taliban's claim as its forces fight to reclaim lost ground.
The Taliban's increasing hold over Afghanistan.#AFPgraphics map showing parts of Afghanistan under government control and territories under the influence of the Taliban, from April till July pic.twitter.com/5OfEEPV7mC
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 8, 2021
Originally targeted for September 11, 2021, Biden announced the end of American action in Afghanistan would come on August 31 in remarks delivered Thursday after U.S. forces abruptly withdrew from Bagram Air Base last week.
After seizing dozens of districts in recent weeks — some falling without even a fight — and sending Afghan security forces fleeing into neighboring countries by the thousands, Taliban fighters have moved to secure strategic border crossings to expand control over who and what comes in and out of Afghanistan.
#UPDATE The Taliban said Friday their fighters had captured Afghanistan's key border crossing with Turkmenistan, as the insurgents continued a blistering offensive across the country pic.twitter.com/BWd0drcbrs
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 9, 2021
Taliban officials reported their insurgents took control of the border crossing between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan as well as Afghanistan's biggest trade crossing with Iran.
#UPDATE Taliban capture key border crossing with Iran as Biden defends Afghan withdrawalhttps://t.co/zhryASDo2S pic.twitter.com/PwFCAx6wk1
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 9, 2021
In addition, Taliban fighters reached Afghanistan's border with China as the Taliban's leaders find themselves stuck between concerns over the Chinese Communist Party's horrific treatment of Muslim minorities and an opportunity for Chinese investment in a potentially Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Facing the vacuum left by U.S. forces' impending departure, the Taliban has suggested they won't interfere in Beijing's business.
The fate of Afghanistan after nearly two decades of U.S. action seems clear to everyone but the Commander in Chief, who defends his administration's withdrawal strategy and maintains that the Afghan government will remain in control of the country. The intelligence community, however, reports that the Afghan government is unlikely to last six months from the time of America's departure.
Republicans in Congress continue to criticize the Biden administration's strategy in Afghanistan as the Taliban continues toppling districts and America's adversaries eye new opportunities to assert dominance in the region.
Withdrawing troops from Afghanistan is giving China unrestricted control over the Middle East. We are kidding ourselves if we think that the Chinese Communist Party will not inject itself into a post-U.S. Afghanistan.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) July 8, 2021
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement saying "speed is not ‘safety’ when it’s a rushed, politically expedient withdrawal to appease a liberal base – it’s a catalyst for failure."