In an abrupt about-face, President Joe Biden has asked defense officials to put together “contingency plans” for keeping American forces on the ground in Afghanistan beyond the end of this month — despite claiming earlier Tuesday that the White House would abide by the Taliban’s “red line” of a full withdrawal by Aug. 31.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that while Biden had asked for the backup plans, he believes the US is “on track to accomplish our mission” by the Aug. 31 deadline he set to have all American forces out of the country after two decades of conflict.
