‘Another terror attack in Kabul is likely,’ White House says – live | US news

The White House press briefing has now been delayed until 1:45 pm ET. Here’s where the day stands so far:

• The White House warned “another terror attack in Kabul is likely,” a day after a suicide bombing killed 13 US servicemembers and dozens of Afghan civilians. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris received a briefing this morning from their national security team on the situation in Afghanistan. The president said of the ongoing evacuation effort in Kabul, “We will complete the mission.”
• The Pentagon press secretary pledged that the US military would “fly out evacuees right up until the last moment” of the Kabul operation, which is still expected to end by August 31. The Pentagon also offered a correction to its reports on the attack yesterday. Officials now believe there was only one suicide bomber at the Kabul airport. “We do not believe that there was a second explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, that it was one suicide bomber,” Maj Gen Hank Taylor said.
• A Florida judge has blocked Republican governor Ron DeSantis’ order against mask mandates in schools. Leon county circuit Judge John C Cooper said DeSantis’ order, which gave parents the sole right to decide whether their children would wear masks in school, “is without legal authority”.

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Joe Biden is now sitting down with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Oval Office, and the White House press pool was let in for the start of their meeting.

The president said he did not want to take any questions from Afghanistan to keep the focus on his meeting with Bennett, but he once again applauded the servicemembers carrying out the mission in Kabul in the face of great danger.

“The mission there being performed is dangerous and has now come with significant loss of American personnel, but it’s a worthy mission because they continue to evacuate folks out of that region, out of the airport,” Biden said, noting that more than 12,000 people were evacuated over the past 24 hours.

“I met with my commanders this morning, first thing in the morning, got a detailed briefing about yesterday’s attacks and the measures they’re taking to protect their forces and complete the mission. And we will complete the mission.”

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris received a briefing this morning from top national security officials on the situation in Afghanistan, following yesterday’s terrorist attack at the Kabul airport.

“They advised the President and Vice President that another terror attack in Kabul is likely, but that they are taking maximum force protection measures at the Kabul Airport,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

“They reported that even in the face of those threats, our courageous service women and men are continuing to operate a historic evacuation operation. The U.S. military is airlifting out thousands of people every few hours.”

The White House previously reported that roughly 12,500 people were airlifted out of Kabul between 3 am ET yesterday and 3 am ET today, even as troops dealt with the fallout from the attack.

“Our commanders also updated the President and Vice President on plans to develop ISIS-K targets,” Psaki added. “The next few days of this mission will be the most dangerous period to date.”

Psaki is scheduled to hold her daily press briefing at any moment, so stay tuned.

In some non-Afghanistan news, a Florida judge has ruled that Republican governor Ron DeSantis cannot block schools from imposing mask mandates to limit the spread of coronavirus.

The AP reports:

Leon County Circuit Judge John C Cooper agreed with a group of parents who claimed in a lawsuit that DeSantis’ order is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. The governor’s order gave parents the sole right to decide if their child wears a mask at school.

Cooper said DeSantis’ order ‘is without legal authority.’

His decision came after a three-day virtual hearing, and after at least 10 Florida school boards voted to defy DeSantis and impose mask requirements with no parental opt-out.

The White House has repeatedly criticized Republican governors like DeSantis who have attempted to curtail pandemic-related restrictions as coronavirus case numbers climb due to the spread of the Delta variant.

“If you aren’t going to fight Covid-19, at least get out of the way of everyone else who is trying,” Joe Biden said last week. “We’re not going to sit by as governors try to block and intimidate educators protecting our children.”

Although House minority leader Kevin McCarthy fiercely criticized Joe Biden’s handling of the situation in Afghanistan, he did not join calls for the president’s resignation.

“Look, I’m extremely frustrated with the president. As I said, if you want to be president of the free world, you have to have the faith, the trust and the confidence of the American public. President Biden lost that yesterday,” McCarthy said at his press conference. “There will be a day of reckoning.”

But the Republican leader did not demand Biden’s resignation, instead saying, “Right now in the next five days, everyone’s responsibility should only be focused on getting the Americans out.”

Several Republican lawmakers in the House and the Senate have suggested Biden should step down over his handling of the Kabul evacuation mission, but the odds of that happening are essentially zero at this point.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy held a press conference this morning, during which he fiercely criticized Joe Biden’s decision to share intelligence with the Taliban in the hopes of preventing future terrorist attacks.

“Why would we ever depend on the Taliban?” McCarthy asked. “Why would you negotiate with the Taliban?”

However, as one reporter noted, Donald Trump negotiated with the Taliban as well, and McCarthy did not voice any criticism of that at the time.

“Trump also had conditions, and he upheld the conditions,” McCarthy said. (There were reports as early as March 2020 that the Taliban did not intend to abide by the terms of its agreement with the Trump administration.)

The Republican leader also presented an unclear position on whether he believed there should be additional US troops in Afghanistan.

While the Republican leader initially said he does not support sending more American service members to Afghanistan, McCarthy then argued the US military should have maintained control of Bagram Air Base, which would have required a much larger troop presence remaining in the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has arrived at the White House, where he is scheduled to have two meetings with Joe Biden today.

Bennett and Biden had originally been scheduled to meet yesterday, but the discussions were pushed back to today because of the terrorist attack in Kabul.

Bennett also spoke to Biden last night to offer condolences from the Israeli people to the families of the 13 US servicemembers killed in the Kabul attack.

“The President spoke with Prime Minister Bennett last night by phone to thank him for his willingness to postpone their meeting in light of the terror attacks in Kabul,” the White House said.

“The President also thanked the Prime Minister for his condolences on behalf of the people of Israel.”

The Pentagon press secretary, John Kirby, addressed concerns over potential additional terrorist attacks in Kabul as evacuation efforts continue.

“We still believe there are credible threats,” Kirby said. “In fact, I’d say specific, credible threats. And we want to make sure we’re prepared for those.”

One reporter asked Kirby whether the Pentagon has obtained additional information on potential threats since yesterday’s attack.

“We certainly are prepared and would expect future attempts absolutely,” Kirby replied. “But I won’t get into the specifics of what those are and why we’re doing what we’re doing.”

The Pentagon press secretary, John Kirby, said the 31 August deadline to complete the Kabul evacuation mission remains in place after yesterday’s terrorist attack.

“We’re still planning on ending this mission at the end of the month,” Kirby said, acknowledging that the US military will start packing up its equipment at the airport in the coming days.

“We will be able to fly out evacuees right up until the last moment. That’s going to be the goal.”

According to Maj Gen Hank Taylor, more than 300 Americans were flown out of Kabul in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of evacuated US citizens up to 5,100.

There are currently about 5,400 people at the airport awaiting evacuation, and more than 5,000 US troops remain in Kabul.

The Pentagon is now holding a press briefing to provide an update on the situation in Kabul, as evacuation efforts continue following yesterday’s terrorist attack.

Maj Gen Hank Taylor, the joint staff deputy director for regional operations, once again offered his condolences to the families of the 13 US service members and dozens of Afghan civilians who died in the attack.

Taylor also offered an important correction to the record of how the terrorist attack unfolded yesterday.

The Pentagon had previously said there was a second explosion at the Baron Hotel, near the Kabul airport, following the initial blast at the Abbey Gate.

However, Taylor said the Pentagon now believes there was just one suicide bomber who carried out the attack.

“We do not believe that there was a second explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, that it was one suicide bomber,” Taylor said.

“We’re not sure how that report was provided incorrectly, but we do know — it’s not any surprise — that in the confusion of very dynamic events like this can cause information sometimes to be misreported or garbled.”

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy is holding a briefing on the terrorist attack at the Kabul airport yesterday.

Expressing sorrow over the loss of 13 US servicemembers, McCarthy questioned Joe Biden’s handling of the evacuation mission in Kabul, specifically the military’s coordination with the Taliban to prevent more attacks.

“Why would we ever depend on the Taliban?” McCarthy asked. “Why would you negotiate with the Taliban?”

The Republican leader added, “These are all questions that need to be answered.”

McCarthy has called on House speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the chamber back into session to receive a briefing on Afghanistan, but Pelosi has given no indication that she plans to do so.

Barack Obama has released a statement offering his condolences to the families of the victims of the terrorist attack at the Kabul airport yesterday.

“Like so many of you, Michelle and I were heartbroken to hear about the terrorist attack outside the Kabul airport that killed and wounded so many U.S. service members, as well as Afghan men, women, and children,” the former Democratic president said.

“As president, nothing was more painful than grieving with the loved ones of Americans who gave their lives serving our country. As President Biden said, these service members are heroes who have been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others,” Obama added.

“Our hearts go out to the families who lost a loved one, and to everyone continuing the mission in Kabul. We’re also thinking of the families of the Afghans who died, many of whom stood by America and were willing to risk everything for a chance at a better life.”

Obama and Biden disagreed on policies in Afghanistan during the former’s presidency. Biden was on the losing side of an argument over whether to approve a troop surge to Afghanistan.

Obama ultimately approved the troop surge, despite Biden’s warnings that the Pentagon’s plan was too broad and too expensive, according to the Washington Post.

Flags at the White House, the US Capitol and all other public buildings are being flown at half-staff today in honor of the 13 US troops and dozens of Afghan civilians killed in the terrorist attack at the Kabul airport yesterday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced the honor during her daily briefing last night, which occurred right after Joe Biden’s address to the nation on the Kabul explosions.

While responding to reporters’ questions yesterday, Psaki was somber as she reflected on the loss of life in Kabul.

“Any day where you lose servicemembers is maybe the worst day of your presidency, and hopefully there’s not more,” Psaki said.

The press secretary applauded the US servicemembers who have continued to process evacuees at the Kabul airport after losing 13 of their own in a terrorist attack.

The White House said this morning that another 12,500 people were evacuated out of Afghanistan between 3 am ET yesterday and 3 am ET today.

The US has now helped evacuate more than 100,000 people out of Afghanistan since August 14, according to the latest update from the White House.

A White House official told the press pool that approximately 12,500 people were evacuated from Kabul between 3 am ET yesterday and 3 am ET today.

“This is the result of 35 US military flights (29 C-17s and 6 C-130s) which carried approximately 8,500 evacuees, and 54 coalition flights which carried approximately 4,000 people,” the official said.

“Since August 14, the U.S. has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 105,000 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 110,600 people.”

That 12,500 number is quite impressive, given that 13,400 people were evacuated the day before and troops had to grapple with the fallout from two explosions at the airport as they continued to process evacuees.

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

After two explosions at the Kabul airport killed at least 13 US troops yesterday, Joe Biden is receiving bipartisan criticism to continue the war on terror.

Leon Panetta, the former defense secretary an CIA director under Barack Obama, told CNN last night, “I understand that we’re trying to get our troops out of there, but the bottom line is we can leave a battlefield but we can’t leave the war on terrorism, which still is a threat to our security.”

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who has been generally critical of the Biden’s troop withdrawal plans, issued a similar message yesterday.

“This murderous attack offers the clearest possible reminder that terrorists will not stop fighting the United States just because our politicians grow tired of fighting them,” McConnell said.

“We need to redouble our global efforts to confront these barbarian enemies who want to kill Americans and attack our homeland.”

In his own remarks yesterday, Biden told the terrorists who killed 13 US troops and dozens of Afghan civilians, “We will hunt you down and make you pay.”

But how many resources will Biden be willing to allocate to fight a war on terrorism that has been raging for 20 years? Time will tell.

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.