WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden and fellow Group of 7 leaders met virtually on Tuesday as leaders of some of the major industrialized democracies were expected to press Biden to extend the U.S military presence in Afghanistan beyond the Aug. 31 evacuation deadline.
The meeting comes amid widespread unhappiness among some of the U.S. closest allies about Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Complaints have come from Britain, France, Germany and others in the G-7. Ahead of the meeting, British defense secretary Ben Wallace said he was doubtful that Biden would agree to extend the deadline.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has pulled off its biggest day of evacuation flights of Afghanistan since the operation began. But President Joe Biden faces a pressing decision on shutting down the airlifts, as the Taliban are insisting.
A U.S. official says CIA Director William Burns secretly flew to Kabul this week to meet with the Taliban’s top political leader.
The White House says U.S. operations flew out 12,700 people in 24 hours.
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