Pentagon Press Sec Confronted on Afghanistan: Is the Adminstration ‘Surprised by How Fast the Taliban Has Been Able to Move’?

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby was confronted by reporters on Friday over Afghanistan, with the Taliban taking more cities and the U.S. sending troops to help evacuate staff at the embassy in Kabul.

One reporter asked Kirby if the DOD is “surprised at how quickly it seems that the Afghan National Army has collapsed under Taliban pressure.”

“We are certainly concerned by the speed with which the Taliban has been moving,” Kirby responded. “It still is a moment for Afghan National Security and defense forces as well as their political leadership. No outcome has to be inevitable here.”

Another reporter asked, “Given that U.S. airstrikes didn’t seem to deter the Taliban in other areas, how much concern is there that they won’t be scared of potential U.S. airstrikes if they decide to move on Kabul and U.S. assets or personnel there?”

“I’m not going to speculate about moving on Kabul, and I have never talked about future operations, and I’m not going to start doing that today,” Kirby said.

At one point he was again questioned on whether the Pentagon or the Biden administration is “surprised by how fast the Taliban has been able to move across the country.”

“We saw the Taliban making advances even before the Biden administration came into office. We saw the Taliban making advances at the district level before the president made his decision,” Kirby said.

Pressed further, Kirby reiterated, “We have noted, and we have noted with great concern, the speed with which they have been moving and the lack of resistance that they have faced, and we have been nothing but honest about that. And I think I’ll leave it there.”

You can watch above, via CNN.

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