White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C on August 4, 2021. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:12 PM PT – Friday, August 6, 2021
The White House has condemned the Taliban’s recent violent attacks, urging the terrorist group to shift its priorities to ongoing peace negotiations with the Afghan government. During a press briefing on Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki denounced the Taliban’s assassination of an Afghanistan government officials and a series of bombings this week. Psaki added the Biden administration is closely monitoring the Taliban’s efforts.
“Additionally, there are credible reports that you’ve touched on, atrocities and retaliation against civilians in other Taliban controlled areas, which of course we are closely tracking and concerned about,” said Psaki. “If the Taliban claims to want international legitimacy, these actions are not going to get them the legitimacy they seek.”
The organization isn’t just attacking people, but also conquering land at an alarming rate. On Friday, the Taliban appeared to have used offensive military tactics to take control of the city of Zaranj, it’s first provincial capital. However, the Afghan government suggested the city had not quite fallen yet.
Recent actions by the Taliban will not help them gain international legitimacy, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, after insurgents from the group assassinated the Afghanistan government’s top media officer in Kabul https://t.co/GQtzR1cj6Y pic.twitter.com/6XjIiRf3uq
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 6, 2021
In the meantime, the Taliban has continued to ramp up its attacks as the U.S. withdrawals troops from the war-torn country with the goal of exiting the Middle East by the end of August. When asked during the briefing whether the surge in Taliban attacks alters the Biden administration’s stance on leaving Afghanistan, Psaki suggested it’s not America’s responsibility to risk American lives to extend an unbeatable 20-year war.
