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Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris did not provide many thoughts regarding America's decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. However, that changed on Monday as she spoke at length about the developing situation. The Vice President told reporters that the White House is "singularly focused" on safely evacuating those in danger across the country.
"Right now, we are singularly focused on evacuating American citizens, Afghans who worked with us, and Afghans who are vulnerable, including women and children,” she told reporters during a joint press conference with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
After safely securing evacuation routes for those in danger, Harris plans to provide a "robust analysis" of what has taken place thus far in Afghanistan.
“I think there's going to be plenty of time to analyze what has happened and what has taken place in the context of the withdrawal from Afghanistan,” she explained.
“There's no question there will be and should be a robust analysis of what has happened. But right now, there is no question that our focus has to be on evacuating American citizens, Afghans who worked with us, and vulnerable Afghans, including women and children. That has to be our primary focus and where we are placing our attention on the issue of Afghanistan."
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was fairly supportive of the White House's handling of the situation thus far and hopes that "Afghanistan does not become an epicenter for terrorism again."
“The U.S. intervention has stopped terrorist groups from using Afghanistan as a safe base for 20 years. For this, Singapore is grateful,” he commented.
“We hope Afghanistan does not become an epicenter for terrorism again. And post-Afghanistan, in the longer term, what matters is how the U.S. repositions itself in the Asia Pacific, engages the broader region, and continues the fight against terrorism, because that will determine the perceptions of the countries of the U.S. global priorities and of its strategic intentions."
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