William Burns, the director of the CIA, secretly met with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday, The Washington Post and NBC News report.
The meeting reportedly took place as the Aug. 31 deadline for the United States to complete its ongoing evacuation efforts in Afghanistan approaches, and the Post writes that while the CIA declined to comment on the meeting, it "likely involved" this impending deadline.
President Biden has been facing pressure to extend the Aug. 31 deadline, though the Taliban said this week that the U.S. keeping troops in Afghanistan beyond that date would cross a "red line." NBC News reports that Biden will make a decision Tuesday about whether to push the deadline back, and according to CNN, top allies are set to press him to extend it during a Tuesday meeting.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Sunday, Biden said that "our hope is we will not have to extend," but he added, "there are going to be discussions, I suspect, on how far along we are in the process."
-
The 9 restaurants to eat at this very momentThe Week Recommends They’re award-winning. Isn’t that reason enough?
-
The UK’s opioid crisis: why the stats don’t add upThe Explainer A new report has revealed that the UK’s total of opioid-related deaths could be much greater than official figures show
-
Gaza genocide: will UN ruling change anything?Today's Big Question Commission of Inquiry’s findings ‘give unprecedented weight’ to genocide claims
-
‘We must empower young athletes with the knowledge to stay safe’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
Why are Trump's health rumors about more than just presidential fitness?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Extended absences and unexplained bruises have raised concerns about both his well-being and his administration's transparency
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
