Amid Pressure To Step Down, Afghan President Pledges To 'Prevent Further Instability'

Editor's Note, 8/15/21 at 5:00 p.m. ET: The Taliban entered the Afghan capital of Kabul Sunday, and Afghan President Asraf Ghani fled the country. The following summary was written and published prior to those events. As the Taliban continues to capture territories across Afghanistan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani pledged in a national address on Saturday to “prevent further instability” during a national address and said he was in “urgent talks” with local leaders and international partners about re-integrating security and defense forces. Amid pressure from insurgents, Ghani gave no indication of stepping down from his position. The Taliban captured the cities of Kandahar and Herat this week — the country’s second and third largest municipalities — and are now looking to take Kabul, the nation's capital. A number of American military officials have estimated that the Taliban could abduct the whole country within the next few months without sufficient support from other countries. 

Coverage was mostly consistent across the spectrum. Left-rated and right-rated outlets were more likely to feature sensationalized wording like "Mr. Ghani is stubbornly clinging to office" (New York Times, Lean Left bias) and "his political allies melt away" (New York Post, Lean Right bias).