Amid Pressure To Step Down, Afghan President Pledges To 'Prevent Further Instability'
Summary from the AllSides News Team
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).
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Afghan president resists pressure to resign as allies wither amid Taliban routAfghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is resisting calls to resign as his political allies melt away and his military proves unable or unwilling to stop the Taliban’s advance across the country.
One report Saturday morning placed the Taliban just 7 miles away from the capital city Kabul, as US Marines arrived to secure the US Embassy there and help diplomats and Afghan civilians flee.
Across the country, as provincial capitals fell to the advancing Taliban militants, Ghani’s political allies have faded or capitulated.
Ghani, in a televised address Saturday, told the country he was...
From the Left
Afghan President Says He Is ‘Remobilizing’ ForcesIn a recorded speech to his fractured nation, President Ashraf Ghani ignored growing pressure to step aside, even as his soldiers surrender to the Taliban and his close political associates flee the country.
Several of his close political associates have surrendered to the Taliban without a fight or fled into exile. His army has all but collapsed and the warlords he was counting on have proved ineffectual or are bargaining for their lives.
Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, is more isolated than ever, facing pressure to step aside — and not...
From the Center
As Taliban Encircle Kabul, Afghan President Says He Seeks to Avoid Further BloodshedAfghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday said he started consultations on how to unite the country and prevent further bloodshed, as the Taliban tightened their grip, seizing additional provincial capitals.
Mr. Ghani, in his first public remarks since the Taliban swept through southern and western Afghanistan, capturing the major cities of Kandahar and Herat, said his priority is to remobilize the Afghan security forces that surrendered en masse.
“As a historic responsibility, I am trying to not let the war that has been imposed on the Afghan people cause the further killing of innocents,...
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