US Secretary of State: "Terror Threats Moving from Afghanistan to Other Places... Time to Focus on China"

"Taliban No Longer Wants Civil War"
"Decision to Increase Refugee Quota Difficult This Year"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken stated that with the decision to withdraw U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan, the terrorist threat has shifted elsewhere, and now is the time to focus resources on COVID-19 and China. Regarding President Joe Biden's earlier pledge to increase the refugee admission quota, he explained that it would be difficult to raise the number this year.

On the 18th (local time), Secretary Blinken said in an interview with ABC News, "President Biden feels that the world should now be viewed through the prism of 2021, not 2001. Unlike then, the terrorist threat has moved to other places." Blinken emphasized, "What we need to focus our energy and resources on now is COVID-19, climate change, and our relationship with China." This statement is interpreted as reaffirming that the Biden administration's military and security focus has completely shifted from the Middle East to China.

Blinken explained, "The reason U.S. troops went to Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks 20 years ago was to ensure that it would not become a safe haven for terrorism targeting the U.S., its allies, or partners," adding, "We have achieved this goal." He continued, "There are growing concerns about the Taliban, but they no longer want civil war," emphasizing, "If the Taliban wants to be internationally recognized and gain status, they must not oppress women's rights."

He stated, "There are concerns that the U.S.'s ability to respond to terrorist threats in Afghanistan will weaken, but the U.S. has time to take measures and will monitor the situation in real time," adding, "The U.S. will redeploy troops and assets to prevent the reemergence of terrorist threats and will continue to support the Afghan government forces."

Separately from Middle East policy, regarding the recent controversy over U.S. refugee admissions, Blinken drew a line, saying that increasing the refugee admission quota promised by President Biden will be difficult for now. Blinken said, "President Biden announced raising the refugee admission quota to 62,500 for this fiscal year, but it is very difficult to achieve this goal within the current fiscal year," adding, "We will review this issue again in the coming weeks."

Earlier, on February 16, President Biden decided to freeze the 2021 fiscal year refugee admission quota at 15,000, the level set during the Donald Trump administration, but faced a flood of criticism and subsequently moved to increase the admission scale to 62,500 to ease the situation.