| It's been nearly a week since the fall of Kabul and the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. Here's what we know about how this is playing out politically for President Biden … and what we don't. What we know The Taliban are firmly in control  Taliban fighters patrol Kabul on Thursday. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) | That means the Biden administration has some tough choices to make. Most immediately, do U.S. troops venture outside the Kabul airport (a negotiated safe zone) to find and rescue Americans who want to go home? Biden addressed the nation Friday and indicated they've started to do that. Longer term, does the U.S. government recognize the Taliban as a governing authority? The peace deal President Donald Trump signed with the Taliban and that Biden carried out awkwardly refers to the Taliban this way: "the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by the United States as a state and is known as the Taliban." Now, the United States may have to recognize one of its longest enemies as a partner. Do administration officials give Taliban-controlled Afghanistan money (via much-needed international aid) to prevent an economic collapse there? How much do they speak out about Taliban mistreatment of women, ethnic minorities, U.S. allies and journalists? The Biden administration was too slow in evacuating Americans and Afghan allies This is where Biden is taking the most political heat. It's coming from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as some humanitarian organizations. These people say they spent the past few months urging the State Department to get people out before things got really bad. That didn't happen. Biden said Friday that U.S. forces have evacuated 13,000 people this week and specifically promising Americans (but not Afghan allies) that they will get home despite the increasing danger. "We will get you home," he said. "Make no mistake, this evacuation mission is dangerous and involves risks to our armed forces. And it's being conducted under difficult circumstances. I cannot promise what the final outcome will be." Few seem satisfied with Biden's defenses for not getting people out earlier (chief among them that the Afghan government warned Biden not to act too quickly lest it cause panic). It's looking like there will be investigations led by Democrats in Congress into what went wrong.  A Marine provides water to a child at the Kabul airport. (Sgt. Samuel Ruiz/U.S. Marine Corps/Handout) | The Biden administration received intelligence that warned of such a collapse "The truth is this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated," Biden said this week. Two reports this week show that on at least some level, the Biden administration was warned that the worst-case scenario could happen. The New York Times reported that intelligence agencies in July warned of a quick collapse of the Afghan military, but it's unclear when they thought a Taliban takeover would occur, or how confident they were in their assessment. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Embassy officials in Afghanistan warned Kabul could collapse soon after American troops left Aug. 31, and that Secretary of State Antony Blinken received and reviewed the warning. Around this time, Biden publicly said he thought the Afghan military had enough training to stand on its own. What we don't know How much this will hurt Biden politically Biden supported the war when it began, and he believes it's the right thing to do to end it now. "I stand squarely behind my decision," he said Monday after Kabul fell. "After 20 years I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces." Republicans feel like they have a lot to hammer Biden with on how poorly that withdrawal went. But Biden is probably bolstered by American public opinion, which has soured on the war over the past decade. Six in 10 Americans say fighting in Afghanistan wasn't worth it, according to a new AP-NORC survey. That's in line with the number of Americans who say fighting in the less-popular war, Iraq, wasn't worth it. | 
Email 
