Administration sources told me that U.S. diplomats in Kabul were in ongoing “delicate discussions” with Taliban leadership in search of a common understanding on keeping the U.S. troops at the Kabul airport longer, to finish the evacuation mission. Those talks are being led by acting ambassador Ross Wilson. Former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan John R. Bass is on his way to Kabul to take over management of the logistics of the evacuation operation.

The Biden team is worried that if the U.S. military stays past the deadline, the Taliban might attack them there, which is certainly a valid concern. If an accommodation with Taliban leaders can be reached without bribing them with irreversible concessions like diplomatic recognition, that would surely advance the cause of safely bringing U.S. citizens out. But the Taliban is never going to agree to help us exfiltrate tens of thousands of Afghans who aided the U.S. war effort. Nevertheless, that’s the commitment Biden made and a commitment he must at least try his best to fulfill.

Rather than ask the Taliban for permission, Biden should tell the Taliban that if it wants U.S. troops to leave sooner, it must stop impeding the evacuation, Malinowski said. “We should make clear to the Taliban that the duration of our stay depends on their cooperation and then we should get everyone out that we can,” he said.