US lacks leverage over Taliban amid chaotic Afghanistan exit: 'They have us in a corner'

• The Biden administration has blocked the Taliban’s access to billions in assets held in the US.
• Analysts fear the security situation will worsen, threatening evacuation efforts in Kabul.

WASHINGTON – As the Biden administration scrambles to get Americans and Afghan allies safely out of Afghanistan, its quest for a quick exit has clashed with on-the-ground reality: The U.S. has little leverage against the Taliban, the Islamic militant group now in charge of the country.

“They are in control of Kabul – that’s the reality that we have to deal with,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

The U.S. has taken steps to try to speed the evacuation of Americans and put pressure on the Taliban after the group's stunning overthrow of the U.S.-backed government last weekend.

The Biden administration has blocked the Taliban’s access to billions of dollars in assets Afghanistan’s central bank holds in the Federal Reserve and other U.S. banks, according to an administration official. Barring access to those assets deprives the Taliban of crucial financial resources as it tries to establish a new government.