Joe Biden on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan: “It was a decision made to save American lives.”
Joe Biden, speaking to the nation on the conclusion of America's war in Afghanistan, said that his government had to choose between leaving or exacerbating the situation.
According to US President Joe Biden, the decision to end the American mission in Afghanistan and fly out on August 31 was made to preserve American lives, not to meet an arbitrary deadline.
Biden, speaking to the nation about the conclusion of America’s war in Afghanistan, said that his government had to choose between leaving or exacerbating the situation.
Biden stated that he would not extend what he referred to as a “forever war” or a “eternal departure.”
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The decision to end military airlift operations at Kabul airport, according to the US President, was based on the unanimous advice of his civilian and military advisors, including the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all service chiefs, and field commanders.
Disagreeing with others who believed the evacuations should have been done more orderly, Biden argued that “the conclusion of a war cannot be handled without the kind of complexities, obstacles, and risks we faced.”
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Biden slammed the previous Trump administration for striking a deal with the Taliban that required the US to begin removing troops from the ground.
He claimed Trump’s administration had signed a deal with the Taliban that required American soldiers to leave the country by May 1. Furthermore, the agreement did not compel the Taliban to reach an agreement with the Afghan government on governance. The dead did, however, approve the release of 5,000 inmates, including some of the Taliban’s top combat commanders who are among those who have recently taken control of Afghanistan.
By the time Biden took office, the Taliban had already taken control of or contested nearly half of the country, and was in its strongest military position since 2001, according to Biden.
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According to Biden, Trump’s commitment underscored that the Taliban would not assault any American personnel provided the US government adhered to the May 1 deadline to depart the nation.
But, if the deadline was not met, all bets were off, according to the US President.
Biden argued that if the September 11, 2001 terror attacks had been perpetrated from Yemen rather than Afghanistan, the US would not have gone to war with the country in 2001, even though the Taliban controlled the country at the time.
Biden stated that the US had accomplished what it set out to achieve in Afghanistan more than a decade ago, saying, “We brought Osama bin Laden to trial and annihilated Al Qaeda. We stayed for another decade after that. It was past time to put an end to this conflict.”
The US president closed his remarks by saying that he believed his decision was correct, wise, and in America’s best interests.
