Stand by decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan: Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden said on Monday that he stands "squarely behind his decision" to withdraw the American troops from Afghanistan as he blamed the Afghan leadership for giving in to the Taliban without any fight. He described the images coming out of Afghanistan as "gut-wrenching." "I stand squarely behind my decision," the President said.
We were clear-eyed about the risks: Biden
"After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces. That's why we're still there. We were clear-eyed about the risks," Biden said in his address to the nation. "We planned for every contingency. But I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you," he added.
Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight: Biden
"The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated. So, what happened? Afghanistan's political leaders gave up and fled the country," he said. "The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight. If anything, the developments of the past week reinforced that ending US military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision," the US President said.
We trained an Afghan military force of some 300,000: Biden
He said American troops cannot be dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves. "We spent over a trillion dollars. We trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong. Incredibly well equipped," he said.
Couldn't provide them will to fight for their future: Biden
"We paid their salaries, provided for the maintenance of their air force, something the Taliban doesn't have. The Taliban does not have an air force," he said. "We provided close air support. We gave them every chance to determine their own future. We could not provide them with the will to fight for that future," Biden said.
Urged the President to seek political settlement with Taliban: Biden
Recalling his meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chairman Abdullah, Biden said, "We talked extensively about the need for Afghan leaders to unite politically. They failed to do that." "I urged them to engage in diplomacy, to seek a political settlement with the Taliban. This advice was flatly refused. Ghani insisted that the Afghan forces would fight. But he was wrong," Biden said.
Will not repeat mistakes US made in the past: Biden
Biden asserted he will not repeat mistakes the US has made in the past, mistake of fighting indefinitely in a conflict, of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country, of attempting to remake a country through endless military deployments of US forces.
