Biden Defends U.S. Withdraw
From Afghanistan:, ‘I Stand Squarely Behind My Decision’.
On Monday, Biden delivered a speech addressing the recent turmoil in Afghanistan. .
The Taliban seized control of Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital,
marking the collapse of the nation’s government.
Biden said that despite
the current chaos he stands “squarely behind
[his] decision” to withdraw U.S. troops. .
I stand squarely behind my decision …
After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that
there was never a good time to withdraw, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'.
He said to stay
would be to “[lurch] into the third decade of conflict.”.
The choice I had to make as your president
was either to follow through on the agreement
to drawdown our forces … or escalating
the conflict and sending thousands more
American troops back into combat and
lurching into the third decade of conflict, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'.
Biden admitted that the Taliban’s retaking of
control “unfold[ed] more quickly” than anticipated. .
We were clear-eyed about the risks, we
planned for every contingency. But I always
promised the American people I would be
straight with you … The truth is, this did
unfold more quickly than we had anticipated, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'.
However, Biden insisted that the blame of the Taliban
takeover lay on the country’s political leaders and military. .
Afghanistan political leaders gave up
and fled the country … If anything, the
developments of the past week reinforce
that ending U.S. military involvement in
Afghanistan now was the right decision, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'.
The U.S. military currently has control of Kabul’s airport and
is evacuating embassy staffers and allied personnel.
A total of 6,000 U.S. troops were authorized
for deployment to Afghanistan by Biden on Saturday to
assist in an “orderly and safe drawdown.”.
… to make sure we can have an orderly and
safe drawdown of US personnel and other allied
personnel and an orderly and safe evacuation
of Afghans who helped our troops during
our mission and those at special risk from
the Taliban advance, Joe Biden, via 'NYT'