WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden says he stands “squarely behind” his decision for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan.
Speaking about the chaotic situation in Afghanistan, Biden says he faced a choice between following an agreement to withdraw or sending thousands more U.S. troops for a “third decade” of war.
Biden spoke Monday after the planned withdrawal of American forces turned deadly at Kabul’s airport as thousands tried to flee following the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country.
The president says in Monday’s remarks at the White House, “The truth is this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.”
Afghanistan erupted into disarray as the Taliban swept across the country in recent days, taking the capital of Kabul this weekend as the United States has been attempting to withdraw its forces, diplomats, allies and Afghans who worked with the coalition over the course of the 20 year war.
Yet the president says that the rapid end of the Afghan government only vindicates his choice to end the war.
Biden says, “American troops cannot and should not be fighting the war, and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.”
Biden returned to the White House from the Camp David presidential retreat to deliver his first public remarks on the situation in nearly a week.
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