President Joe Biden On Tuesday he openly rejected criticism of his decision to stick to the deadline for withdrawing. Afghanistan This week, this move left as many as 200 Americans and thousands of Afghan citizens allied with the United States in the country.
In a televised speech, Biden provided a comprehensive defense for his handling of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, saying that he inherited the unstable situation from his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, and that the 20-year war “It should be over long ago.”
“I will not prolong this eternal war, nor will I prolong the eternal withdrawal,” he said, his voice full of emotion as he spoke.
Biden’s handling of the withdrawal has aroused sharp criticism from Republicans and his own Democrats and foreign allies, his work approval rate has been affected, and has raised questions about his credibility.
The main concern is the fate of the Americans and Afghans, who failed to take the last US flights to leave Kabul Airport this week after the Taliban took over the capital.
Biden said that US officials believe that there are still 100 to 200 Americans “planning to leave.” He said that most of the people who stayed are dual citizens and long-term residents who had previously decided to stay, adding that the United States is determined to let them leave.
Many lawmakers have called on Biden to extend the August 31 deadline to allow more Americans and Afghans to flee. He said on Tuesday that this is not an arbitrary deadline and that the purpose of insisting on it is to save lives.
“I am responsible for this decision. Now some people say that we should start the mass evacuation sooner, and this cannot be done in a more orderly manner. I disagree,” he said in the White House State Banquet Hall.
Biden said that an agreement facilitated by the Trump administration last year authorized the release of 5,000 prisoners, including some senior Taliban war commanders.
“When I took office, the Taliban were in the strongest military position since 2001, controlling or competing for nearly half of the country,” he said.
Biden said that even if the evacuation has already started in June or July, people who want to leave will still arrive at the airport very late.
He has so far made the strongest criticism of the deported Afghan government’s inability to counter the Taliban’s rapid offensive, which has forced the United States and its NATO allies to withdraw hastily and humiliatingly.
Biden met with the now exiled Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in the Oval Office in June and called him an old friend.
But on Tuesday, Biden said, “The Afghan people watched their government collapse and flee due to corruption and malfeasance, handing their country to the Taliban.”
The withdrawal of the last batch of US troops this week ended the two decades of military intervention in Afghanistan that Biden was determined to end.
Although most Americans agree with him, the chaotic and deadly nature of this goal will bring new challenges in the coming months.
Biden’s presidency has been focused on fighting the coronavirus pandemic and rebuilding the economy, but now faces political investigations, the handling of troop withdrawals, and the logistical challenges of finding new homes for thousands of Afghans who have been transferred to US military bases.
Biden must also deal with the surge in coronavirus infections, hurricanes and wildfires, as well as a series of difficult deadlines before he can pass signature spending measures through Congress.
Republicans and some Democrats expressed disappointment and anger at Afghanistan’s rapid fall into the Taliban, the former leader who was expelled by the United States after the September 11, 2001 attack, and what they called a botched troop withdrawal.
Republicans are expected to use this crisis to try to undermine Biden’s policy and legislative agenda and make it a topic in the 2022 midterm elections. Republicans want to seize control of the Senate and House of Representatives from Biden’s Democrats, which may hinder the second half of his presidency.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Monday showed that less than 40% of Americans agree with Biden’s handling of the withdrawal, and three-quarters want the U.S. military to stay in the country until all American civilians can. Evacuate.
House Republican leaders, including Michael McCall, the top Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said they unanimously wrote to Biden’s national security adviser Jack Sullivan, asking for details of plans to repatriate Americans and evacuate others.
McCall said in a statement: “Congress has the right to know how to facilitate and conduct these evacuations.”
