US President Joe Biden broke the silence on August 17 regarding the catastrophic American withdrawal from Afghanistan by backing his decision as he criticised the former Afghan leadership that had failed to combat the Taliban.
"I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces," he said.
After the Taliban captured Kabul, thousands of Afghans desperately trying to flee Afghanistan crowded city airport, pushing the US to suspend evacuations. The disturbing videos of the incident
also went viral on the internet following which President Joe Biden faced mounting criticism about the US withdrawal.
In the viral video, crowds could be seen rushing on the airport seeking refuge, with some clinging to a US military transport plane as it taxied on the lone runway, and one person seemed
to tumble off the plane during takeoff. At least three young men fell to death as they cling to the US plane.
US President Biden dismissed criticism that the evacuation was a disaster, saying the focus is to end a war that has grown far beyond its initial modest goals of punishing the Taliban for
their links to Al-Qaeda following 9/11.
"Our goal in Afghanistan was never intended to be nation-building," he said, adding that anti-terrorism operations would continue even if US forces left.
In the next days, "thousands" of US citizens and Afghans who assisted American soldiers would be evacuated, according to Biden. If the Taliban attacks in the meantime, Biden has
warned a "devastating" military response.
Also Read: Desperate Afghans clung to plane fall from sky as flight takes off from Kabul
While Biden claimed responsibility for the mission's failure, he slammed former Afghan government and military officials who were recruited, organised, and supported by the US throughout the last two decades.
The administration withdrew rather than face down the advancing Taliban, a more experienced guerrilla force with little less weapons than the US-supplied Afghan army.
"We offered them every opportunity to shape their own future. We could not provide them with the will to fight for that future," Biden stated.
"This did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated," Biden added, somewhat acknowledging the unexpected suddenness of the final Taliban assault.
"Our true strategic competitors, China and Russia, would love nothing more than the United States to continue to funnel billions of dollars in resources and attention into stabilizing
Afghanistan indefinitely," said Biden.
He said, "how many more generations of America's daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghans, Afghanistan's civil war when Afghan troops will not?"
Meanwhile, Biden’s speech was not well received by netizens and opposition, and deemed Biden's speech "shameful" and the evacuation a show of "weakness and betrayal."