Biden stands by US decision to pull out of Afghanistan

President Joe Biden defended the US pullout of Afghanistan Monday, saying he stood by the policy and that it was time to leave after 20 years of conflict.

“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 in a televised address from the White House.

He added that the US national interest in Afghanistan was always principally about preventing terrorist attacks from the war-torn nation on the US homeland.

“The mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to be nation-building,” he said.

Afghan collapse quicker than expected

Biden acknowledged that the Afghan government collapsed more quickly than he expected even as he defended his decision to withdraw troops.

“I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you. The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated,” Biden said in a national address.

“We gave them every chance to determine their own future. We could not provide them with the will to fight for that future.”

Biden promised to prioritise the treatment of women and girls under the Taliban in Afghanistan after a US withdrawal allowed the return of the Islamist insurgents.

“We’ll continue to speak out on the basic rights of the Afghan people, of women and girls,” Biden said in a national address.

He also said China and Russia “would love” an indefinite US quagmire in Afghanistan, and threatened a “devastating” response if the Taliban attack US interests.

Biden warned the Taliban Monday not to disrupt or threaten the evacuation of thousands of American diplomats and Afghan translators at the Kabul airport.

The response to any attack would be “swift and forceful,” Biden said in a televised address from the White House. 

“We will defend our people with devastating force if necessary,” he said.

He said the US gave the Afghan military “every chance” against the Taliban.