Biden stands by decision to withdraw
JOE Biden said he was “standing squarely behind the decision” to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
The US leader finally broke his silence on the developing crisis in the war-torn country saying the situation was “rapidly evolving”.
He assured allies that if the Taliban were to engage their troops deployed to rescue people “swift and decisive” action would be taken. Biden warned the Taliban not to interfere with the evacuation effort, threatening “devastating force, if necessary”.
On his decision to continue the withdrawal he said “I stand squarely behind my decision” saying Afghan political leaders “gave up” and fled the country and while taking a swipe at Donald Trump. “I inherited a plan to pull out of Afghanistan from Trump,” he said.
The President was told by political rivals he will
have “blood on his hands” over botched withdrawal.
Democrat Biden’s critics have voiced concerns as 5,000 US soldiers have now been deployed to Afghanistan to help evacuate stranded Americans.
“This is an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions,” Republican Michael McCaul said. “This will be a stain on Biden’s presidency, and I think he is going to have blood on his hands.”
Another Republican Liz Cheney said: “What we’re watching right now in Afghanistan is what happens when America withdraws from the world.”
Biden defended his decision to remove troops, blaming the Trump administration for signing a deal with the Taliban that left them “in the strongest position since 2001”.
He said: “When I became President, I faced a choice – follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies’ forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more troops to fight once again in another country’s civil conflict.”