In an address to the nation, President JoeBiden recognised the end of a “forever war” in Afghanistan after the lastAmerican troops departed from Kabul on Monday night, marking thebeginning of the end of the nation’s longest war.
He defended the evacuation effort, in whichthousands of people were lifted out of Kabul in recent weeks, as an“extraordinary success” due to the “incredible skill, bravery, and selflesscourage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligenceprofessionals.”
More than 123,000 people were evacuated fromKabul in a massive but chaotic airlift by the United States and its allies overthe past two weeks, but many of those who helped Western nations during the warwere left behind.
“I was not going to extend this forever war,and I was not extending a forever exit,” he said. “It was time to end thiswar,” he added later in his speech, pounding his fist on the lectern.
He continued further, "This decisionabout Afghanistan is not just about Afghanistan. It's about ending an era ofmajor military operations to remake other countries."
“No nation, no nation has ever done anythinglike it in all the history,” he said.
“It was time to be honest with the Americanpeople again,” Biden said. “We no longer had a clear purpose in an open-endedmission in Afghanistan.”
“We were left with a simple decision: Eitherfollow through on the commitment made by the last administration and leaveAfghanistan or say we weren’t leaving and commit another tens of thousands moretroops going back to war,” he said. “That was the choice, the real choice,between leaving or escalating,” said the US President in his speech from WhiteHouse.
Biden’s political opponents have criticisedthe president’s withdrawal strategy, saying the US should have begun removingpeople from the country earlier and should have operated more forcefully withinKabul -- actions the president maintains would have risked combat with Talibanforces and further American casualties.
“I believe there should be accountability forwhat I see as the biggest failure in American government on a military stage inmy lifetime,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.