President Biden on Tuesday offered a full-throated defense of his decision to withdraw the U.S. military from Afghanistan, saying the 20-year war was no longer serving the national interest of the United States.
Biden said it was the “unanimous recommendation” of his national security team and military commanders to leave Afghanistan by the Aug. 31 deadline. He rejected assertions that the withdrawal date was arbitrary.
“Let me be clear: Leaving August 31 is not due to an arbitrary deadline. It was designed to save American lives,” Biden said in lengthy prepared remarks from the State Dining Room of the White House. “I was not going to extend this forever war and I was not extending a forever exit.”
Biden characterized the chaotic evacuation effort as an “extraordinary success,” noting that the U.S. military and coalition forces evacuated more than 123,000 civilians from Afghanistan. He acknowledged that between 100 and 200 U.S. citizens remain in Afghanistan and said the U.S. would work to help Americans and at-risk Afghans who still want to leave to get out of the country as part of the diplomatic mission.
“We no longer had a clear purpose in an open-ended mission in Afghanistan,” Biden said, his voice rising as he delivered his speech. “After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, I refused to send another generation of America’s sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long ago.”
Biden also vowed the federal government would remain committed to getting U.S. citizens who want to leave Afghanistan out of the country, estimating that up to 200 still remain following the American military withdrawal.
“The bottom line: 90 percent of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave. And for those remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out,” Biden said in prepared remarks from the White House laying out his rationale for ending the war in Afghanistan.
The Biden administration believes between 100 and 200 Americans are still in Afghanistan who have “some intention to leave.” The president pointed to the roughly 5,500 U.S. citizens who were airlifted out of the country in recent weeks after the Taliban took control of major cities and the capital of Kabul.
“And for those who remain, we will make arrangements to get them out if they so choose,” Biden said.
“As for the Afghans, we and our partners have airlifted 100,000 of them,” Biden added. “No country in history has done more to airlift out the residents of another country than we have done. We will continue to work to help more people leave the country who are at risk.”
Biden has faced bipartisan criticism after the U.S. completed its military withdrawal from Afghanistan with numerous American citizens still in the country. He defended the withdrawal Tuesday, pointing to recommendations from military and diplomatic advisers that getting forces out of Afghanistan by Tuesday would be the safest way to get Americans out.
The president pushed back further on those who accused him of leaving Americans behind, saying the government had reached out 19 times to U.S. citizens in Afghanistan since March to provide multiple warnings about the looming dangers there and to offer assistance leaving the country.
Republicans in particular have accused Biden of hypocrisy, noting the president told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos earlier this month that U.S. forces would stay in Afghanistan beyond the Tuesday deadline if Americans still needed to be evacuated.
Since the end of July, the U.S. military and coalition forces have evacuated more than 123,000 civilians from Afghanistan as the Taliban gained control of the country quicker than officials anticipated. Nearly 6,000 Americans have been evacuated from or otherwise departed Afghanistan, according to U.S. officials.
“It is paramount that the United States remain engaged with our international partners to evacuate remaining U.S. citizens and Afghan allies,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said after the last American military plane left Afghanistan.
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) called the withdrawal on Monday a “national disgrace” and accused Biden of “cowardice and incompetence.”
“The President made the morally indefensible decision to leave Americans behind. Dishonor was the President’s choice. May history never forget this cowardice,” Sasse said in a statement.
Three top House Republicans on Monday asked White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan for the plan to repatriate Americans and evacuate others that will be left behind.
