Biden: US withdrawal from Afghanistan was the best decision

US President Joe Biden has once again defended his policy of withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, saying it was the best decision for his country. Biden called the mission to evacuate US citizens from Kabul a huge success.

US President Joe Biden said in his first televised speech on Tuesday, August 31, after the last US troops left Kabul: "The end of the 20-year military mission was the best decision for America, and the time had come to end this war."

Biden said of the operation to rescue Western citizens and local Afghan workers after the Taliban came to power: "The evacuation mission of the past few weeks has been a tremendous success, and more than 120,000 people have been moved to safety."

The US President emphasized that no country in history has carried out such an operation.

Biden defended his decision to end military operations by August 31, saying he was “not prepared to extend this eternal war.”

In justifying his decision, he argued that he had no more than two options: to adhere to the agreement of the previous US administration, Donald Trump, with the Taliban or to send new forces to Afghanistan, and he chose the first option to end the "longest war in American history."

Biden has come under intense pressure within the United States over his policy in Afghanistan and the mission to evacuate American troops and their local counterparts from Kabul.

Critics say he has betrayed America's allies in Afghanistan and damaged America's credibility globally. They also say he should have started the troop withdrawal sooner.

However, in his first televised speech at the White House, the US President said that he had promised American citizens to end the war, and now the war in Afghanistan is over.

US President Joe Biden had ordered the complete withdrawal of his troops, and the operation officially ended on Tuesday, August 31, with the withdrawal of the last US soldiers from Afghan soil.

The withdrawal of American and NATO forces from Afghanistan was based on the agreement between the United States and the Taliban in Doha, the capital of Qatar, in 2020. After this agreement, American and NATO forces began the process of withdrawing from Afghanistan.

Since the start of the withdrawal operation of American and NATO forces and local partners, civil activists and women's rights defenders, approximately 120,000 people have left Afghanistan.

Biden continued his speech by warning ISIS, saying that the battle against this group is not over and that the fight against terrorism will continue in Afghanistan and other countries.

The Taliban celebrated the withdrawal of foreign forces. In Kandahar, thousands of people took to the streets and celebrated by waving their flags.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has said that the Taliban wants good relations with the United States and the world, and that Afghanistan's international isolation should not be repeated.

Source: DW