US President Joe Biden delivered a speech at the White House on the withdrawal of the American contingent from Afghanistan. During his speech, he said that the military mission will be completed on August 31.
Biden said a slower withdrawal from Afghanistan would have an impact on the security of the contingent. However, he stressed that the continuation of the operation indefinitely is not in the country’s interests.
“For me, such risks were unacceptable. For those who believe that we should stay for another six months or another year, I ask you to take into account the lessons of the recent past […] Experience of almost 20 years has shown, and the current security situation only confirms: another year of hostilities in Afghanistan is not decision, but rather a recipe to stay there indefinitely. Afghans make decisions about their future”, – Biden said.
The head of the White House criticized supporters of the idea of leaving a small number of American troops in Afghanistan, thus maintaining the status quo. According to Biden, in this case, the US military will again become a target for the Taliban.
“I am not going to send a new generation of Americans to the war in Afghanistan without reasonable expectations of achieving a different result”, – he concluded.
It is noteworthy that Biden considers the capture of Afghanistan by the Taliban inevitable. According to him, the United States will retain the ability to strike at Afghanistan, if necessary, from long distances. But at the same time, Washington will continue diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation in Afghanistan.
“Biden is wrong about Afghanistan. How wrong were both Bush Jr. and Obama, who fought a hopeless war there. Trump was not mistaken: he realized long ago that he had to leave, even run, quickly and recklessly. His plan is now carried out by Biden. But he is trying to pretend that Afghanistan is not lost yet. Lost”, – Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov commented on Biden’s statement.