Washington, 16 August 2021

Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the truth is more quickly than the anticipated, he said. Biden blamed Afghan political leaders who fled the country and failure of the Afghan army and air force in spreading ‘civil war’ in the country. He said he ultimately bore responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan, ‘I am president of the United States of America, and the buck stops with me,’ “We gave them every chance to determine their own future. (What) we could not provide them was the will to fight for that future,” he said.

“I will not repeat the mistakes we’ve made in the past — the mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely in a conflict that is not in the national interests of the United States, of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country, of attempting to remake a country through the endless military deployments of U.S. forces,” Biden said.

“There are some very brave and capable Afghan special forces units and soldiers,” the president continued. “But if Afghanistan is unable to mount any real resistance to the Taliban now, there is no chance that one more year, five more years or 20 more years of U.S. military boots on the ground would have made any difference.”

He blamed former President Donald Trump, for empowering the Taliban and leaving them “in the strongest position militarily since 2001.” He said that he has learned the hard way after 20 years that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces. That’s why we’re still there.”

Biden has repeatedly pointed out that he is the fourth president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan and adamantly insisted he won’t pass it on to a fifth commander-in-chief.

“So I’m left again to ask of those who argued that we should stay, how many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghanistan’s civil war when Afghan troops will not? How many more lives — American lives — is it worth?” Biden said.

The United States led allied forces including NATO forces toppled Taliban government in October 2001 charging then Taliban government hosting ‘AlQaeda’ militants responsible for attacks of 11th September 2001 on New York and Washington.

He said he had committed with American troops that he wasn’t going to ask them to continue to risk their lives for a war that should have ended long ago.

“Our leaders did that in Vietnam when I got here as young man. I will not do it in Afghanistan,” he said. “I know my decision will be criticized but I would rather take all that criticism than pass this decision on to the 5th president in row.”

Biden warned the Taliban leaders: let the U.S. withdrawal proceed unimpeded or face devastating force.

On Monday, thousands of civilians desperate to flee Afghanistan thronged Kabul airport’s single runway after the Taliban seized the capital.  Three people were killed falling from the US evacuating aircraft