In the first interview after the Taliban’s occupation of Afghanistan, President Joe Biden defended his choice to withdraw from Afghanistan, saying it would be impossible to withdraw without “continuing turmoil.”
“No, I don’t think I could handle it in a way that I would look back at later, but for some reason I don’t think there’s a way out without confusion. I know how that happens. I don’t know how that happened, “Biden told ABC News in a pre-recorded interview Wednesday.
The president received a great deal of counterattack from members of the House of Representatives, world leaders, and mainstream media outlets on how his administration handled the withdrawal of the country and the subsequent capture of the Taliban. Currently, thousands of Americans are still trapped in the country, but the US embassy on Wednesday said the government could not ensure a safe passage to Kabul Airport, where evacuation flights await.
According to an excerpt from his ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos, Biden did not seem to admit that there was any failure on the part of his administration. At his Monday press conference, he took over the Taliban earlier than expected, but transferred responsibility for the collapse of Afghanistan to the military, the government, and the administration of former President Donald Trump, who negotiated a deal with the Taliban last year. Said.
“Look, one thing we didn’t know was what the Taliban would do in terms of keeping people out. What they do. What they are doing now. Are they working together to get American citizens out, Americans out, embassies out, but they … help us when we were there I’m having a little more trouble welcoming the lost people, “Biden said. ..
Biden’s decision led to a scene of turmoil in Afghanistan. It is reported that as many as 10,000 Americans are still trapped there. Only a few days ago, the United States approved the deployment of thousands of additional troops at Kabul Airport to evacuate people.
The State Department confirmed on Wednesday that Taliban militants were blocking some Afghans from entering the airport. At the same time, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters at another press conference that Taliban members were checking American and Afghan documents to enter the facility.
The Taliban is considered a global terrorist organization by many federal agencies.
Biden also answered a question about footage showing people trying to flee Afghanistan falling from a U.S. military aircraft to their death. “That was four or five days ago!” Biden counterattacked during an ABC News interview, but the footage was shot on Monday.
“We need to control this. We need to move this faster. We have to move in a way that can control the airport. And we did.” Said Biden.
In an interview on Wednesday, the president reiterated his claim that the Afghan government and the military lacked the will to fight the Taliban, despite years of effort and billions of dollars spent on training and equipment. Repeated.
“When we saw the catastrophic collapse of the Afghan army we trained, up to 300,000 of them only took off leaving their equipment behind. I mean, I didn’t, it happened. “Biden said. “That’s just what happened, so the first question is whether to promise to move out within the set time frame, to extend until September 1, or to deploy significantly more troops. It was. “
He concludes with the following statement: If I say “we’re going to stay”, we should be prepared to put in more troops. “
Jack phillips
Senior reporter
Jack Phillips is a New York-based reporter for The Epoch Times.