President Joe Biden on Tuesday delivered a speech on Afghanistan from the White House to mark the completion of the US withdrawal from the country.
Biden once again issued a forceful defense of his decision to withdraw US forces, while largely sidestepping the widespread criticism of how the pullout was handled.
"My fellow Americans: The war in Afghanistan is now over. I'm the 4th president who has faced the issue of whether and when to end this war," Biden said. "I refused to send another generation of America's sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long ago."
"That was the choice, the real choice between leaving or escalating," he said. "I was not going to extend this forever war."
The president said he believed the move to withdraw was a "wise decision" and the "best decision for America."
Biden framed the choice as not solely about Afghanistan, but also "ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries."
'Extraordinary success'
As Republicans excoriate Biden for pulling all troops before all Americans were evacuated, the president said that upholding an August 31 deadline "was designed to save American lives."
Biden called the mission to evacuate over 120,000 people in recent weeks an "extraordinary success."
The president said the mission to help Americans remaining in Afghanistan has "no deadline."
—USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 31, 2021
The war in Afghanistan was a 20-year debacle for the US, and the longest violent conflict in its history. Four administrations — two Republican and two Democratic – mismanaged the war while consistently misleading the public about the situation on the ground.
Though Biden's critics — primarily Republicans — have sought to blame the chaos surrounding the withdrawal entirely on him, it's difficult to divorce the recent mayhem from the pandemonium that has typified the war.
"I refuse to open another decade of warfare in Afghanistan. We've been a nation too long at war. If you're 20 years old today, you've never known an America at peace," Biden said on Tuesday. "I don't think we understand what we've asked of the 1% of Americans who serve."
—CBS News (@CBSNews) August 31, 2021
