Biden "Supports Decision on Afghanistan Withdrawal... Won't Make Mistakes Where No National Interest" (Summary)

Returned from vacation to directly confront growing criticism of troop withdrawal
Criticized Afghan government and military's self-defense will
While acknowledging some judgment errors, emphasized Trump administration's decision
Returned to vacation spot after speech

On the 16th (local time), at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, a US military C-17 transport aircraft was taxiing along the runway for takeoff, while hundreds of Afghan civilians who could not board were running alongside the transport plane. After the Taliban declared the reestablishment of their regime, countless citizens seeking to escape abroad flocked to Kabul International Airport, eventually causing flight operations to be suspended and the airport to be paralyzed. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Joe Biden has moved to block criticism by stating, "I fully support my decision" regarding the Afghanistan situation.

President Biden acknowledged some responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan deteriorating faster than expected, but he also pointed out issues with the Afghan president and government who abandoned their country and fled.

He also tried to avoid criticism by claiming that he was continuing the withdrawal policy of the previous Trump administration.

On the 16th (local time), President Biden stated, "The U.S. mission was not to defend Afghanistan but to prevent terrorism," adding, "Ordering U.S. troops to advance in a war even the Afghan army had given up on was a mistake."

President Biden emphasized, "We will not repeat past mistakes of fighting where there is no U.S. national interest," and said, "I do not regret the decision to end the Afghanistan war. I fully support my decision." He also limited the U.S. mission to preventing terrorism against the United States.

President Biden mentioned that although the withdrawal decision was difficult and imperfect, he kept the promise to end U.S. involvement.

He partially admitted a misjudgment about the Afghanistan situation, saying, "However, the situation deteriorated faster than we expected."

President Biden then justified the withdrawal logic by saying, "I will not say that the situation would have changed if U.S. troops had stayed a little longer in Afghanistan."

He criticized Afghan politicians for abandoning the country, which allowed the Taliban to quickly take control. President Biden had previously mentioned that Afghanistan must defend itself.

As criticism spread both in the U.S. and internationally, President Biden also appeared to shift responsibility to the previous Trump administration.

He claimed that the Trump administration had agreed with the Taliban to withdraw by May 1 and said, "After that, there was no guarantee of safety for U.S. troops."

President Biden faced a political crisis as images of people clinging to U.S. military planes to escape Afghanistan were widely reported in the U.S. media. Both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party criticized him, and even pro-Biden government media such as CNN joined in the criticism.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, President Biden returned from his vacation at Camp David and gave a national address about three hours later. Unlike usual, he left without answering reporters' questions after the speech.

According to the White House, President Biden returned to his vacation spot at Camp David after the speech.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.