Biden, "Afghan Withdrawal Was Impossible Without Chaos"... Continues to Defend Withdrawal Decision Until the End

"Could Not Have Been Handled Better Without Mistakes"
"Rapid Collapse of Afghan Government, Unexpected Event"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] U.S. President Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, stating that a withdrawal without chaos was impossible from the start, in response to bipartisan criticism within U.S. politics regarding the Afghanistan situation. This is interpreted as his intention to continue pushing forward despite the escalating political crisis, including a sharp drop in approval ratings following the Afghanistan incident.

On the 18th (local time), in an exclusive interview with ABC News, President Biden said, "I believed from the beginning that there was no way for U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan without chaos, and it was inevitable," adding, "I don't think the withdrawal could have been handled better without mistakes." He strongly argued, "Even looking back now, I don't think it was possible to handle things with that level of chaos. Who could have known such things would happen?"

Regarding criticism over the chaos at Kabul airport and photos and videos showing Afghans clinging to U.S. transport planes and dying, Biden took a very defensive stance. He emphasized, "These are photos from 4 to 5 days ago," and explained, "Our military had to move quickly to control the situation, and now they have taken control of the airport and are managing the situation."

President Biden firmly defended his withdrawal decision in relation to bipartisan criticism and the drop in approval ratings caused by the chaos following the U.S. troop withdrawal. When asked whether the events of the past week were failures in intelligence gathering, planning, execution, or judgment, he explained, "It was not us who caused the Afghan government leaders to flee by plane or the collapse of the 300,000-strong Afghan army we trained. It just happened."

He continued, "I made a simple choice. If I had said 'We will stay longer,' we would have had to prepare to deploy many more troops," emphasizing, "Above all, the most important thing is that nothing happened to the 2,500 U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan."

Meanwhile, as bipartisan criticism and a sharp decline in approval ratings rapidly worsened public opinion regarding the Afghanistan situation, President Biden reportedly returned to the White House urgently after finishing his vacation the day before to discuss the Afghanistan response with his diplomatic and security team. On the same day, the White House announced that President Biden also had a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, mainly discussing the evacuation of their nationals from Afghanistan and support issues.

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