Biden Defends Afghanistan Withdrawal, Says Mission Will End August 31
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Speaking from the East Room of the White House on Thursday, President Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, saying that the withdrawal was on track to end by August 31. “The United States did what we went to do in Afghanistan,” Biden said, adding, “we did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build.” The remarks come amid renewed scrutiny of the withdrawal and just a week after U.S. forces reportedly left Bagram Airfield, a key military base, “in the dead of night” without informing Afghan allies. Prior to Biden's remarks, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the U.S. would not have a celebratory “mission accomplished moment” over the end of the war.
Coverage was prominently featured across the spectrum. Coverage in some right-rated outlets tended to frame the U.S. exit from Afghanistan less favorably, calling Psaki’s “no mission accomplished” remarks “grim.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
In Forceful Defense of Afghan Withdrawal, Biden Says U.S. Achieved Its Objectives
President Biden vigorously defended his decision to end America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan on Thursday, asserting that the United States can no longer afford the human cost or strategic distraction of a conflict that he said had strayed far from its initial mission.
Speaking after the withdrawal of nearly all U.S. combat forces and as the Taliban surge across the country, Mr. Biden, often in blunt and defensive tones, spoke directly to critics of his order to bring an end to American participation in a conflict born from the terrorist...
From the Center
Biden Defends Afghan Pullout, Sets Evacuation for Interpreters
President Biden mounted an ardent defense of his decision to end the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, standing by the plan amid rapid gains by the insurgent Taliban, signs of strain on the Afghan military and grim forecasts from U.S. military and intelligence officials.
Mr. Biden said Thursday that the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan is on track to end on Aug. 31, arguing that the U.S. had achieved the objectives it set out two decades ago and adding that his administration would move thousands of potentially endangered Afghan interpreters...
From the Right
Taliban takeover of Afghanistan isn't 'inevitable,' Biden says after forceful defense of US exit
President Joe Biden rejected the notion Thursday that a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is inevitable once a complete U.S. military withdrawal is complete this summer. Still, the commander in chief, during a forceful explanation of his pullout plan, conceded it is "highly unlikely" the Afghan government retains "unified" control of its country.
Biden answered questions from reporters following remarks outlining the new Aug. 31 withdrawal completion target and said while he doesn't "trust" the Taliban, he is confident the Afghan government and U.S.-trained security force there will be able to overcome the worse-equipped, smaller...
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