Daily Digest

Biden Addresses Nation After Collapse Of Afghan Government

President Joe Biden initially planned to stay at the Camp David retreat with some of his family members until Wednesday, but he returned to the White House on Monday ahead of his address to the American public on the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan. 

Biden’s silence for the past six days about the dire situation in Afghanistan has already been heavily criticized on all political sides, especially now that the Taliban, the terrorist militant group that ran the country in the late 1990s and was responsible for harboring al-Qaeda, have taken over from the Western-backed Afghan government. After TV networks broadcast scenes from Kabul’s international airport, where desperate Afghans were seen running and clinging onto planes as they took off, Biden has remained resolute about his decision to withdraw American troops.

In a written statement over the weekend, Biden said he would send an additional 6,000 troops to the country and expressed his desire to end the 20-year conflict and end the “longest American war.”

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.

Some of Biden’s senior advisers placed blame on former President Donald Trump for brokering a deal with the Taliban to withdraw American troops by May 1, 2021 and on the Afghan government’s defense forces for being incapable of protecting their country, even after the U.S. military provided them with training for two decades and billions in aid.

The withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan began on May 1, 2021 after Biden declared in mid-April that he wants to end the “forever war.” Biden’s goal has been to pull out all of the American forces, which number in 2,500, by September 11, 2021.

While he acknowledged in April that the U.S.-led invasion into Afghanistan in 2001 was a result of the 9/11 terrorist attack, he said that even that cannot justify American soldiers continuing to die in the war.

 

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels said that the alliance had come to the consensus that it would withdraw 7,000 forces from Afghanistan.

As vice president to former President Barack Obama, Biden was one of the few who advocated for a smaller counterterrorism role in Afghanistan. Other advisers then proposed a larger buildup to counter the Taliban. Biden has said recently that U.S. foreign policy should be focused on China and Russia.

On Monday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country to seek refuge in Tajikistan

French President Emmanual Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders have criticized Biden’s handling of the situation, saying that they would have preferred to have been consulted before the decision was made to withdraw the American troops.

Gabrielle Guz

Share
Published by
Gabrielle Guz

Recent Posts

Whistleblower Says Trump Nominee For Federal Judgeship, Emil Bove, Told Justice Department Attorneys To Defy Court Orders

A whistleblower has provided text messages and emails alleging that Emil Bove, a senior Justice…

14 hours ago

FEMA Head David Richardson Makes First Appearance In Texas Following Deadly Flooding That Killed 129 People

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) acting administrator David Richardson made his first public appearance…

15 hours ago

Trump Names Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy, Former Star Of ‘The Real World,’ To Serve As NASA’s Interim Head

President Donald Trump announced last week that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy will serve…

19 hours ago

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Didn’t Consult Trump Prior To Authorizing Pause On Weapons Shipments To Ukraine

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not notify the White House prior to authorizing a…

23 hours ago

Measles Cases Reach Highest Number In U.S. In Past Three Decades

Since the beginning of the year, the U.S. has had 1,299 confirmed measles cases as…

2 days ago

56% Of Californians Favor Secession From The U.S., New Poll Finds

A poll conducted in June by the Independent California Institute found that a majority of…

2 days ago