Stand squarely behind my Afghan decision, says Biden

Washington, August 17

US President Joe Biden has conceded that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan happened “more quickly” than anticipated, but insisted that he remains “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw American troops from the war-torn country, amid “gut-wrenching” images emerging out of Kabul.

In his address to the nation from the White House on Monday following the dramatic fall of the Afghan national government to the Taliban, a defiant Biden rejected blame for messy pullout amid chaotic scenes of Afghans clinging to US military planes in Kabul in a desperate bid to flee their home country.

He described the images coming out of Afghanistan as “gut-wrenching” but said: “I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces.” “I stand squarely behind my decision…We were clear-eyed about the risks. We planned for every contingency. But I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you,” Biden said. He blamed the US-backed Afghan government and military for allowing the Taliban to take over.

“The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated. So, what happened? Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country,” he said, a day after embattled Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. He said American troops could not be dying in a war that Afghan forces were not willing to fight for themselves. — PTI

NATO: Af leaders to blame for collapse

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has blamed a failure of Afghan leadership for the swift collapse of the country’s armed forces but says the alliance must also uncover flaws in its military training effort. “The Afghan political leadership failed to stand up. This failure led to the tragedy,” he said. AP

Russia: Won’t rush to recognise Taliban

• Russia is in no hurry to recognise the Taliban as the legitimate authorities in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
• He called for an inclusive government involving all ethnic groups.
• “We see encouraging signs from the Taliban who say they would like to have a government that includes other political forces,” Lavrov said. Reuters

We did everything we could

We paid their salaries, provided maintenance of their air force, something Taliban doesn’t have. We couldn’t provide them with the will to fight. Joe Biden, US Prez

• Iran says its embassy in Kabul remains open
• Denmark gives $16 mn aid to Afghanistan