President Joe Biden addressed the country from the White House on Friday about U.S. efforts to evacuate Americans and vulnerable Afghans from Afghanistan. Biden called the chaos on the ground “heart-breaking” and reaffirmed his commitment to getting all Americans and Afghan partners to safety.
Biden faced criticism over his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan after the Taliban quickly seized control of the country.
However, the president doubled down on his decision on Monday, saying the U.S. should be focused on “counterterrorism, not counter-insurgency or nation-building.” In his Friday press conference, Biden again said U.S. forces should not remain in Afghanistan, emphasizing the great cost of the war.
Biden said he is now focused on getting Americans, vulnerable populations and Afghans who worked with U.S. forces out of the country. He added that the military has evacuated 13,000 people since the military lift began.
Despite Biden's stated commitment, Al Jazeera reported that a threat assessment from the United Nations is searching for people who worked with U.S. and NATO forces, going “door to door” to find them.
“The president is laser-focused on getting every American who wants to get out of Afghanistan, out of Afghanistan and our Afghan allies also,“ White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said in an interview with CNN ahead of Biden’s press conference.
"This is an incredibly violent and chaotic scene on the ground,” she said, emphasizing the danger in the country. “It's dangerous for our troops who are there working to get people out.”
There are temporarily almost 6,000 troops in the country, which has allowed the U.S. to secure the airport in Kabul. Most of the evacuees have been Americans or Afghans who worked with U.S. forces.
When questioned about a dissent cable from the State Department that warned Kabul would fall quickly after U.S. troops withdrew, Biden responded “We got all kinds of cable, all kinds of advice.”
“I made a decision”, he added.
Biden said there will be a meeting of G-7 countries next week to coordinate a “mutual approach” to Afghanistan. However, Biden would not offer up a vision for the future of Afghanistan.
“I can not promise what the final outcome will be,” Biden said.