Biden defends US' Afghan withdrawal, says 'history will record it was logical decision'

Amid the Afghanistan crisis, US President Joe Biden defended his move to withdraw troops from the war-torn country and said that history will record this as a “logical, rational and right decision”. The Biden administration has come under criticism for withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan as the Taliban recaptured power, resulting in chaos and deaths. However, the US President stood by his decision and called it “right”.

"I think that history is going to record this was the logical, rational, and right decision to make," Biden told reporters in an interaction at the White House.

Further, Biden said that the Taliban has to make a fundamental decision. "Is the Taliban going to attempt to be able to unite and provide for the wellbeing of the people of Afghanistan, which no one group has ever done?" he asked. "And if it does, it's going to need everything from additional help, in terms of economic assistance, trades, and a whole range of things," he said.

Biden added that the Taliban is seeking legitimacy to determine whether or not they will be recognized by other countries. They have told other countries and the US that they don't want to move diplomatic presence completely. “All of this is all just talk now," said the US president.

Biden said that so far the Taliban has not taken action against US forces, by and large following through what they said in terms of allowing Americans to pass through, and the like. "I'm sure they don't control all of their forces. It's a ragtag force. And so, we'll see. We'll see whether or not what they say turns out to be true," Biden said. When asked if he believes the Taliban or not, Biden clearly stated that he “don’t trust anybody”.

Evacuation mission

Moreover, during the same news briefing, Biden informed that in 36 hours, the US has lifted about 11,000 people out of Kabul. The priority is getting American citizens out of the country as quickly and as safely as possible, he said. The US President also added that America is also evacuating the citizens of NATO allies and its partners, including their diplomats, their embassy staff, who remain in Afghanistan, and is getting them back to their homes as well.

"As of this morning, we have evacuated nearly 28,000 people since August the 14th, on both U.S. and coalition aircraft, including civilian charters, bringing the total number of people we have evacuated since July to approximately 33,000 persons," Biden said.

"In one 24-hour period this weekend, 23 US military flights -- including 14 C-17s, 9 C-130 flights -- left Kabul carrying 3,900 passengers. We see no reason why this tempo will not be kept up. During the same period, our military facilitated another 35 charter flights carrying an additional nearly 4,000 evacuees to other countries that are taking them out," he added.

(Image: AP)