'US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan a mistake', says George W Bush; criticises Biden

Former United States President George W. Bush has called President Joe Biden's decision to pull out American troops from Afghanistan a "mistake". Criticising the withdrawal of NATO troops from the Islamic country, Bush said that civilians were left behind to be "slaughtered" by the Taliban.

Calling it a mistake, Bush said women and girls are going to suffer due to this development. The former US President believed that there are going to be consequences of the troops' withdrawal. "I think the consequences are going to be unbelievably bad, and I’m sad," the former Republican president told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in an interview.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks by the Wahhabi Islamist terrorist group Al-Qaeda, Bush had launched a war in Afghanistan to topple the Taliban-led government.

President Joe Biden had announced the withdrawal of troops from Afganistan earlier this year. The withdrawal process began in May and will be fully completed by September 11, on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

More of the 2,500 US and 7,500 NATO troops in Afghanistan have now gone, leaving the Afghan forces to fight the vicious Taliban.

POTUS defends his decision

The POTUS on July 8 defended his decision to pull out troops from the Islamic country. In a What house speech, Biden said the US has "achieved" its goals in Afghanistan. "Nearly 20 years of experience has shown us that the current security situation only confirms that “just one more year” of fighting in Afghanistan is not a solution but a recipe for being there indefinitely," he said.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that 2,70,000 Afghans have been displaced since January due to insecurity and violence as the Taliban has taken control of a large number of areas.