Biden defends Afghanistan withdrawal

President argues pullout was the right decision, cites ‘ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries’.

Joe Biden addresses the nation on ending the war in Afghanistan. Picture: AFP

Joe Biden has vigorously defended the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, saying his administration evacuated the vast ­majority of Americans who ­wanted to leave the country and would refrain from future military action that lacked “clear achievable goals”.

“I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not extending a forever exit,” the US President said on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) in a speech from the White House.

Mr Biden pointed to a range of foreign policy challenges that he said would confront the nation in the future, including from China, Russia and cybersecurity.

He said as the nation seeks to move on, it needs to learn from its mistakes. He said in the future the nation needed to “set missions with clear, achievable goals – not ones we’ll never reach.”

Mr Biden also said the US needed to remain focused on its national security interests.

“This decision about Afghanistan is not just about Afghanistan. It’s about ending an era of major military operations to remake other countries,” he said.

Mr Biden’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan has been widely criticised by Republicans and some members of his own party. On Tuesday, he ­emphatically argued that it was the right decision and called the evacuations of Americans an ­“extraordinary success”.

The President addressed the nation a day after the final plane carrying American troops ­departed Afghanistan, formally marking the end of the nation’s longest war. The President said his administration would continue to help Americans exit the country, saying 100 to 200 of them ­remained after more than 5500 Americans had been evacuated before the withdrawal ended.

Republicans were divided on continuing the US troop presence in Afghanistan, but many say the administration’s handling of the withdrawal undermines the President’s promise to provide competent leadership and serve as a steady hand on foreign policy.

“Joe Biden had exactly one ­advantage on foreign policy and that was a promise of stability and predictability. This looked neither stable nor predictable nor strong,” said Brad Todd, a Republican strategist advising Senate candidates in battleground states next year.

New York representative Sean Patrick Maloney, chairman of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, said voters from both parties ­supported leaving Afghanistan and would understand the difficulty for Mr Biden in going through with the withdrawal.

“Doing hard things is hard, and sometimes you pay a short-term price, but I think that’s what leadership looks like, and I think he’s got the big thing right on Afghanistan,” Mr Maloney said. “Most Americans want the hell out of ­Afghanistan and every other argument is some version of let’s stay longer.”

A poll conducted by Pew ­Research Centre between August 23 and 29 found that 42 per cent of those surveyed said the Biden ­administration had done a poor job in handling the situation in ­Afghanistan. About 26 per cent said it had done an excellent or good job, and 29 per cent said it had done a fair job. The same poll found that 54 per cent said the decision to withdraw was the right one, while 42 per cent said it was wrong.

Mr Biden is preparing for key votes in congress after the Labour Day holiday on September 6 – a period that could help shape voter perceptions ahead of next year’s mid-term elections.

He will need to keep his party aligned at a time when some Democrats have joined most Republicans in expressing frustration with his decision to withdraw by the August 31 deadline instead of seeking more time.

“Leaving any American citizen behind is unacceptable, and I will keep pushing this administration to do everything in its power to get our people out,” Democrat senator Mark Kelly said.

Democrat representative Cori Bush, who has supported ending the US presence in Afghanistan, said she was concerned about people who would be at risk under Taliban rule. “The idea that everybody didn’t get out horrifies me,” she said.

White House officials have said they would use diplomatic channels and economic leverage against the Taliban to help get the remaining Americans out.

Michael McAdams, spokesman for the House GOP’s campaign arm, said Mr Biden and Democrats “own one of the biggest foreign policy blunders in our country’s history, leaving hundreds of Americans behind enemy lines and equipping dangerous terrorists with billions in US military equipment. You can be sure voters are going to hold them accountable for this debacle.”

Mr Biden has said that his decisions would ultimately be vindicated. White House officials said Mr Biden’s move to end the war remained popular with the public, even as surveys have shown disapproval for the President’s handling of the withdrawal, which has led to the revival of Taliban leadership in the country.

The Wall Street Journal