Afghanistan is sinking into chaos. The withdrawal of international troops creates a dramatic situation and helps the Taliban return to power. US President Joe Biden stands by his decision to withdraw – and threatens the new rulers in Kabul.
US President Joe Biden defended the withdrawal of US troops from the country after the radical Islamic Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. “I stand upright behind my decision,” said Biden in a televised address at the White House on Monday. “American soldiers cannot and should not fight and die in a war that the Afghan armed forces themselves do not want to fight.”
He was “deeply sad” about developments in Afghanistan, “but I don’t regret my decision,” said the US president, who has come under fire for the return of the Taliban to power. It was never the US goal to transform Afghanistan into a “united centralized democracy”. Rather, the aim was to prevent new attacks on the USA after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Biden admits surprise from Taliban’s advance
The US is still in a position to take action against terrorist groups in Afghanistan, should this be necessary, stressed Biden. He also threatened the Taliban with a “devastating” response if they obstruct the evacuation of US citizens from the capital, Kabul. “We will defend our people with devastating force if necessary,” he said.
The Taliban captured Kabul on Sunday, taking power across the country. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had fled abroad a few hours earlier.
Biden now admitted that he had been surprised by the rapid advance of the Islamists. “The truth is, it turned out faster than we anticipated.” The Afghan government and the Afghan security forces are responsible for this: “Afghan political leaders have given up and fled the country. The Afghan military has collapsed, sometimes without even trying to fight.”
International concern after Taliban seizure of power
In his speech, Biden referred to the longstanding US support for the Afghan armed forces with training and equipment. “We gave them every opportunity to decide about their own future. But we couldn’t give them the will to fight for this future.” The development of the past few days reinforces his view that the US withdrawal he ordered was correct, said Biden.
In April the President ordered a complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by September 11th at the latest. The United States invaded Afghanistan after the 2001 terrorist attacks and ousted the Taliban, who had sheltered the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
The return of the Islamists to power has now caused international horror and aroused great concern, among other things, for women in the country. The Taliban want to enforce a very strict interpretation of Islamic law.
In the past few weeks, after the withdrawal of foreign troops, the Taliban had taken practically all provincial capitals of the country at breakneck speed – many without a fight. They also entered Kabul on Sunday. There were no fights. The lightning advance surprised many observers, experts and also the US government.
US President criticizes the security forces’ lack of willingness to fight
On paper, the Taliban were inferior to the Afghan armed forces. It is estimated that around 300,000 police and army personnel faced around 60,000 less well-equipped Taliban fighters. However, these benefit from their brutal reputation, which they achieved during their rule in the 1990s with public executions or flogging.
Biden said the Afghan military had collapsed, “in part without attempting to fight.” The US trained and equipped the Afghan security forces. But the United States could not have given them the will to fight for their future. Last week, Biden complained about the Afghan security forces’ lack of willingness to fight.
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