Biden says Afghans must decide own future; US to leave on August 31
(VOVWORLD) -President Joe Biden on Thursday strongly defended his decision to pull US military forces out of Afghanistan, saying the Afghan people must decide their own future, rather than sacrificing another generation of Americans in an unwinnable war.
 US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the administration's continued drawdown efforts in Afghanistan in a speech from the East Room at the White House in Washington D.C, US, July 8, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS) |
Speaking at the White House, Biden said the Afghan military has the ability to repel the Taliban, whose major advances in recent weeks have raised fears the country will slide into civil war.
Biden set a target date of August 31 for the final withdrawal of US forces.
A long-time skeptic of the 20-year military presence there, Biden said the United States had long ago achieved its original rationale for invading the country in 2001: to root out al-Qaeda militants and prevent another attack on the United States like the one in 2001.
The mastermind of that attack, Osama bin Laden, was killed by a US military team in 2011.
Biden called on countries in the region to help bring about an elusive political settlement between the warring parties.
He said the Afghan government should seek a deal with the Taliban to allow them to coexist peacefully.