Biden says ‘I stand squarely behind my decision’ after Taliban takes Kabul – live

The publishers of the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times asked Joe Biden to move journalists to the US military-protected side of the airport in Kabul, as they evacuate.

“Brave Afghan colleagues have worked tirelessly to help The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal share news and information from the region with the global public. Now, those colleagues and their families are trapped in Kabul, their lives in peril,” the publishers said in a joint statement.

The airport today was overrun with desperate civilians fleeing Kabul after the Taliban’s seized the city. Seven died amid the chaos.

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Joe Biden acknowledged that his decision to continue with the Afghanistan withdrawal mission would be criticized by many, and he pledged he would not “shrink from my share of responsibility for where we are today”.

“I am president of the United States of America, and the buck stops with me,” Biden said.

“I’m deeply saddened by the facts we now face, but I do not regret my decision to end America’s warfighting in Afghanistan,” the president added. “I cannot and will not ask our troops to fight on endlessly in another country’s civil war.”

After concluding his prepared remarks, Biden left the East Room without taking any questions from reporters. He will soon return to Camp David.

Joe Biden warned that the US would carry out a “swift and forceful” response if the Taliban attacked US citizens or attempted to disrupt evacuation efforts in Kabul.

“We will defend our people with devastating force, if necessary,” Biden said.

The president said that, once all evacuation efforts have been successfully completed, the US will move forward with wrapping up its withdrawal mission and “end America’s longest war”.

“The events we see now are sadly proof that no amount of military force would ever deliver a stable, united, secure, Afghanistan,” Biden said.

“I am now the fourth American president to preside over war in Afghanistan. Two Democrats and two Republicans. I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth president.”

Joe Biden argued that Afghan troops’ failure to defend their country demonstrates why it was the correct course of action to move forward with the US troop withdrawal.

“It is wrong to order American troops to step up when Afghanistan’s own armed forces would not,” Biden said.

Echoing his message from earlier this year when he announced the planned withdrawal, Biden added, “How many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghanistan’s civil war when Afghan troops will not?”

Reporters are now set up in the East Room of the White House, where Joe Biden will soon deliver remarks on the situation in Afghanistan, a day after Taliban forces entered Kabul.

Joe Biden was scheduled to start his remarks on Afghanistan about ten minutes ago, but he appears to be running late — as he so often is.

The Guardian’s Daniel Strauss reports:

The office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a congresswoman from California, distributed a set of talking points to members of Congress on the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan. The talking points, obtained by the Guardian, are below. They were sent out around noon on Monday.

White House Talking Points on Afghanistan

TOPLINE:

• The President was not willing to enter a third decade of conflict and surge in thousands of more troops to fight in a civil war that Afghanistan wouldn’t fight for themselves.

• It’s clear from the past few weeks that would have been necessary – more troops for an indefinite amount of time.

• The administration knew that there was a distinct possibility that Kabul would fall to the Taliban.

• It was not an inevitability. It was a possibility.

• POTUS said in July that the Afghan military had the capability to fight the Taliban. But they had to demonstrate the will. Sadly, that will did not materialize.

• The administration planned for every possibility. We had contingency plans in place for any eventuality — including a quick fall of Kabul. That’s why we had troops pre-positioned in the region to deploy as they have done.

• We are focused on safely evacuating US Embassy personnel, American citizens, SIV applicants and their families, and targeted Afghans. We have deployed 6000 US military to Afghanistan to secure the airport and ensure that those evacuation flights, as well as commercial and charter flights can safely depart.

• But indefinite war was and is unacceptable to the President.

SIV Applicants

• The administration has deployed 6000 US military to Afghanistan to secure the airport and ensure that evacuation flights, commercial and charter flights can safely depart.

• Chairman Miley [sic] and Secretary Austin are working to restore order at the airport so those flights can take place.

• Many have asked why we did not evacuate more Afghanistan civilians, sooner. Part of the answer is that many did not want to leave earlier: many Afghans to whom we gave visas to come to the US chose to stay in their country, still hopeful.

• Nearly 2000 SIV applicants and their families are in the United States, and the administration is prepared to evacuate thousands of American citizens, SIV applicants, and targeted Afghans.

Was this an intelligence failure

• The Administration knew that there was a distinct possibility that Kabul would fall to the Taliban.

• It was not an inevitability. It was a possibility.

• And the administration planned for every possibility. There were contingency plans in place for any eventuality — including a quick fall of Kabul. That’s why there were troops pre-positioned in the region to deploy as they have done.

• The President said in July that the Afghan military had the capability to fight the Taliban. But they had to demonstrate the will. Tragically, that will did not materialize.

• Here’s what the President was not willing to do: enter a third decade of conflict and surge in thousands of more troops to fight in a civil war that Afghanistan wouldn’t fight for themselves.

• When Trump made the Doha agreement, there were 13,000 US troops in Afghanistan. When POTUS took office – Trump had drawn down troops to 2500. It’s clear from the past few weeks that would have been necessary.

• The President was unwilling to send US men and women back to Afghanistan for an indefinite war.

Counter-Terrorism

• The United States face terrorist threats in countries around the world including Syria, Libya and Yemen. We don’t have boots on the ground in those countries. We have over the horizon counter terrorism capabilities. And, that’s what we’ll do in Afghanistan – prevent, detect and disrupt terrorism threats with over the horizon capabilities.

• And, we’ll hold the Taliban accountable to not allowing Al Qaeda a safe haven. if they do, there will be consequences that we’ll pursue.

Two points stand out. One is the emphasis put on the collapse of the Afghan government being a possibility, rather than an inevitability. The second is that the Biden administration is now focused on evacuating personnel, including American embassy staff and the special immigrant visa holders who helped American troops while in Afghanistan.

The talking points come as Democratic lawmakers emphasize throughout the day that American military forces must secure and retain control of the airport out of Kabul to evacuate people.

Maryland governor Larry Hogan said his state is already slated to welcome at least 180 Afghan citizens through the special immigrant visa program, and the Republican leader said he is “ready and willing” to receive more immigrants.

“The chaotic and heartbreaking scenes out of Afghanistan over the last several days—with innocent civilians running for their lives in fear of the Taliban—is the result of a rushed and irresponsible withdrawal,” Hogan said in a video message.

“Many of these Afghan citizens—our allies—bravely risked their lives to provide invaluable support for many years to our efforts as interpreters and support staff, and we have a moral obligation to help them.”

Hogan encouraged anyone who is in need of assistance, or knows someone who is, to immediately contact the state’s Office of Refugees and Asylees.

“I ask all Marylanders to continue to pray for the safety of every American and all of our allies who remain in harm’s way,” Hogan said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that she and other global leaders had “misjudged” the Afghan government’s ability to withstand attacks from the Taliban.

“This is an extremely bitter development. Bitter, dramatic and terrifying,” the German chancellor said as the Taliban took control of Kabul, per DW News.

“It is a terrible development for the millions of Afghans who want a more liberal society.”

Merkel also noted that her misjudgment had been “widespread,” alluding to the incorrect calculations by other leaders, such as Joe Biden, about how long the Afghan government would be able to stand once US troops withdrew from the country.