For nearly a week now, it has been readily apparent that Afghanistan was in trouble.
US President Joe Biden’s decision to speed up the withdrawal of American troops from the region seemed to have invigorated the Taliban, who, in just a matter of a few dozen hours, completely overran the Afghan government.
If fact, things got so out of control so quickly that Afghanistan technically doesn’t even exist anymore. Now, in its place stands the religious extremism of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, as declared by the Taliban over the weekend.
Now, after finally deciding to speak to the nation on the subject of this abject failure, Biden appeared to be defiant and brushed off much of the blame that was placed on him.
President Biden addressed the nation Monday, saying he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan after having a presence for 20 years, while admitting that the fall of the country to the Taliban “did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.”
The president, speaking from the White House, said his administration has been “closely monitoring the situation on the ground in Afghanistan,” and is moving “quickly” to execute the new plans put in place.
And here was the highly out-of-touch part.
“I stand squarely behind my decision,” the president said. “After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way, that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.”
Biden placed blame on the Afghan leadership for the country’s plight, saying that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had refused advice to negotiate and erroneously insisted Afghan forces would fight.
Biden’s decision to remain obstinate as to the issue of Afghanistan belies his administration’s ongoing issues of transparency and cognizance.
