US President Joe Biden continues to face criticism and backlash over the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan as the Taliban took over. In a recent interview, Biden revealed that he had expected the withdrawal from the war-torn country to be as chaotic as it had happened over the last several days.
Speaking with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News, Biden was pressed on whether he thought the exit from Afghanistan could have been planned better without mistakes. Biden said yes and explained that they did not anticipate that the Taliban would take over the country as fast as it did, resulting in the chaos in Kabul airport when Afghan citizens scrambled to get flown out of the country. The US leader then reiterated that there was no way the withdrawal would not be as chaotic as what was shown over the last several days.
“Look, one of the things we didn’t know is what the Taliban would do in terms of trying to keep people from getting out. What they would do. What are they doing now? They’re cooperating, letting American citizens get out, American personnel get out, embassies get out, et cetera, but they’re having — we’re having some more difficulty having those who helped us when we were in there,” said Biden.
Biden was then pressed on whether he would extend the deadline of August 31 in the US withdrawal, the US leader said that he will have to determine the status of the evacuations. Biden suggested that the goal would be to make over 5,000 evacuations a day, with 10,000 Americans left in Afghanistan. The US leader added that around 50,000 to 65,000 Afghan allies would be flown out with their families.
Despite criticism from mostly Republicans, Biden has defended his decision to withdraw the US from the war-torn country and has maintained the decision since then. The chaos in Afghanistan also led to a rare moment where his immediate predecessor Donald Trump also made similar comments as him regarding the situation.
Both presidents have criticized the 20-year war in Afghanistan and both promised to end the conflict, with Biden finally pulling through on the decision.