Even after the military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan that effectively put an end to the US military presence, US President Joe Biden remains under fire for several other aspects related to the withdrawal. During his address to the nation this week, Biden assured the American citizens that are still in Afghanistan that they will be brought back.
Biden said in his address on the completion of the military withdrawal that the US will still come back for Americans who are still in Afghanistan. This follows the announcement of the White House that 98 percent of Americans in Afghanistan were brought back, leaving around 100-200 left. Biden noted to the press that most of the 100-200 American citizens that were left behind were dual citizens and longtime residents, who have settled in Afghanistan because of family.
To note, the State Department had given multiple warnings to Americans in Afghanistan to leave since March. Biden said that when the State Department reached out to those Americans again when the withdrawal began, they found around 5,000 Americans who originally decided to stay but now wanted to leave.
Biden said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be leading the continued diplomatic efforts to ensure safe passage for Afghan allies and Americans who are still in Afghanistan and want to leave. During the evacuation efforts, over 100,000 Afghans and Americans who wanted to leave the country from the insurgent group Taliban were successfully flown out.
“For those remaining Americans, there is no deadline,” said Biden in his address. “We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out.”
Biden added that the international community will be closely watching the Taliban as the group took control of the country, holding them accountable for their promise to allow freedom of travel.
Biden continues to defend his decision to withdraw the US from Afghanistan after almost 20 years of military presence since 2001 despite criticism from many in the media and from Republicans. A majority of veterans, including those who have served in Afghanistan, have expressed support and praise for the decision, however.
“I was not going to extend this forever war,” said the US leader. “And I was not going to extend a forever exit.”