Joe Biden Defends Decision To Withdraw US Troops From Afghanistan

BYCole Blake3.0K Views
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Joe Biden, Afghanistan, Military
Joe Biden defended the decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan in his first speech since the collapse of the Afghan government.

President Joe Biden spoke candidly about the collapse of the Afghan government, Monday, admitting that the Taliban retook control faster than the United States expected. He added that regardless, he stands by his decision to end the American military's involvement in the region.

"I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces. That's why we're still there, we were clear-eyed about the risks, we planned for every contingency. But I always promised the American people I would be straight with you," Biden said. "The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated."

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He also described the videos of Afghans clinging to a U.S. Air Force plane leaving the country as, "gut-wrenching."

The troubling scenes coming out of the country have forced many to come to terms with the reality that the United States has utterly failed to help build a sustainable government in the country, despite twenty years of direct involvement in the region, over $2 trillion in spending, and the deaths of thousands of Americans, Afghan security forces, civilians, and more.

Some have criticized Biden's decision to withdraw, arguing that more time was needed to stage a safer withdrawal, while others have agreed with the President that there will never be a good time to pull American troops.

Check out Biden's speech below.

[Via]


About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.
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