Biden mentioned on Tuesday that he doesn’t regret his decision to pull out the U.S. troops from Afghanistan; this comes despite reports of increasing civilian fatalities as the Taliban advance into the country.
Biden: The people in Afghanistan have to fight for themselves
At a news conference, Biden mentioned that the country has spent over $1 trillion in the course of 20 years. He added that the U.S. has also trained and supplied with modern tools more than 300,000 Afghan forces and the leaders of Afghanistan have already come together.
Biden added that the U.S. has lost thousands of Americans due to death and injury. He said now, the Afghans have to fight for themselves and fight for their country.
The Taliban now controls 65% of Afghanistan.
240,000+ people have been forcibly displaced by violence as U.S. forces leave, with mass killings reported and 27 children killed in recent days.
Pres. Biden said he does not regret leaving: "They have got to fight for themselves." pic.twitter.com/9RxxPaI6Ex
— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 11, 2021
Biden pledged that the U.S. would keep its promise to provide air support, such as resupplying the Afghan forces with equipment and food and pay their salaries.
However, Biden added that Afghans have to want to fight, adding that the people in Afghanistan are starting to realize that they have to come together.
The Taliban insurgents have seized a series of provincial capitals over the weekend. So far, the terrorist group has already seized nine of the 34 provincial capitals in the country and is wanting to capture more.
According to the reports of the United Nations, over 1,000 civilians have died, amid the intense fight between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban group. Unicef, the children’s agency of the UN, informed this week that the offences perpetrated against children are increasing by the day.
Meanwhile, former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo called out Biden, stating that the president’s withdrawal of troops of Afghanistan was a “poorly planned and poorly [carried out] move.”
Pompeo likewise predicted that the withdrawal of U.S. troops could likely lead to the fall of the capital of Afghanistan to the hands of insurgents in 90 days.
The former Secretary of State also mentioned that the Biden administration did not execute the models of deterrence that he and former President Trump built.
According to him, the model was meant to deter probable disasters that might happen in case the U.S. withdraws its troop from Afghanistan.
Pompeo added that the strategy they built during the former administration depends on proper planning and execution. However, it seems like Biden and his administration panicked.
Pompeo: the true concern is not the Taliban per se
Yet, the true concern, according to Pompeo is not the Taliban insurgents. Instead, the foremost concern is that Afghanistan (under the hands of the Taliban group) will become a hub of other terrorist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda: the same situation as it was before September 11, 2001.
Ranking Member @RepMikeRogersAL: "For months, I have pressed President Biden for a plan to avoid the very situation that is now happening in Afghanistan.
We are watching President Biden’s Saigon moment unfold before us.
Mr. President, where is the plan?"https://t.co/UuDhq9ZRvq pic.twitter.com/bqpr3IW8gi
— Armed Services (@HASCRepublicans) August 12, 2021
On the other hand, Rep. Mike Rogers a member of the House of Armed Services Committee voiced out his concerns stating that the Biden administration is wagering a “Saigon Moment.”
Rogers added that he had been urging Biden to build a plan that will stop the same situation happening right now from occurring. However, Biden still doesn’t have a plan and thousands of lives are at stake.
