‘I squarely stand behind my decision’: Biden DEFENDS leaving Afghanistan and blames Trump, the country’s leaders who ‘gave up’ and soldiers who refused to fight for the rapid Taliban takeover and chaos at Kabul airport

  • President Joe Biden cut his trip to Camp David short and returned to the White House Monday to deliver remarks on Afghanistan  
  • Biden was originally supposed to stay at Camp David until Wednesday as part of an August vacation 
  • Biden was being criticized for being out of sight as Afghanistan crumbled into chaos 
  • Earlier Monday a senior adviser was only able to say he would address the nation ‘soon’  

 Joe Biden delivered a speech of quiet fury at the White House on Monday, blaming Afghan leaders for the country’s rapid collapse and defending his decision to bring home U.S. troops.

‘I stand squarely behind my decision,’ Biden said. ‘After 20 years I’ve learned the hard way. That there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.’

The president said he wanted to be ‘straight’ with the American public.

‘The truth is – this did unfold more quickly than we anticipated,’ the president said.

Biden pointed a finger at former President Donald Trump’s agreement with the Taliban – to pull out American troops by May 1, 2021. Biden also slammed Afghanistan’s political leaders and military forces for refusing to come to the table for a diplomatic answer and also refusing to fight.

‘So I’m left again to ask of those who argue that we should stay: How many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghanistan’s civil war, when Afghan troops will not?’ Biden asked.

‘How many more lives, American lives is it worth? How many endless rows of head stones at Arlington National Cemetery?’

‘I’m clear in my answer: I will not repeat the mistakes we’ve made in the past. The mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely in a conflict that is not in the national interest of the United States,’ he continued.

‘Of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country. Of attempting to remake a country through the endless military deployments of U.S. forces,’ the president added.