Afghanistan mission to be wrapped up on August 31: Joe Biden

The United States will conclude its mission in Afghanistan on August 31, according to President Joe Biden, saying speed is important in ending nearly 20 years of warfare. In a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the US war in Afghanistan, President Biden said, ‘We did not go to Afghanistan to build a nation. Afghan leaders must unite and work together for a better future’.

In addition, Biden reiterated his decision to end US military operations in Afghanistan even as the Taliban make rapid advances across large areas of the country. Biden is making this effort to further explain his thinking on Afghanistan at a time when the administration is trying to portray it as an unwinnable war without a military solution made after Biden concluded it was an unwinnable war.

‘How many more, how many more children would you be willing to risk? In response to those who want the U.S. to extend the military operation’, Biden said. ‘I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan without any reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome’.Biden said he did not trust the Taliban, but trusted the Afghan military to defend the government.

Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said Biden administration officials always anticipated an increase in violence as the U.S. withdrawal advanced. Considering former President Donald Trump had already agreed to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by May 2021, prolonging U.S. military involvement would have led to an escalation of attacks against American troops.

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A fundamental question facing him was whether he was willing to commit additional American forces to a civil war in Afghanistan after 20 years. Biden said it was highly unlikely that one government would dominate Afghanistan after the U.S. pulls out, and urged the Afghan government to reach an agreement with the Taliban. According to the president, the end of the U.S. war is not a sign that mission accomplished has been accomplished. ‘We got Osama bin Laden and terrorism is not emanating from that part of the world,’ he said.