Biden defends the withdrawal from Afghanistan at UN

President Joe Biden told the UN he thinks about the Americans lost during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan ‘every day,’ as he defended the decision to end America’s longest war. Biden mentioned the Americans who died in a kamikaze bomb attack at the Karzai International Airport in Kabul amid the rush to evacuate U.S. forces and other Americans .

He mentioned the thirteen Americans who died, which has become a source deep criticism for Biden, but placed the numbers in the context of overall U.S. military losses. ‘I think those lost lives – I think of them every day. I think of all the 2,461 US military deaths over a long 20 years of that war, 20,744 American servicemen wounded in action,’ Biden said.

He justified the withdrawal while speaking about the arc of American history, in a speech where he mentioned his five decades in politics and joked that ‘I know I look like I’m only 40.’ ‘When I came to office as President, Afghanistan had replaced Vietnam as America’s longest war. I was determined to end it, and I did,’ Biden said.

‘It was a hard decision, but the right decision. Four American presidents had faced that decision, but I was determined not to leave it to the fifth. It was a decision accompanied by tragedy, 13 brave Americans lost their lives, along with hundreds of Afghans in a suicide bomb.’

In a speech where he refrained from any direct mention of predecessor Donald Trump, he also did not mention a key talking point of his administration: that the withdrawal date negotiated by the Trump administration had boxed him in and weakened the U.S.-backed Afghan government against the Taliban.

Instead, Biden spoke about those who lost their lives, in an event that precipitated a drop in his popularity that remains to this day. (Biden’s approval in the Gallup poll dropped from 49% in August 2021 to 43% in September, and has only cracked 44% in a single month since.)

‘I think of their service, their sacrifice and their heroism. I know other countries lost their own men and women fighting alongside us. We honor their sacrifices as well,’ Biden said. A Report issued by House Republicans last month said Biden was ‘determined to withdraw’ no matter the costs and had ‘failed to plan for all contingencies’ in the withdrawal.

Biden also mentioned the withdrawal three years ago, when the terror attack was still fresh. ‘We know the bitter string [sic] of terrorism — the bitter sting of terrorism is — is real, and we’ve almost all experienced it,’ Biden said then. 

‘Last month, we lost 13 American heroes and almost 200 innocent Afghan civilians in the heinous terrorist attack at the Kabul airport. Those who commit acts of terrorism against us will continue to find a determined enemy in the United States.’

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