President Biden blamed former President Trump on Saturday for the Taliban‘s rapid gains in Afghanistan, saying Mr. Trump left the extremist group “in the strongest position militarily since 2001” when he left office.
Mr. Trump responded by saying Mr. Biden “ran out of Afghanistan instead of following the plan our administration left for him.”
“What a disgrace it will be when the Taliban raises their flag over America’s Embassy in Kabul,” Mr. Trump retorted.
Mr. Biden announced Saturday that the U.S. will deploy a total of about 5,000 additional U.S. troops to assist with the drawdown of U.S. personnel as they are evacuated ahead of the sustained Taliban offensive.
The president insisted that his rationale for withdrawing the U.S. military from Afghanistan is the right course.
“One more year, or five more years, of U.S. military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country,” Biden added. “And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me.”
He blamed Mr. Trump for leaving the U.S. in an untenable position in Afghanistan.
“I inherited a deal cut by my predecessor — which he invited the Taliban to discuss at Camp David on the eve of 9/11 of 2019 — that left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001 and imposed a May 1, 2021 deadline on US forces,” Mr. Biden said. “Shortly before he left office, he also drew US forces down to a bare minimum of 2,500.”
The president said, “Therefore, when I became President, I faced a choice — follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies’ forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country’s civil conflict. I was the fourth President to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan — two Republicans, two Democrats. I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth.”
Mr. Trump said in a statement that Mr. Biden‘s strategy reflects “complete failure through weakness, incompetence, and total strategic incoherence.”
In April, Mr. Trump said praised Mr. Biden‘s decision to withdraw troops as “a wonderful and positive thing to do” but said it should be done more rapidly.
Mr. Trump said Saturday that his plan for Afghanistan “protected our people and our property, and ensured the Taliban would never dream of taking our Embassy or providing a base for new attacks against America. The withdrawal would be guided by facts on the ground.”
Source:Washington Times
