The world watched in horror as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
Amid mounting criticism, U.S. President Joe Biden has defended his decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, despite the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country, saying the United States mission was never supposed to be about nation-building.
Here are the key points from his speech.
1. ''Truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we anticipated''
During his speech, Joe Biden admitted, "I always promised Americans that I'll be straight with them. The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we anticipated, even though we planned for every contingency."
He acknowledged the "gut-wrenching" images that were coming out of Afghanistan and said that the misery was "deeply personal".
However, he added, “After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces. Any more years in Afghanistan would not have made any difference. U.S. troops were bearing the brunt for them (Afghans).”
2. "US forces shouldn't die in a war that Afghans are not willing to fight"
Joe Biden said, "Afghan political leaders gave up and fled the nation. The military collapsed, in some places without trying to fight."
"We spent over a trillion dollars. We gave the Afghans every chance. But we couldn't provide them the will to fight for their future," Joe Biden said.
The U.S. President claimed that the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan was justified as the "American forces should not have to die in a war that Afghan troops were not willing to fight themselves."
"How many more generations of American sons and daughters should lose their lives in an indefinite war?" Joe Biden asked.
3. ''Ghani failed to prepare Afghanistan for civil war"
Biden said that Afghanistan's former president Ashraf Ghani had failed to prepare the nation for civil war.
"When I met Ghani in June and spoke to him over the phone in July, we had a very clear conversation. We spoke about preparing Afghanistan for a civil war after the US military pulls out. We discussed the need to clean up corruption in the government so it can function for the people and the need for Afghan leaders to unite politically. They failed to do all of this." Joe Biden said.
4. "The U.S. won't repeat mistakes of the past"
U.S. President Joe Biden said America will not repeat mistakes made in the past.
"We will not repeat the mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely in a conflict that’s not in our national interest, of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country, of attempting to remake a country through endless military deployment of U.S. forces," Joe Biden said.
Further, he added, "Our true competitors China and Russia would want nothing more than for us to continue to funnel billions of dollars and resources indefinitely into Afghanistan." The US, he maintained, was making the right decision by withdrawing its troops.
5. 'U.S. focus in Afghanistan was never nation-building"
US President Joe Biden said America's focus was never nation-building or establishing democracy in Afghanistan. It was to prevent another terror attack on US soil.
"It has always been our decision to get those who had attacked us and we did it. We got Osama," said the US President.