Biden blames Trump for Afghanistan bedlam

President Biden on Saturday doubled down on his long-standing rationale for withdrawing the U.S. military from Afghanistan as the threat of Kabul falling to the Taliban looms large.

Driving the news: Biden blamed his predecessor, Donald Trump, for empowering the Taliban and leaving them "in the strongest position militarily since 2001" but said in a statement that he had to make a choice and that he would not pass on the war to a "fifth" U.S. president.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

• "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," Biden said.

• Biden announced Saturday that approximately 5,000 additional U.S. troops will be deployed to assist with drawdown of U.S. personnel and other allies as they evacuate the region. Of those, 3,000 were already announced, 1,000 were already in Kabul and 1,000 additional troops will arrive from the 82nd Airborne Division directly in Kabul, per ABC.

The big picture: Biden's remarks come as Taliban offensives show no signs of slowing and as the threat of insurgents toppling the Afghan government and isolating Kabul mounts.

• "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 said. "And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me."

• Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, the second-largest province in the country, fell to the Taliban on Saturday.

• Jalalabad and Kabul are now the only major cities still under government control and officials fear Jalalabad could fall within hours.

Of note: Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

• Ghani gave a speech earlier on Saturday in which he gave no indication he would be resigning.

Go deeper: Behind the scenes of the Biden administration as the U.S. ditches Kabul

Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.