Joe Biden says he ‘stands squarely by decision’ as he defends Afghanistan exit

The US President has faced fierce criticism for withdrawing US troops amid human rights abuses and chaos in the wake of the Taliban’s lightning rise to power

Joe Biden has said he “stands squarely by” his decision to pull US troops out of Afghanistan, as a humanitarian and refugee crisis grips the country in the wake of the Taliban takeover.

Speaking at the White House in his first public remarks in almost a week, the US President said: “I stand squarely behind my decision.

“After 20 years, I have learned the hard way: that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces.”

Striking a defiant tone, he said the US went into the conflict with “clear goals” in the wake of 9/11, chiefly to hunt Osama bin Laden and make sure al Qaeda could not “use Afghanistan as a base” to attack America.

Mr Biden said he was not willing to pass the conflict on to a fifth US administration and that it was “wrong” to allow American troops to stay.

The Commander in Chief has faced fierce cross-party criticism in Washington and abroad.

The Taliban’s swift rise to power seemed to take the White House off-guard.

On July 8, the President told reporters: “The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.”

But just on Sunday, just days later, the Taliban’s lightning militants entered Kabul and took control of the country.

The fallout has been widespread chaos, human rights abuses and a fast-developing refugee crisis as Afghans desperate to flee the war-torn country beg the west for aid.

The UN has warned of human rights abuses, targeted killings and looting

Heartbreaking images emerged on Monday of crowds of people running across the tarmac at Kabul international airport and clinging to a US Air Force plane. In one video, some people appear to fall to their death as the aircraft takes off.

Meanwhile in the UK, the Ministry of Defence confirmed a further 200 British troops are to be sent to Kabul to evacuate Brits. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who was hit with heavy criticism for being on holiday when militants ousted the government, told broadcasters: “Everyone, I think, has been surprised by the scale and the pace at which the Taliban have taken over in Afghanistan, and that’s a lesson that we’ve all got to learn from.

“But the truth is what matters right now is focusing on getting British nationals out, getting out those who have so loyally served the UK, and making sure that the gains that we’ve made over 20 years are not lost.”

He did not rule out sanctions against Afghanistan, but said Taliban rule in the country was “what we wanted, but we have to deal with the new reality”.

“We’re making it clear with our partners with all the means at our disposal, that we will hold the Taliban to account, to its commitments, to have a new start in Afghanistan,” said Mr Raab.

“It’s clearly not going to be to the values that the UK, the west, the European Union, the Americans believe in, but we can have a moderating influence.”

The Foreign Secretary would not be drawn on how many Afghan refugees the UK would be prepared to accept.

He said: “We are obviously a big-hearted nation, we’ve got the criteria for asylum, that’s set in law, we work with the UN on that. We’re working very carefully on what kind of further commitment we might make.”

In a separate development, Boris Johnso n spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron and vowed to host a virtual meeting of G7 leaders.

Mr Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are expected to make public statements on the unfolding crisis tonight.

And at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York earlier today, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, raised the alarm over “chilling” reports of human rights abuses.

He warned the “international community must unite to make sure that Afghanistan is never again used as a platform or safe haven for terrorist organisations”, adding: “Afghans are a proud people with a rich cultural heritage.

“They have known generations of war and hardship. They deserve our full support. The following days will be pivotal, the world is watching. We cannot and must not abandon the people of Afghanistan.”

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