Warning the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), the group which killed 13 US troops in a suicide bombing at Kabul airport, US President Joe Biden said that the US is not done with the terrorist group on Tuesday.
“To ISIS-K we are not done with you yet,” said Biden, adding that “to those who wish America harm, we will hunt you down and you will pay the ultimate price.” His address to the nation comes a day after the last American military planes left the country, concluding the nation’s longest war nearly 20 years after it began.
While defending a decision that has drawn scrutiny for its execution, Biden said that the real decision in Afghanistan was “between leaving and escalating,” framing his choice to withdraw troops as the only option aside from surging more forces to the country.
“I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not extending a forever exit,” he said.
Biden defended his decision to end the US military involvement in Afghanistan, calling it “the right decision, the wise decision, the best decision for America.” “The decision to end US military presence in Afghanistan was based on a unanimous recommendation by civilian, military advisors, service chiefs and commanders in the field. Their recommendation for safe passage of remaining Americans was not to continue,” he said. “Last night in Kabul, the US ended 20 years of war in Afghanistan. The longest war in American history,” said Biden. He also stated that the US has completed one of the biggest airlifts in history with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety from Afghanistan.
“The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals,” said Biden. He also took responsibility for his decision to withdraw the US troops from Afghanistan, but respectfully disagrees with those who say he should have begun mass evacuations earlier, claiming there would have been a rush to the airport. Biden said, “I take responsibility for the decision. Some say we should have started it sooner. I respectfully disagree. Had it been before, it would have led to a rush or a civil war. There is no evacuation from the end of the war without challenges, threats we face.”
He said the US achieved its original goal a decade ago by hunting down Osama bin Laden but still stayed another decade. The terrorist threat has metastasized since then, said Biden. The US will maintain its fight against it. He added, “We don’t need to fight a ground war to do it.” “For those asking for the third decade of war, I ask, what is the vital national interest? In my view we only have one: to make sure Afghanistan can never again be used to launch an attack on our homeland,” said Biden. Nearly 2,500 US service members have died over the 20-year war in Afghanistan. He said that people don’t understand “how much we have asked of the 1% (of Americans) who put on the military uniform.” He cited the war’s costs to America, an estimated $300 million a day, as well as human costs to veterans and their families including, he said, the 18 US veterans who die by suicide each day.