President Joe Biden announced the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31, ending the nearly 20-year war.
“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech on Thursday (July 8) via the Associated Press. “Afghan leaders have to come together and drive toward a future.”
President Biden stressed "speed is safety" and justified the decision to end U.S. military operations despite the Taliban making rapid advances in significant areas of Afghanistan.
The Biden administration has repeatedly aimed toward ending the conflict of what the president concluded as an "unwinnable war" and one that "does not have a military solution."
“How many more, how many more thousands of American daughters and sons are you willing to risk?” Biden said to critics calling for the U.S. to extend its military operation in Afghanistan. “I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan, with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome.”
President Biden reiterated that he does not trust the Taliban, but is putting his faith in the Afghan military to defend the government.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden administration officials always anticipated an "uptick" in violence and greater turmoil whenever the U.S. decided to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, prior to President Biden's speech.
Psaki also noted prolonging U.S. military involvement would likely lead to an escalation on attacks on American troops, especially considering former President Donald Trump had previously agreed to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by May 2021 during his only term in office.
“The question fundamentally facing him was after 20 years was he going to commit more American troops to a civil war in Afghanistan,” Psaki said.
President Biden acknowledged that it was "highly unlikely" for one government to stake control of Afghanistan amid the U.S. troops' departure and urged the Afghan government to reach a deal with the Taliban, adding that there's no "mission accomplished" moment from the war coming to an end.