President Joe Biden told the UN he thinks “every day” of the Americans who have been affected by the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, defending the decision to end the longest war in America’s history.
Biden mentioned the Americans who died in a suicide bombing at Kabul’s Karzai International Airport as U.S. troops and other Americans were being rushed to the hospital.
He cited the 13 Americans who died, which drew widespread criticism from Biden, but he put the numbers in the context of total U.S. military losses.
“I think about those lives lost — I think about them every day. I think about all 2,461 American service members who died in a long 20 years of that war, 20,744 American service members who were wounded in action,” Biden said.
He justified the withdrawal by talking about the course of American history. In a speech, he mentioned his five decades in politics and joked, “I know I look like I’m only 40.”
President Joe Biden spoke at the UN on Tuesday about the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan
“When I took office, Afghanistan had replaced Vietnam as America’s longest war. I was determined to end it, and I have,” Biden said.
“It was a difficult decision, but the right decision. Four American presidents had already made that decision, but I was determined not to leave it to the fifth. It was a decision that came with a tragedy, 13 brave Americans lost their lives, along with hundreds of Afghans in a suicide bombing.”
In a speech in which he did not directly mention his predecessor Donald Trump, he also failed to mention a key point of his administration: that the Trump administration’s negotiated withdrawal date had left him in a tight spot and weakened the U.S.-backed Afghan government in its fight against the Taliban.
Biden spoke about the terrorist attack that killed 13 Americans and 200 Afghans during the withdrawal of US troops
Instead, Biden spoke about those who lost their lives, an event that precipitated a decline in his popularity that has persisted to this day. (Biden’s approval rating in Gallup polling dropped from 49% in August 2021 to 43% in September, and has only risen above 44% in a single month since then.)
“I think of their service, their sacrifice, and their heroism. I know other countries lost their own men and women fighting with us. We honor their sacrifices, too,” Biden said.
A report released last month by House Republicans said Biden was “determined to withdraw” regardless of the cost and had “failed to anticipate all contingencies” of withdrawal.
Biden also mentioned the withdrawal three years ago, when the terrorist attack was still fresh in memory.
We know the bitter thread [sic] “The bitter sting of terrorism — the bitter sting of terrorism is — is real, and we’ve all experienced it,” Biden said then. “Last month, we lost 13 American heroes and nearly 200 innocent Afghan civilians in the horrific terrorist attack at Kabul airport. Those who commit acts of terror against us will continue to find in the United States a determined enemy.”