{"id":52998,"date":"2021-08-31T20:30:19","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T20:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/31\/biden-defends-afghanistan-exit-weve-been-a-nation-too-long-at-war\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:51:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:51:39","slug":"biden-defends-afghanistan-exit-weve-been-a-nation-too-long-at-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/08\/31\/biden-defends-afghanistan-exit-weve-been-a-nation-too-long-at-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden defends Afghanistan exit: \u2018We\u2019ve been a nation too long at war\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A day after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/08\/31\/i-lost-my-country-afghans-allies-left-behind-fear-the-future\/\" target=\"_blank\">last U.S. troops left Afghanistan<\/a>, President Joe Biden defended his decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2021\/08\/31\/last-soldier-out-of-afghanistan-was-this-former-delta-force-2-star\/\" target=\"_blank\">withdraw military forces<\/a> from the country as a choice that saved American lives, despite the frantic and deadly evacuation mission that followed in recent weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe real choice was between leaving or escalating, and I was not going to extend this forever war,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/08\/29\/biden-paying-respects-to-13-us-troops-killed-in-afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\">Biden <\/a>said in his fifth national address on Afghanistan in the last 10 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe will maintain the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries. We just don\u2019t need to fight a ground war to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, just before midnight in Afghanistan, the final U.S. troops at the Kabul airport left the country, ending the nearly 20-year American military presence there prompted by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/08\/30\/its-official-the-us-has-no-boots-on-the-ground-in-afghanistan\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"197\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AFghanBye.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">It\u2019s official: The US has no boots on the ground in Afghanistan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A total of 132,000 civilians were evacuated since late July.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move had been expected for weeks after Defense Department officials surged about 6,000 troops into the country to help with evacuation of American citizens and Afghan allies amid the fall of the democratic government there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden hailed that evacuation mission \u2014 which transported more than 130,000 individuals out of the country \u2014 as a triumph in the face of overwhelming adversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery gravely and selfless courage of the U.S. military, and our diplomats, and intelligence professionals, for weeks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey risked their lives to get American citizens, Afghans who helped us and others onboard planes and out of the country. They did it facing a crush of enormous crowds seeking to leave the country. And they did it knowing ISIS-K terrorists were lurking in the midst of those crowds \u2026 they did their jobs, and did it well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thirteen U.S. service members were killed Aug. 26 in a terrorist attack on the airport. For the second time in less than a week, Biden publicly mourned those deaths, saying the country owes them \u201ca debt of gratitude we can never repay, but we should never, ever, ever forget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also recognized the significant cost in both injuries and money for the military over the two decades of war there, saying that maintaining the military mission there would have only demanded more sacrifices of those troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t think enough people understand how much we have asked for the 1 percent of this country\u201d who serve in the military, he said. \u201cA lot of our veterans and their families have gone through hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDeployment after deployment, months and years away from their families. Missed birthdays, anniversaries, empty chairs on holidays, financial struggles, divorces, loss of limbs, traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress. We see the struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics have attacked Biden for creating a false choice between keeping up military operations overseas and the haphazard withdrawal of the last few months. On Tuesday, before his speech, House Republican leadership blasted the president for the efforts of the last few weeks and for abandoning Afghanistan completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/08\/31\/more-vets-reaching-out-for-crisis-line-help-amid-afghanistan-collapse\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6807146.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">More vets reaching out for crisis line help amid Afghanistan collapse<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">VA staffers said they&#039;re encouraged by the increased outreach, and not fearful that it means a sudden increase in mental health challenges.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden acknowledged that despite the massive evacuation efforts, \u201cbetween 100 and 200\u201d American citizens remain in the Taliban-controlled country, looking for a way to exit. He said State Department officials are looking for ways to safely get them out of the country, through \u201cdiplomatic\u201d means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But he said that deals made last year by his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, with the Taliban effectively forced his administration to follow through with departure from Afghanistan or prepare for years more of fighting overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been a nation too long at war,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re 20 years old today, you\u2019ve never known in America at peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs we close 20 years of war and strife and pain and sacrifice \u2026 I believe this is the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the first day in nearly 20 years without U.S. troops on Afghanistan soil, the president said he beleives his decision to leave the country saved American lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":91625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":62,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,12,26,62,19],"tags":[8465],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-52998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans","tag-veterans-suicide"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"NHRQX4W75NEBFFGSXCNMSIWUWM","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/afghanistan\/2021\/08\/31\/biden-defends-afghanistan-exit-weve-been-a-nation-too-long-at-war\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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