Five weeks ago Biden said theres no way Americans will evacuated from Kabul embassy by helicopter

Joe Biden insisted last month that there’s no way his troop withdrawal from Afghanistan would lead to a Saigon-like situation with Americans emergency evacuated out of the U.S. embassy in Kabul by helicopter.

‘There’s going to be no circumstance where you’re going to see people being lifted off the roof of a (sic) embassy of the United States from Afghanistan,’ the president said during a press conference on July 8, 2021.

Biden insisted during that press conference that the U.S. would not succumb to the Taliban once troops were withdrawn and is now trying to divert blame for the takeover on Donald Trump.

Those words are coming back to bite the president after the majority of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in just under a week and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was forced to evacuate by helicopter once the militant forces breached the city on Sunday.

‘Is the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now inevitable?’ a reporter asked the president at the time of the July 8 press conference.

‘No, it is not,’ Biden responded.

He explained: ‘You have the Afghan troops at 300,000 â€" well equipped, as well as any army in the world â€" and an Air Force, against something like 75,000 Taliban. It is not inevitable.’

He also said at the same press conference ‘that is not true’ that his own intelligence community was warning the Afghan government will likely collapse if there was a total and swift withdrawal.

President Joe Biden said on July 8, 2021 that ‘[t]here’s going to be no circumstance where you’re going to see people being lifted off the roof of a (sic) embassy of the United States from Afghanistan’ 

Biden is now eating his words after Americans were evacuated from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul by helicopter just five weeks after his remarks. A twin-rotor U.S. Air Force Chinook was seen taking off from the US Embassy Sunday as the evacuation efforts rapidly pick up

‘Afghan government leadership has to come together,’ Biden said. ‘They clearly have the capacity to sustain the government in place.’

Joe Biden immediately passed the buck to his predecessor, claiming that Trump ‘left the Taliban in the strongest military position since 2001’.

‘When I came to office, I inherited a deal cut by my predecessorâ€"which he invited the Taliban to discuss at Camp David on the eve of 9/11 of 2019â€"that left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001 and imposed a May 1, 2021 deadline on US forces,’ Biden wrote in a statement Saturday.

‘Shortly before he left office, he also drew US forces down to a bare minimum of 2,500,’ the president continued in blaming former President Trump for the unfolding disaster in Afghanistan. ‘Therefore, when I became President, I faced a choiceâ€"follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies’ forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country’s civil conflict.’

As the Taliban continues to overtake the majority of the country, forces reached the Capital City of Kabul on Sunday with officials seeking the unconditional surrender of the central government.

‘Our leadership had instructed our forces to remain at the gates of Kabul, not to enter the city,’ Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told BBC in an interview.

‘We are awaiting a peaceful transfer of power,’ he said, adding the group expects that to happen in a matter of days.  

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also blamed Trump for forcing the administration’s hand on a total withdrawal by May.

‘Like it or not, there was an agreement that the forces would come out on May 1,’ Blinken told CNN on Sunday morning. 

Biden wrote a statement from Camp David on Saturday afternoon where he blamed Donald Trump for â€˜leaving the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001’

Taliban fighters reached Kabul on Sunday and are awaiting the ‘peaceful transfer of power’ to the militant Islamic group. They breached the city shortly after

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also blamed Trump during a CNN interview on Sunday where he said: â€˜Like it or not, there was an agreement that the forces would come out on May 1’

‘Had we not begun that process, which is what the president did and the Taliban saw, then we would have been back at war with the Taliban, and we would have been back at war with tens of thousands of troops having to go in because the 2,500 troops we had there and the air power would not have sufficed,’ he said.

Blinken added in his interview on State of the Union that ‘it’s simply not in the national interest’ to remain in Afghanistan, claiming other U.S. adversaries would like ‘nothing more’ than to see another decade of American forces diverted there.

‘Come May 2nd, if the president had decided to stay, all gloves would have been off. We would have been back at war,’ Blinken said in a second interview Sunday morning with NBC’s Meet the Press.

He also said Sunday: ‘We had to put in place an entire system to deal with this. Unfortunately none of that work was done when we came in.’ 

The militant Islamic group was able to seize nearly all of Afghanistan in a little over a week â€" a stunning feat after the billions spent by the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over two decades the build up Afghanistan’s security forces. 

An American military assessment estimated it would be a month before Kabul would come under insurgent pressure.

Biden vowed he would not pass on the war in the Middle East to whoever is president after him.

‘I was the fourth President to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan â€" two Republicans, two Democrats,’ he continued. ‘I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth.’

Trump immediately fired back at Biden in his own email statement on Saturday claiming that due to the current administration’s actions, the Taliban don’t fear America’s power anymore.

Trump hit back by saying the Afghanistan situation is a ‘complete failure through weakness, incompetence and total strategic incoherence’ by Biden

‘Joe Biden gets it wrong every time on foreign policy, and many other issues,’ he wrote.

‘Everyone knew he couldn’t handle the pressure.’

‘He ran out of Afghanistan instead of following the plan our Administration left for himâ€"a plan that protected our people and our property, and ensured the Taliban would never dream of taking our Embassy or providing a base for new attacks against America,’ the former president continued.

‘The withdrawal would be guided by facts on the ground,’ Trump said of the deal he made in 2019 with leaders of the Taliban.

‘After I took out ISIS, I established a credible deterrent,’ Trump added. ‘That deterrent is now gone.’

‘The Taliban no longer has fear or respect for America, or America’s power,’ he said. ‘What a disgrace it will be when the Taliban raises their flag over America’s Embassy in Kabul.’

‘This is complete failure through weakness, incompetence, and total strategic incoherence.’

In Biden’s Saturday statement, he provided a list of five things his administration is doing to address the situation in Afghanistan. This includes deploying 5,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to assist in the total withdrawal of all allies and U.S. personnel.

‘[B]ased on the recommendations of our diplomatic, military, and intelligence teams,’ he said, ‘I have authorized the deployment of approximately 5,000 US troops to make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown of US personnel and other allied personnel and an orderly and safe evacuation of Afghans who helped our troops during our mission and those at special risk from the Taliban advance.’

Around 1,000 service members are already on the ground and 3,000 more were already being sent next week, before officials announced the deployment of an extra 1,000 as the situation escalated over the weekend.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan will be evacuated in 72 hours under the protection of the military, and some staffers have already arrived at the Kabul international airport.

The Taliban have moved to within seven miles of Kabul, and taken over swathes of territory across the rest of Afghanistan. The warlords now control 19 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces

Biden also announced Saturday he is sending in 5,000 troops to help with the evacuation of U.S. and ally personnel

Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Saturday to discuss the ‘urgency of ongoing diplomatic and political efforts to reduce the violence,’ the State Department said in a statement.

‘The Secretary emphasized the United States’ commitment to a strong diplomatic and security relationship with the Government of Afghanistan and our continuing support for the people of Afghanistan.’

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has slammed Biden for the ‘complete mismanagement’ of the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Pentagon officials warned it could be just a matter of a couple days before the Taliban seizes control of Kabul, a city with more than four million people.

McCarthy said: ‘The White House has no discernible plan other than pleading with the Taliban. The bungled withdrawal, reminiscent of his failed withdrawal from Iraq, is an embarrassment to our nation.’

‘President Biden must continue to provide the close air support necessary for the Afghan government to protect themselves from the Taliban and make sure al Qaeda and ISIS do not gain a foothold due to the Biden administration’s disastrous policies.’

But Biden hit back in a statement from Camp David on Saturday afternoon, insisting that he could not force the Afghan army to fight.

He said: ‘One more year, or five more years, of US military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country. And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me.’

Biden and first lady Jill Biden departed for Camp David on Friday and plans to stay there through Wednesday.

BIDEN STATEMENT ON TALIBAN TAKEOVER: ‘I WILL NOT PASS THIS WAR ON TO A FIFTH PRESIDENT’

Over the past several days I have been in close contact with my national security team to give them direction on how to protect our interests and values as we end our military mission in Afghanistan.

First, based on the recommendations of our diplomatic, military, and intelligence teams, I have authorized the deployment of approximately 5,000 US troops to make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown of US personnel and other allied personnel and an orderly and safe evacuation of Afghans who helped our troops during our mission and those at special risk from the Taliban advance.

Second, I have ordered our armed forces and our intelligence community to ensure that we will maintain the capability and the vigilance to address future terrorist threats from Afghanistan.

Third, I have directed the Secretary of State to support President Ghani and other Afghan leaders as they seek to prevent further bloodshed and pursue a political settlement. Secretary Blinken will also engage with key regional stakeholders.

Fourth, we have conveyed to the Taliban representatives in Doha, via our Combatant Commander, that any action on their part on the ground in Afghanistan, that puts US personnel or our mission at risk there, will be met with a swift and strong US military response.

Fifth, I have placed Ambassador Tracey Jacobson in charge of a whole of government effort to process, transport, and relocate Afghan special immigrant visa applicants and other Afghan allies. Our hearts go out to the brave Afghan men and women who are now at risk. We are working to evacuate thousands of those who helped our cause and their families.

That is what we are going to do. Now let me be clear about how we got here.

America went to Afghanistan 20 years ago to defeat the forces that attacked this country on September 11th. That mission resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden over a decade ago and the degradation of al Qaeda. And yet, 10 years later, when I became President, a small number of US troops still remained on the ground, in harm’s way, with a looming deadline to withdraw them or go back to open combat.

Over our country’s 20 years at war in Afghanistan, America has sent its finest young men and women, invested nearly $1 trillion dollars, trained over 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police, equipped them with state-of-the-art military equipment, and maintained their air force as part of the longest war in US history. One more year, or five more years, of US military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country. And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me.

When I came to office, I inherited a deal cut by my predecessorâ€"which he invited the Taliban to discuss at Camp David on the eve of 9/11 of 2019â€"that left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001 and imposed a May 1, 2021 deadline on US forces. Shortly before he left office, he also drew US forces down to a bare minimum of 2,500. Therefore, when I became President, I faced a choiceâ€"follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our forces and our allies’ forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country’s civil conflict. I was the fourth President to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistanâ€"two Republicans, two Democrats. I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth.

Advertisement

Source: Daily Mail

Share this post