Biden Addresses Nation: I Committed to Ending the War in Afghanistan

(Patria) - United States President Joe Biden addressed the nation and the world tonight following the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.

"Last night in Kabul, the United States ended a 20-year war in Afghanistan. The longest war in American history. We also evacuated 120,000 people to safety. That number is double what most experts thought was possible. No nation, no nation in history has done anything like it. Only the United States had the capacity, the will, and the ability to do it. We did it today. The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, courage, and selfless bravery of the American military and our diplomats and intelligence workers," Biden said.

Since March, we have addressed Americans in Afghanistan 19 times, with more warnings and offers to help them leave Afghanistan.

"After we began the evacuation 17 days ago, we conducted initial communication and analysis and identified about 5,000 Americans who had previously decided to stay in Afghanistan but now wanted to leave," he continued.

He acknowledged that about 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan, but said many of them chose to stay on their own.

"The conclusion is that 90 percent of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave. There is no deadline for the remaining Americans. We remain committed to getting them out if they wish to leave. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is leading ongoing diplomatic efforts to ensure safe passage for every American, Afghan partner, or foreigner who wishes to leave Afghanistan," Biden said.

He said the Taliban have publicly committed "by broadcasting on television and radio across Afghanistan" to safe passage for all who wish to leave, including those who worked with Americans.

He emphasized that he committed to the American people to end this war.

"When I ran for president, I committed to the American people to end this war. Today, I have fulfilled that commitment," said the US President.

Biden said he takes responsibility for his decision to withdraw, but said he "respectfully disagrees" with those who say he should have started the mass evacuation earlier.

"For those who seek a third decade of war, I ask them what is the vital national interest? In my opinion, we have only one, and that is to ensure that Afghanistan can never again be used to launch attacks on our homeland," Biden said.

President Biden promised to continue to hunt for terrorism around the world, saying that the United States will "go after terror where it is today, not where it was two decades ago."

"ISIS-K, we are not done with you yet," Biden said, vowing that the US would exact a price for the American soldiers killed in last Thursday's attack that killed 13 US service members.

Biden also said that the terrorist threat has metastasized from Afghanistan around the world, and that the threat of terrorism continues, but has changed.