Afghanistan (Washington Insider Magazine) -As U.S. President Joe Biden faces a bipartisan backlash over his withdrawal from Afghanistan, he continues to defend his decision and its execution.
In an interview on Aug. 18 with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Biden said the military exit could not have been carried out more effectively, and that no one could have foreseen the rapid Taliban takeover.
“The idea that somehow there was a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don’t know how that happens,” said Biden.
The pullout from the U.S.’s longest war has been followed by chaos, as the Taliban took control of the government and capital in the span of 10 days. Scenes flooding the internet throughout the week show Afghan and American citizens scrambling to leave the country including harrowing images of Afghan citizens falling as they cling to planes, and children being passed above crowds to U.S. soldiers at the airport.
While Biden defends the chaos as “unavoidable,” many around the country disagree.
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Democratic Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized both the agreement between former President Trump and the Taliban and Biden’s execution of it in an Aug. 17 statement.
“In implementing this flawed plan, I am disappointed that the Biden administration clearly did not accurately assess the implications of a rapid U.S. withdrawal,” he said. “We are now witnessing the horrifying results of many years of policy and intelligence failures.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released similarly harsh criticism of the president in an Aug. 15 statement.
“The Biden Administration’s botched exit from Afghanistan including the frantic evacuation of Americans and vulnerable Afghans from Kabul is a shameful failure of American leadership,” he said. “Everyone saw this coming except the President, who publicly and confidently dismissed these threats just a few weeks ago.”
Recent polls suggest that most of the country is equally critical of the president, as his public approval rates reach an all-time low. A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Aug. 16 found that 46% of Americans adults approved of his performance, down from 53% three days prior.
A Morning Consult/Politico poll conducted Aug. 16 to Aug. 19 shows that support for ending the war is down 20 points since April, with 49% of adults supporting ending the war. The same poll found 51% of voters disapprove of Biden’s handling of Afghanistan.
Moving forward, Biden will be assessed on his ability to evacuate U.S. citizens, Afghans who worked with the U.S. military, and other vulnerable people. He will also be judged on his ability to meet the rising needs of Afghan refugees, already the third-largest refugee group in the world, according to 2020 U.N. data. The president will also need to counter weakening credibility abroad, as criticism builds in the U.K.
A Brown University study estimates the U.S. military has spent over $2 trillion throughout 20 years of war in Afghanistan, and places the death toll of the war at 241,000 people.
