Biden Lays Out The Costs Of War To Defend His Decision To Leave Afghanistan

NPR | By Brian Naylor

Published August 31, 2021 at 1:07 PM EDT

President Joe Biden listens during a virtual meeting with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and governors and mayors of areas impacted by Hurricane Ida in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

President Biden will address the nation on Tuesday on his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by Aug. 31st. The last U.S. troops left Afghanistan on Monday, ending America's longest war.

He is expected to speak at 2:45 p.m. ET.

The U.S. evacuated more than 122,000 people from Afghanistan over the past month, including some 5,400 Americans.

But the withdrawal has been anything but smooth. Thirteen American service members and an estimated 170 Afghans were killed by a suicide bomber at a gate at the Kabul airport last week. And the U.S. military says it is looking into reports that up to 10 civilians were killed when the U.S. carried out drone strikes Sunday on a vehicle near the airport. The strikes had targeted suspected ISIS-K militants in retaliation for the suicide bombing.

In a statement Monday, Biden noted there was a unanimous recommendation by the U.S. military to end the airlift mission as planned.

"Their view was that ending our military mission was the best way to protect the lives of our troops, and secure the prospects of civilian departures for those who want to leave Afghanistan in the weeks and months ahead," Biden said.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Monday that fewer than 200 American citizens remained in the country and that the U.S. would "continue our relentless efforts to help Americans, foreign nationals and Afghans to leave Afghanistan, if they choose."

Biden criticized for pulling out U.S. troops before all Americans exited

Sen Ben Sasse, R- Neb., said in a statement that "The President made the morally indefensible decision to leave Americans behind. Dishonor was the President's choice. May history never forget this cowardice."

The comment is broadly reflective of the criticism Biden has faced — from Republicans and Democrats — on the manner in which the withdrawal was carried out.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin released a statement Monday night, thanking "all those who labored so hard and under such difficult circumstances over the past few weeks."

Austin noted the toll of the military's two-decade-long presence in Afghanistan. "We lost 2,461 troops in that war, and tens of thousands of others suffered wounds, seen and unseen," he said.

"The scars of combat don't heal easily, and often never heal at all."