President Joe Biden has defended his decision to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan. In an address on Monday, the 78-year-old POTUS asked: "How many more American lives is it worth?" On Sunday, Taliban soldiers took control of Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul, forcing Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country, along with many high-ranking officials. As reported by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/16/chaotic-scenes-at-kabul-airport-as-afghans-flee-taliban.html">CNBC</a>, the Taliban entered the presidential palace and declared the war "over". As reported by Insider, Biden started his address by highlighting the US' original intentions in Afghanistan, which included the capture of Osama bin Laden. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1427362349430751241]] Speaking from the East Room of The White House, he said: "Our mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to be nation-building." "I stand squarely behind my decision," Biden added. And after admitting the withdrawal had become "messy", he stated: "After 20 years, I learned the hard way that there was never a good way to withdraw our forces." The President then spoke about Afghanistan's political leadership, saying: <blockquote>"American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.  We spent over a trillion dollars.  We trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong — incredibly well equipped — a force larger in size than the militaries of many of our NATO allies.  "We gave them every tool they could need.  We paid their salaries, provided for the maintenance of their air force — something the Taliban doesn’t have.  Taliban does not have an air force.  We provided close air support.  "We gave them every chance to determine their own future.  What we could not provide them was the will to fight for that future."</blockquote> "I will not repeat the mistakes we've made in the past," he added. "If anything, the developments of the past week reinforce that ending US military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision," Biden said. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1427374826272985095]] Biden also declared: "We have made it clear to the Taliban: if they attack our personnel, or disrupt our operation, the US presence will be swift and the response will be swift and forceful. "We will defend our people with devastating force if necessary." Biden's address came on the same day that <a href="https://vt.co/news/world/footage-appears-to-show-people-holding-on-to-a-moving-us-air-force-plane-at-kabuls-airport">footage from Kabul's international airport</a> showed civilians crowding runways and holding on to planes in an apparent attempt to flee the country. Admitting that the scenes in the media from the country were "gut-wrenching", President Biden then assured the US people that American diplomatic presence in the country was now "consolidated at the airport" and that evacuations will continue. Biden also spoke about how continued occupation of Afghanistan is "not what the American people want", adding: <blockquote>"This is not in our national security interest. It is not what the American people want. It is not what our troops, who would have sacrificed over the last two decades, deserve."</blockquote> "I know my decision will be criticized. But I would rather take all that criticism than pass this decision on to another president of the United States," he added. Biden's address came after former president <a href="https://vt.co/news/us/trump-calls-on-biden-to-resign-over-crisis-in-afghanistan">Donald Trump called for his successor</a> to "resign in disgrace". <h6>Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy</h6>

Biden defends decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, says leaders lacked 'the will to fight'

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