US President Joe Biden said that he fulfilled his pledge to the American people to end the military presence in Afghanistan, stressing that he will not ask the army to fight non-stop in a civil war in another country, while the US State Department announced that the position towards any future government in Afghanistan depends on its behavior.

Biden added - in a televised speech - that the situation in Afghanistan collapsed faster than we expected, but we cannot fight in a war with Afghan forces that are not ready to participate in it.

"What we see now proves that no military force can change the course of events in Afghanistan, which is known as the graveyard of invaders, but China and Russia want the United States to continue to spend its resources in non-stop fighting," he said.

The US President stressed that his country spent more than a trillion dollars in Afghanistan and equipped the Afghan army and provided it with everything it needed, but its soldiers fled in front of the Taliban fighters.

The US President stressed that the Afghan government rejected his advice that reconciliation should be made with the Taliban, and that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani insisted that Afghan forces would fight and it was clear that he was wrong.

According to Biden, America's mission in Afghanistan was not to build a unified democratic state, but rather to prevent attacks on American soil and fight the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Biden confirmed that he and his team are monitoring the situation on the ground in Afghanistan and will move to implementing the alternative plans that they (he did not name), stressing that thousands of Americans working in Afghanistan will be evacuated in the coming days.

"The scenes we saw in Afghanistan are very painful, especially for diplomats and humanitarian workers," he said, stressing that Washington will continue to support the Afghan people and press through diplomacy to prevent instability, prevent violence and defend human rights.

Biden indicated that the US military will provide support to move thousands of Afghan collaborators and their families out of Afghanistan.

The US President vowed to the Taliban a "devastating response" if they obstructed or jeopardized the evacuation process taking place through Kabul airport for thousands of American diplomats and Afghan interpreters.

An American helicopter evacuates American embassy employees on Sunday, as the Taliban stormed the capital, Kabul (French)

foreign and defense

In another development, the US State Department said in a statement that its diplomatic mission is safe after it has been repositioned at Kabul Airport, and all remaining employees of the US Embassy, ​​including the ambassador, have been transferred to Kabul Airport.

She added that the situation will remain complicated in Afghanistan over the next few days, and that the attitude towards any future government in Afghanistan "depends on its behaviour."

The US State Department also confirmed that its diplomats are still in Doha and continue to communicate with the Taliban.

In the same context, the Department of Defense (Pentagon) held a press conference on developments in Afghanistan, in which it said, "We are aware of the risks facing the Afghans who cooperated with us and are working to help them... We did not expect Afghan forces to surrender without a fight at times."

The ministry added that its forces have not launched air strikes in the past 24 hours, but that its commanders on the ground can do so if the need arises.

The press conference also stated that the US embassy in Kabul was closed, and that work was underway to secure Kabul Airport to carry out the evacuation of diplomats and foreigners.

In turn, the Central Command of the US Army said, "We expect to have 3,000 to 3,500 soldiers on the soil of Afghanistan," stressing that its forces are working to evacuate American and Afghan civilians applying for special visas.


sharp criticism

The US President cut short his vacation at Camp David and returned to Washington on Monday afternoon to deliver his speech to the American people amid severe criticism of his management of this crisis.

Biden has been at the Camp David presidential retreat since the weekend, and was scheduled to stay there until the middle of this week, but he decided to cut his vacation and return to the White House due to the acceleration of events in Afghanistan with the sudden fall of Kabul in the grip of the Taliban.

and the chaos that pervades the evacuation process conducted by US forces.

Biden had made his last statement on Afghanistan last week, when he stressed that he did not regret the decision to withdraw and stressed that the Afghans must "fight for their country."

But the rapid collapse of the Afghan government shocked Washington, and observers considered that the reputation of the United States as a great power had been severely damaged.

Biden is under sharp criticism, as opponents of his decision consider that he mismanaged the withdrawal of US forces, which prompted the United States to rush to evacuate its embassy and evacuate its nationals, after the president had played down fears of a rapid fall of the Afghan government a month ago.

A month ago, Biden stressed that no comparison should be made to the Vietnam War, when people tried to hold on to the last American helicopters to leave, and said at the White House, "You can't compare this situation at all."

But videos spread on social media showed scenes of chaos at the airport, with thousands crowded on the same runway as groups of young people cling to the stairs to board the planes.

On Sunday, his Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, told ABC that "this is not Saigon", which fell in 1975 in an event that is still painful in American memory.

The Afghan forces suffered a total defeat after the United States spent hundreds of billions of dollars on them over twenty years.

In ten days, the Taliban managed to control almost all of Afghanistan.