President Joe Biden has dismissed concerns his handling of the United States’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has undermined the country’s standing abroad.
“I’ve not seen a questioning of our credibility by our allies,” Biden told reporters Friday at the White House. “The fact of the matter is, I have not seen that. Matter of fact, the exact opposite.”
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Biden then pivoted to his rationale for the withdrawal, skipping over its botched execution, from the East Room, where he stood flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“We went to Afghanistan for the express purpose of getting rid of al Qaeda in Afghanistan, as well as getting Osama bin Laden,” he said. “And we did that.”
During his second Afghanistan address and first time taking questions from reporters on a list after the Western-backed government’s collapse, Biden said the Group of Seven world leaders would convene next week to discuss a “united approach” to the withdrawal.
“We went in together and we’re leaving together,” Biden said of his NATO allies. “And now, we’re working together to bring our people and our Afghan partners to safety.”
Biden did not speak to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson until Tuesday, two days after the Taliban entered the Afghan capital of Kabul and deposed Afghan Prime Minister Ashraf Ghani fled. The president later spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, according to White House readouts of the conversations.
“There’ll be plenty of time to criticize and second-guess when this operation is over, but now, let’s focus on the mission,” he said.
International leaders have openly criticized Biden’s mismanagement of the withdrawal. German politician Armin Laschet, Merkel’s heir apparent, described the situation as “the greatest debacle that NATO has seen since its foundation,” calling it “an epochal change that we are facing.”
Up to 15,000 Americans and 65,000 Afghans seeking special visa status in the United States need to be evacuated from Hamid Karzai International Airport before Biden’s Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline.
Biden could not confirm those numbers Friday but said 5,700 had been extracted in the last 24 hours, 13,000 since Aug. 14, and 18,000 since July, despite delays earlier in the day because of a transit backlog. He also downplayed the logistical nightmare of traveling to the airport as the Taliban harden their checkpoints around the airfield.
“Let me be clear: Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home,” Biden said.
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“I cannot promise what the final outcome will be or that it will be without risk of loss,” he added. “But as commander in chief, I can assure you that I will mobilize every resource necessary.”
