US President Joe Biden to address nation on Afghanistan crisis
- President Joe Biden will address Americans on the Afghanistan crisis at 3:45 pm ET.
- President Biden has not spoken out on Taliban taking over Afghanistan yet
- The president's address will come amid mounting criticism from his political opponents
United States President Joe Biden will break his silence
on Afghanistan on Monday after the Taliban seized power in the war-torn country amid mounting criticism of the US’ role in how the situation played
out. Taliban took over Afghanistan amid the withdrawal of US troops in a
country where the US had set up military bases in course of a two-decade-long
war.
Also Read | Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan with helicopter full of cash: Report
President Biden had been expected to stay in Camp David on Monday, where he spent the weekend. But the President is expected to return to the White House to address the nation.
Earlier, US’ National Security Advisor Jake
Sullivan said the President was actively engaged with the national security
team carefully studying the happenings in Afghanistan. The President will address the nation at 3:45 pm ET (1:15 IST, Tuesday).
Also Read | Chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as people fight to board planes
Monday saw stunning images come out of Kabul with
Afghans jostling at the capital’s airport in a desperate bid to flee the
country following the Taliban takeover.
Joe Biden has come under severe criticism from
political opponents and a section of the American populace over his silence on
the tectonic shifts in political power in Afghanistan. The images coming out of
Kabul reminded many Americans of the 1975 fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam
War.
Also Read | US, 65 nations urge Taliban to let Afghans leave the country
Amid all the criticism, the only thing that
the US president has said on Afghanistan is that the US’ withdrawal of troops
was the only possible choice.
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump lashed
out at his successor blaming him for the “mess” in Afghanistan. “Do you miss me
yet?” Trump asked sarcastically. Trump’s statement was posted on Twitter by his
official spokesperson Liz Harrington.
Also read | Back to ‘dark days’: What Taliban’s return to power means for Afghan women
Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell said that Biden
had allowed a “massive, predictable and preventable disaster”.
The US’ war efforts in Afghanistan lasted for
nearly 20 years and cost it over two trillion dollars and 2,500 lives.
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