Biden says "buck stops with me" and defends Afghanistan withdrawal

Washington — President Biden said he stands "squarely behind his decision" to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan on Monday but admitted that the swift collapse of the central government caught the U.S. off guard, telling the nation "the buck stops with me" as chaotic efforts to evacuate U.S. personnel and Afghan allies from Kabul continue. 

Addressing the nation for the first time since the Taliban took the capital on Sunday, the president did little to address pressing questions about why the U.S. failed to anticipate the rapid pace of the Taliban takeover or why the U.S. was not to prepared to evacuate Afghans who aided U.S. efforts over the years. He claimed many Afghans who assisted the U.S. were not evacuated sooner because they didn't want to leave and because the Afghan government discouraged it. The president took no questions after his remarks, and returned to Camp David on Monday afternoon.  "I stand squarely behind my decision," Mr. Biden said from the White House, defending his timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops. "After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces."