Biden tells nation he stands 'squarely behind' decision to exit Afghanistan

President Biden addressed the nation Monday, saying he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan after having a presence for 20 years, while admitting that the fall of the country to the Taliban “did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.”

"I stand squarely behind my decision," the president said Monday. "After 20 years, I've learned the hard way, that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces." "Truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated," the president said, a day after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, after his administration moved forward with a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, signaling the end of the United States' two-decade-long effort to rebuild the nation. "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," Biden said, adding that the U.S. has given "every tool they could need."