President Joe Biden told the United Nations he thinks about Americans lost during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan “every day” as he defended the decision to end America’s longest war.
Biden mentioned the Americans who were killed in a suicide bomb attack at Karzai International Airport in Kabul, amid the rush to evacuate U.S. forces and other Americans.
He mentioned the 13 Americans who died, which has become a source of deep criticism for Biden, but placed the numbers in the context of overall US military losses.
“I think about those lives lost, I think about them every day. I think about the 2,461 American military deaths over the 20 years of that war, the 20,744 American military personnel wounded in combat,” Biden said.
He justified his retirement by talking about the historical arc of the United States, in a speech in which he mentioned his five decades in politics and joked that “I know I look like I’m only 40.”
President Joe Biden spoke at the UN on Tuesday about the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan
“When I took office, Afghanistan had replaced Vietnam as America’s longest war. I was determined to end it, and I did,” Biden said.
“It was a difficult decision, but the right decision. Four American presidents had faced that decision, but I was determined not to leave it to the fifth. It was a decision that was accompanied by tragedy: 13 brave Americans lost their lives, along with hundreds of Afghans, in a suicide bombing.”
In a speech in which he refrained from directly mentioning his predecessor Donald Trump, he also failed to mention a key point about his administration: that the Trump administration’s negotiated withdrawal date had backed him into a corner and weakened the U.S.-backed Afghan government vis-a-vis the Taliban.
Biden spoke about the terrorist attack that killed 13 Americans and 200 Afghans amid the withdrawal of US forces
Instead, Biden spoke of those who lost their lives, a move that precipitated a decline in his popularity that continues to this day (Biden’s approval rating in the Gallup poll fell from 49% in August 2021 to 43% in September, and has only topped 44% in a single month since then).
“I think of their service, their sacrifice and their heroism. I know other countries lost their own men and women who fought alongside us. We honor their sacrifices as well,” Biden said.
A report issued by House Republicans last month said Biden was “determined to withdraw” no matter the costs and had “failed to plan for all contingencies” in the withdrawal.
Biden also mentioned withdrawing three years ago, when the terrorist attack was still fresh in his mind.
“We know the bitter sting of terrorism is real, and almost all of us have experienced it,” Biden said at the time. “Last month, we lost 13 American heroes and nearly 200 innocent Afghan civilians in the heinous terrorist attack at the Kabul airport. Those who commit acts of terrorism against us will continue to find a determined enemy in the United States.”