Biden accelerates Afghan troop withdrawal to end by Aug. 31

July 9, 2021 carleyshaffer1 US 0

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 08: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an East Room event on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan at the White House July 8, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden spoke on the current situation and the role of the U.S. going forward in Afghanistan after he had a meeting this morning with his national security team to receive a periodic update regarding the troop withdrawal. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Joe Biden speaks during an East Room event on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan at the White House July 8, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 10:43 AM PT – Friday, July 9, 2021

Joe Biden has decided to speed up the already rocky U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, even as the Taliban continues to gain strength in the region. Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Biden said troops will be home by Aug. 31, which is earlier than the original deadline of Sept. 11.

He said there will still be a diplomatic and humanitarian presence in the nation moving forward, but the Afghan military will no longer be supported by U.S. forces. He painted a grim outlook of Afghanistan’s future, insisting no amount of American presence could resolve the country’s vast array of issues.

“Nearly 20 years of experience has shown us that the current security situation only confirms that ‘just one more year’ of fighting in Afghanistan is not a solution, but a recipe for being there indefinitely,” said Biden.

Afghan security personnel stand guard along the road amid ongoing fight between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters in Kandahar on July 9, 2021. (JAVED TANVEER/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden instead argued American resources are better spent elsewhere, such as improving the U.S.’s counterterrorism measures in other regions of the world.

“We are repositioning our resources and adapting our counterterrorism posture to meet the threats where they are now significantly higher: in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa,” said the Democrat.

In the meantime, the Taliban has taken over nearly 10 percent of Afghanistan in just the past week alone, raising questions about Biden’s decision to withdrawal American forces. However, Biden has continued to defend his decision and claims the U.S. did what it needed to do in Afghanistan, but this is in no way a “mission accomplished” moment.

The U.S. has been in Afghanistan for 20 years and it remains America’s longest running war.