Biden defends US pullout from Afghanistan despite panic in Kabul
US president admits Taleban advance unfolded faster than expected as thousands flee Afghanistan
KABUL: US President Joe Biden on Monday defended the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after the Taleban's stunning military takeover that triggered panic in Kabul with thousands mobbing the airport in a desperate attempt to flee.
In his first public appearance since the Islamist insurgents seized control of the country at the weekend, he admitted the Taleban advance had unfolded faster than expected. The searing images of chaos in Kabul exposed the limits of US power and plunged him into the worst crisis of his presidency.
Heaping criticism at the Western-backed government that was ousted with shockingly little resistance, Mr Biden said US troops could not defend a nation whose leaders, including President Ashraf Ghani, "gave up and fled".
"We gave them every chance to determine their own future. We could not provide them with the will to fight for that future," Mr Biden said in his address at the White House.
"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."
Mr Biden warned Taleban leaders they would face "devastating force" should they interfere with the US pullout.
The panicked evacuation, coming weeks after Mr Biden predicted the Taleban's takeover in Afghanistan was not inevitable, has dented America's image on the global stage.
A photo shows more than 600 Afghans - women, men, children and the elderly - sitting packed on the floor of a US military plane. The now-viral image, obtained and posted by military news site Defense One, was taken inside a US Air Force C-17 transport.
The Afghans crammed in the giant cargo hold on the Sunday night flight were among those approved for evacuation, according to the site.
The US military said about 640 Afghans were on board.
But such a large number on one flight was not planned, a US official told Defense One - many climbed onto the half-open ramp at the back of the plane in desperation.
"The crew made the decision to go" rather than force them out, the official said.
There have been desperate scenes at Kabul airport. In harrowing videos shared on social media, hundreds of people are seen running next to a C-17 as it appears to gather speed, some clinging to the sides of the plane.
Afghan media reported that several people died after falling from planes as they took off. - AFP, REUTERS
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