Credits: AP
Washington: United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday defended his decision to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan and ending the 20-year war was the best and the right decision for America.
He said there was no reason to continue in a war that was no longer in the service of the vital national interest of the American people.
Biden has been facing massive criticism over the hasty and chaotic withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control of the country two weeks before the U.S. was set to complete the withdrawal.
Addressing the nation from the White House, hours after the last soldiers stepped on the final flight out of Afghanistan, leaving the country to the Taliban, Biden said, "I give you my word: With all of my heart, I believe this is the right decision, a wise decision, and the best decision for America."
"We no longer had a clear purpose in an open-ended mission in Afghanistan," he said.
"We've been a nation too long at war. If you're 20 years old today, you have never known an America at peace. So, when I hear that we could've, should've continued the so-called low-grade effort in Afghanistan, at low risk to our service members, at low cost, I don't think enough people understand how much we have asked of the 1 per cent of this country who put that uniform on, who are willing to put their lives on the line in defence of our nation, ANI quoted Biden in his address to the nation from the White House on Tuesday.