This is the first major crisis – outside of Covid – of his mandate. After the double suicide attack claimed by the Afghan branch of Daesh (IS in Khorasan, or Isis-K in English), which killed dozens, including at least thirteen American soldiers, on Thursday, Joe Biden promised to “hunt down the terrorists ”and to continue the evacuations until August 31. But while there are only five days left before the deadline for the American withdrawal, he ruled out deploying additional forces, specifying that the American General Staff had not requested it.
“We will not forgive, we will not forget” “We will hunt you down and make you pay,” Joe Biden promises the “terrorists”. According to him, the General Staff did not ask for additional troops to complete the evacuations but it promises to give “all the resources” requested. pic.twitter.com/DSfopHkoP8
– Philippe Berry (@ptiberry) August 26, 2021
Addressing the perpetrators of this attack, the deadliest against the US military in Afghanistan since 2011, Joe Biden hammered it in front of the cameras: “We will not forgive, we will not forget. We will chase you and we will make you pay. “After a moment of silence, he paid tribute to the soldiers killed,” heroes (…) engaged in a dangerous and altruistic mission to save other lives “and he let it be known that the United States would” pursue the evacuation ”. “America will not be intimidated,” he insisted. “We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission ”.
Biden “assumes” his responsibilities
The new Taliban regime, through its spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, “strongly condemned” these “bombings”, while stressing that they had taken place in an area under the responsibility of the American army. According to Joe Biden, there is not, for the moment, of “proof” of a “collusion” between the Taliban and Daesh, two groups with strong divergences and which have clashed in recent years, in the organization. of this attack.
Tense exchange, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asks Biden if he has some responsibility for the deaths of the 12 soldiers. Biden assumes his responsibilities for the overall operation and the tackle by recalling that it was Donald Trump who negotiated this withdrawal … (1/2) pic.twitter.com/gFZ01y4qvv
– Philippe Berry (@ptiberry) August 26, 2021
The press conference ended with a tense exchange between the US president and a Fox News reporter, who asked him if he had some responsibility for the deaths of the 13 US soldiers. Joe Biden told him that he was assuming his overall responsibilities in the current operation. But he stressed that it was Donald Trump who negotiated the withdrawal. According to the commander-in-chief of the United States, he had only two options when taking office: organize the departure of troops or send more. And to conclude: “It was time to end a war of more than 20 years”