analysis
Status: 01.09.2021 02:38 a.m.
US President Biden tries like a mantra to convince the population of the success of the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. But his version of things doesn’t really catch on – the president remains under pressure.
“My dear compatriots, the war in Afghanistan is over now,” said Joe Biden, reminding them that he had kept his campaign promise. The day after the last US soldiers left Kabul, the President tried again by televised address to convey his version of the events to the Americans. But they can be difficult to convince.
Biden is under pressure. Both Republicans and some of his own Democrats believe the troop withdrawal was hasty and chaotic. And many Americans think the same way. A new poll by the Pew Research Center shows that 54 percent of American adults think the trigger is fundamentally correct. But only 26 percent think the government did it well or even very well. And that although Joe Biden has been holding back for weeks with speeches and press conferences.
Arguments do not convince critics
On Tuesday, too, he repeated many of his arguments – apparently in the hope that they could penetrate and establish themselves in this way. According to Biden, he basically only had two options: to continue the withdrawal as his predecessor Donald Trump had prepared with the Taliban, or to bring back more US troops in order to stabilize Afghanistan for an indefinite period of time. An argument that his critics do not necessarily consider to be coherent.
In the end, he decided “not to want to prolong this endless war and not to prolong this endless exit”, as Biden put it on Tuesday. And claimed that withdrawal at the end of a war is always dangerous – especially when thousands of terrorists have been released from prison beforehand. Biden criticized his predecessor Donald Trump again. In the agreement with the Taliban, he made it possible for 5,000 fighters to be released.
The last US citizens are also to be brought out
Biden also defended himself against an accusation that is being emphasized by the Republicans: that 100 to 200 US citizens were left behind in Afghanistan after the withdrawal. There is no deadline for them, his government remains determined to get them out if they want, said Biden. 90 percent of US citizens who wanted to leave Afghanistan would have left Afghanistan.
Biden’s story of the successful withdrawal from Afghanistan also includes praising the achievements of the United States and its soldiers. Flying out 100,000 Afghans is something that no nation has ever managed to do.
Biden wants to learn from mistakes
After controversial war missions, every president has promised to learn from his mistakes. Biden is no exception. With the withdrawal from Afghanistan he also wanted to correct the mistake of wanting to change other countries with the help of major military operations. And for the future it should only apply to set missions with clear, achievable goals and to remain clearly focused “on the fundamental, national security interests of the USA.” Biden sees these interests at risk in the future primarily from competition with China, Russia, cyber attacks and the nuclear arms race.
But he does not want to lose sight of the terrorist threats already known, promised Biden in an urgent tone. “The US will never rest, will not forgive and will not forget,” he said to the so-called Islamic State until those responsible for the latest attack were brought to justice.
What Biden did not address is a topic that evidently moves many Americans: what should happen to the 100,000 people from Afghanistan who have now come to the United States. Willingness to help and distrust, both reactions can be found.