U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Afghanistan from the White House. (Photo: EPA-Yonhap)
U.S. President Joe Biden has strongly defended his decision to pull American troops from Afghanistan.
Biden said the clear goals of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan were focused on counterterrorism, not nation building.
As to the current situation, he said he made it clear to the Taliban that attacks on U.S. personnel engaged in the withdrawal operation could be met with devastating force.
The BBC's David Willis reports.
[Reporter]
The crisis in Afghanistan has presented Joe Biden with the biggest challenge of his presidency to date.
The Republican response to the chaos in Kabul has been excoriating and the coverage of events by the U.S. media no less brutal.
Cutting short his holiday to return to the White House, Mr. Biden conceded that events on the ground in Afghanistan unfolded more quickly than his administration had anticipated.
But he blamed the rapid advance of Taliban forces on a lack of will on the part of the Afghan army.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Taliban to exercise the maximum restraint to protect lives.
Speaking to the U.N. Security Council, Guterres called on the international community to make sure that Afghanistan was never again used as a safe haven for terrorist organizations.
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