Biden official defends Afghanistan withdrawal after 20 years of ‘blood, treasure, sweat, and tears’

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US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has defended the United States’ rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan by noting the country’s vast investment in the decades-long conflict.

“We gave 20 years of American blood, treasure, sweat, and tears in Afghanistan. And at some point, it was the time for the United States to say that the Afghan people had to stand up for themselves,” Mr Sullivan said during the White House briefing on Tuesday.

Mr Sullivan’s assertion comes after chaotic scenes of desperate Afghan civilians clinging to US military aircraft in an attempt to flee Taliban rule. The militant group’s surge seemed to catch the American government off guard, forcing helicopter evacuations of the US Embassy in Kabul.

Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Taliban has said the US should "withdraw all their forces" from Afghanistan by 9/11, but that it was "committed not to attack them", after the militant group took control of the capital city of Kabul.

Suhail Shaheen, in an interview with Sky News on Tuesday, said the Taliban had already announced a "general amnesty" to people in Afghanistan, and that it would not attack remaining US forces in the country.

The US has sent as many as 7,000 total troops to assist in the evacuation of civilians and refugees from Kabul’s international airport following the sudden collapse of the country’s armed forces and government – just weeks after most US forces left.

Asked how long the Taliban was giving the US to evacuate, Mr Shaheen said US president Joe Biden should respect the Doha agreement signed by the Trump administration last year, which had committed Washington to pulling out of Afghanistan by mid-May.

That deadline was extended to 9/11, the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks that led to the US invasion in 2001, after Mr Biden took office in January.

“I think they should get their troops out of Afghanistan, Mr Shaheen told Sky News. “[The US] have already violated the time frame which was enshrined in the Doha agreement. Then they announced that they will withdraw all their forces by September 11, so they should withdraw all their forces.”

He went on to say that the Taliban was “committed not to attack them” and that “we have not attacked”.

The US suggested on Tuesday that “between 5,000 and 9,000” people could be evacuated per day, with American troops still stationed at the airport for the “coming weeks”, according to reports.

It follows images of hundreds of Afghans amassing at the airport in an attempt at fleeing the Taliban, who Mr Shaheen said on Tuesday had the support of “the people”.