U.S. President Joe Biden says the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is the best way to end the country’s longest-running war, adding that it is another way back to the war.
“I will not be fighting this war forever, and I will not be making a lasting impression,” he said in a televised address on Tuesday, just hours after US troops left Kabul airport at the end of a 20-year war.
“We were able to do what we wanted in Afghanistan ten years ago. And we stayed for ten years. It was time to end the war. The idea of Afghanistan is not about Afghanistan. It is almost the end of the great forces to change other countries,” he said.
The Taliban, who seized power over the country this month, celebrated their victory by calling Afghanistan a “free and independent state”.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said their success should serve as a “lesson” in the United States.
Here are some recent updates:
25 minutes ago (01:22 GMT)
US Treasure has issued a new permit to help reduce aid to Afghanistan
Last week the US government gave permission for it and its allies to continue helping people in Afghanistan, a Treasury official told Reuters news agency, the Washington-based Taliban, to take control of the country this month.
The special license, issued by the Treasure department last Wednesday, authorizes the US government and its contractors to provide humanitarian assistance to people in Afghanistan, in addition to providing food and medicine, even though the U.S. ordered the Taliban.
The license, which expires on March 1, 2022, comes amid concerns that Washington’s capture of the Taliban could accelerate the country’s crisis, which relies on foreign aid.
2 hours ago (23:50 GMT)
US refuses to dump dogs at Kabul airport
The U.S. Department of Defense has denied reports that soldiers left their dogs at Kabul airport when Washington left Afghanistan.
“In an effort to correct misconceptions, U.S. forces have not left any dogs in the barn at Hamid Karzai International Airport, including dogs reported to be doing military service,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby wrote on television.
He explained that the images that circulate on the Internet show dogs in zoos and not those used by the military.
Animal rights group PETA has previously cited “internal sources” as saying that 60 dogs were bombed and 60 “working dogs” remained “suffering from heat stroke without access to food or water.”
3 hours ago (23:04 GMT)
Biden Speeches: All notes
President Joe Biden defended himself against his policies in Afghanistan on Tuesday, calling their ouster a “right choice”.
“I will not promote this war forever, and I will not promote a permanent exit,” Biden said.
Read speeches Pano.
3 hours ago (22:54 GMT)
Biden has signed a law to help Americans return to Afghanistan
President Joe Biden has signed into law Tuesday a bill that would provide $ 10m in aid of U.S. citizens deported from Afghanistan over the next two years.
The Senate passed the law in unison on the same day. The House of Representatives approved it last week.
Senator Ben Cardin said the bill increases funding for repatriation to the United States to help meet their needs, including housing.
“She was abducted, living in Afghanistan, then [it is] to meet their short-term needs, ”CNN quoted Cardin as saying.
3 hours ago (22:37 GMT)
Leading US leaders praise Biden for resigning
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, chair of the DRM Progressive Caucus, praised President Joe Biden for his recent departure from Afghanistan, saying he had made one of the “triggers” to speak on Tuesday.
“Courageous, thoughtful, orderly and important,” Jayapal wrote on Twitter, citing Biden’s address.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, the left-wing parliament, agreed with Jayapal. “President Biden is right in saying that this idea is not just about Afghanistan. It is about the demise of major forces to change other countries,” Warren said.