‘It was time to end this war’: President Joe Biden addresses US on Afghanistan withdrawal

US President Joe Biden has defended his administration's decision to end America's role in the conflict in Afghanistan, stating he was not going to "extend this forever war". This was the president's first public address following the final withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan on August 31. "Remember why we went to Afghanistan in the first place? Because we were attacked by Osama Bin laden and Al-Qaeda on September 11th 2001 and they were based in Afghanistan," Mr Biden said. He said America had already delivered justice to Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda over a decade ago yet stayed for another decade. The question must be asked, the president said, if America would still have gone to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban if the 9/11 attack was from Yemen – "even though the Taliban controlled Afghanistan in 2001". "I believe the honest answer is no. "That's because we had no vital interest in Afghanistan other than to prevent an attack on America's homeland and our friends. "We succeeded in what we set out to do in Afghanistan over a decade ago. then we stayed for another decade – it was time to end this war."

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