“When I came to office, I inherited a deal cut by my predecessor-which he invited the Taliban to discuss at Camp David on the eve of 9/11 of 2019-that left the Taliban in the strongest position militarily since 2001 and imposed a May 1, 2021 deadline on U.S. Forces. Shortly before he left office, he also drew U.S. Forces down to a bare minimum of 2,500. Therefore, when I became President, I faced a choice-follow through on the deal, with a brief extension to get our Forces and our allies' Forces out safely, or ramp up our presence and send more American troops to fight once again in another country's civil conflict. I was the fourth President to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan-two Republicans, two Democrats. I would not, and will not, pass this war onto a fifth.”
14 Aug 2021
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