Biden announced in the statement that he would transfer an additional 1,000 troops to Afghanistan to complement the 1,000 troops already in the nation and the 3,000-troop surge he declared last week, a defense official explained. The president announced the move was needed after he inherited a tenuous situation from the previous administration, insisting that Trump had cut a deal with the Taliban in 2019 that put them in a powerful military position. Biden further denounced Trump's decision to roll back American forces stationed in the nation.
"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," Biden announced in the statement. "Shortly before he left office, he also drew U.S. forces down to a bare minimum of 2,500."
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Biden stated that he was increasing the total number of troops in Afghanistan to 5,000 despite both Biden and Trump previously working toward withdrawing U.S. military presence in the country.
The president explained that he was forced to decide between honoring the agreement with the Taliban set under the Trump administration and bolstering the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
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"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," he wrote.
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Despite the surge of U.S. troops into the nation, Biden wrote that he is committed to ending the war, stating, "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."
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Trump has spoken out against Biden's choice, slamming the president as weak and unable to demonstrate strength effectively in the face of Taliban leaders. The former president said Friday that he "personally had discussions with top Taliban leaders whereby they understood what they were doing now would not be acceptable."
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"It would have been a much different and much more successful withdrawal, and the Taliban understood that better than anyone," he continued.
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