(PresidentialWire.com)- The days of avoiding unnecessary foreign conflicts are over, with President Joe Biden admitting on Thursday that as many as 2,5000 American troops may be forced to stay in Afghanistan after May 1, which was the date that American forces agreed to leave the country under the year-old agreement with the Taliban signed by former President Donald Trump.
After bombing Syria mere weeks into the job, maybe this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise…
“It’s going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline,” Biden said to journalists during a White House press conference. The very first press conference he gave as president, some 65 days after entering the White House.
President Biden says it will be “hard” to meet the May 1 deadline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan https://t.co/uJ0J3QqO6h pic.twitter.com/Br3al3n89I
— CNN (@CNN) March 25, 2021
Biden claimed that the troops would be staying in Afghanistan past the agreed deadline because of “tactical reasons,” but did attempt to avoid criticism by claiming that he didn’t see American troops staying in the region past next year.
The president didn’t explain what exactly he meant by that, leaving open the possibility of troops staying in Afghanistan for at least the next twelve months, or until the end of 2022 – which is virtually another two years away.
“It is not my intention to stay there for a long time,” Biden claimed. “The question is how and under what circumstances do we meet that agreement that was made by President Trump to leave under a deal that looks like it’s not being able to be worked out to begin with.”
A review of the deal, which was signed in February 2020, was initiated by the new Biden administration after taking office. The review is still ongoing, but so far, high-ranking Biden administration officials have indicated that the Taliban isn’t sticking to their side of the deal – something Biden wants to blame Trump for.
General Richard Clarke, commander of American special forces, told legislators On Thursday that it’s “clear that the Taliban have not upheld what they said they would do and reduce the violence.”
“It is clear they took a deliberate approach and increased their violence since the peace accords were signed,” Clarke added.
Biden is facing intense criticism for his decision from left-wing and right-wing commentators.
Investigative historian Gareth Porter said Biden was “even more reckless than Trump” for his decision, while “effectively refusing to come back into compliance with the JCPOA and talking trash with China.”
So far #Biden is even more reckless than Trump: refusing to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan by May 1 and ignoring the peace agreement, while effectively refusing to come back into compliance with the JCPOA and talking trash with China. https://t.co/L2hbnOI943
— Gareth Porter (@GarethPorter) March 25, 2021
Is Biden the most incompetent president we’ve ever had?
