President Joe Biden ran on the campaign promise of ending the war in Afghanistan and finally returning all troops deployed in Afghanistan back to the United States. On Monday Aug. 30, the last of the American troops in Afghanistan had been returned to the US. Though Biden followed through on this promise, the removal of American troops from Afghanistan has quickly turned into a crisis. 

Not long after American troops began to withdraw, the Afghan capital of Kabul as well as the US embassy in Afghanistan fell to the terrorist organization the Taliban. President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan fled the country, and former President Hamid Karzai formed a counsel to assist in the transition of power from the president to the Taliban. A Taliban spokesman told a BBC reporter, “We assure the people in Afghanistan — there will be no revenge on anyone.” 

The spokesman said the heavily armed Taliban fighters stationed on the outskirts of the city were to ensure the peaceful transfer of power. After US officials had described the Taliban as “very cooperative” throughout the process of America’s troop withdrawal, a strike on the Kabul airport shook American citizens and military officials alike. Thirteen American service members were killed in the attack, along with at least 170 Afghan citizens and 200 more estimated to have been injured. 

Just hours after the explosion, ISIS-K, which stands for the Islamic State Khorasan Province, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that was responsible for the deaths of the 13 American service men and women and the hundreds of dead or injured Afghani citizens. 

To assist with the extraction of the American troops, President Biden authorized 6,000 troops to secure the airport in Kabul to ensure the safety of the troops who would be leaving through the airport before the set date of Aug. 31. Sure enough, his plan was successful and the last of the American troops had left on Aug. 30. As the American troops began evacuating and Afghanistan descends even further into danger and chaos almost daily, the status of Afghani innocents has become a hot topic in the news. As of Aug. 31, 31,107 evacuees were sent to the US, with 23,876 of those evacuees falling into the at-risk category.

Amid the chaos that has ensued since President Biden began to pull US troops out of Afghanistan, many Republican leaders and politicians are calling for the resignation, and some even the impeachment, of Biden for his handling of the situation. Representative Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, said on Tuesday that Biden’s management of the Afghanistan crisis “will go down in history as a black mark on our country and certainly will prove that this president is not up for the job.” 170 Afghan citizens and 200 more estimated to have been injured. 

Just hours after the explosion, ISIS-K, which stands for the Islamic State Khorasan Province, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that was responsible for the deaths of the 13 American service men and women and the hundreds of dead or injured Afghani citizens. 

To assist with the extraction of the American troops, President Biden authorized 6,000 troops to secure the airport in Kabul to ensure the safety of the troops who would be leaving through the airport before the set date of Aug. 31. Sure enough, his plan was successful and the last of the American troops had left on Aug. 30. As the American troops began evacuating and Afghanistan descends even further into danger and chaos almost daily, the status of Afghani innocents has become a hot topic in the news. As of Aug. 31, 31,107 evacuees were sent to the US, with 23,876 of those evacuees falling into the at-risk category.

Amid the chaos that has ensued since President Biden began to pull US troops out of Afghanistan, many Republican leaders and politicians are calling for the resignation, and some even the impeachment, of Biden for his handling of the situation. Representative Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, said on Tuesday that Biden’s management of the Afghanistan crisis “will go down in history as a black mark on our country and certainly will prove that this president is not up for the job.” 

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsay Graham has been among the most outspoken against Biden throughout the Afghanistan crisis. He has repeatedly called for his impeachment, commenting in an interview with CBS, “[Biden] deserves a lot of accountability for this. And I’m sure it will be coming.”

 

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsay Graham has been among the most outspoken against Biden throughout the Afghanistan crisis. He has repeatedly called for his impeachment, commenting in an interview with CBS, “[Biden] deserves a lot of accountability for this. And I’m sure it will be coming.”

Amid all the criticism he faces, President Biden has stayed firm in his decision to fully withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. In an address to the nation on Aug. 31, a day after the final troops had left Afghanistan, Biden took responsibility for the deaths and chaos that are ongoing in Afghanistan, while also staunchly defending his decision to get the troops out in the first place. 

“I take responsibility for the decision,” Biden said. “The bottom line is, there is no evacuation from the end of a war that you can run without the kinds of complexities, challenges, threats we faced.” 

He also addressed specific questions that have been circulating throughout the news regarding his handle on the situation. 

“To those asking for a third decade of war in Afghanistan, I ask: What is the vital national interest?” Biden said. “I refuse to continue a war that was no longer in the service of the vital national interests of our people.” 

As President Biden fights to defend his legitimacy as President and the nation mourns the deaths of many of its own service members and Afghani innocents, the almost 20-year war in Afghanistan has ended, and the majority of US troops are back on American soil. The complete withdrawal from Afghanistan can be seen as a somber victory, as the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the thousands of lives lost loom over the heads of many Americans.