Chaos at Afghanistan airport evacuation was 'inevitable', defiant Joe Biden says

19 August 2021, 10:37

Joe Biden said he could not see how the chaos at Kabul airport could have been avoided
Joe Biden said he could not see how the chaos at Kabul airport could have been avoided. Picture: Alamy

By Will Taylor

Chaos at Kabul airport amid the desperate attempt to evacuate people from Taliban rule was inevitable, Joe Biden has said.

The US will keep troops in Afghanistan for as long as it takes to get Americans out, he added in remarks to ABC News.

The commander-in-chief has been heavily criticised around the world for the chaotic withdrawal from the country, which saw the government collapse and the Taliban take over.

Determined to push ahead with leaving before the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the departure of most foreign forces precipitated a complete collapse of the state that an international coalition lost lives and spent a fortune developing.

President Biden on Afghanistan withdrawal, Taliban takeover intelligence decisions l WNT

The Taliban – deposed in a US-led invasion designed to shut down Al Qaeda groups within Afghanistan – have taken control of most of the country.

US and British forces are attempting to keep order at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, ironically leading to a surge in their military presence while foreign citizens and Afghan refugees are evacuated.

Mr Biden said he would keep forces in country past the August 31 deadline if the US still needed to get people out.

Read more: Desperate Afghan mothers fleeing Taliban 'throw babies over Kabul airport barbed wire'

Read more: Taliban 'beat and whip' crowds as regime tightens grip on Afghanistan

The US and allies have been evacuating from Kabul
The US and allies have been evacuating from Kabul. Picture: Alamy

Speaking to ABC, the president said he would do "everything in our power" to get Americans and allies out by the end of the month, but he added: "If there's American citizens left, we're going to stay till we get them all out."

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos also questioned him about the images of people being crowded into military jets and appearing to fall from a plane during take off, having apparently clung on in a desperate bid to escape Taliban rule.

"That was four days ago, five days ago," Mr Biden said.

Life in Kabul is 'grim and sad' journalist in Afghanistan tells LBC

"What I thought was, we have to gain control of this… the idea that we could have gotten out without chaos ensuing – I don't know how that happens."

Read more: Afghanistan: 12 people killed at Kabul airport as crowds try to flee Taliban rule

He also said that, having previously said a Taliban victory was unlikely, "the idea that the Taliban would take over was premised on the notion that somehow the 300,000 troops we had trained and equipped was going to just collapse, were going to give up, I don't think anybody anticipated that".

The Taliban said 12 people had died around the airport since Sunday, mostly either through stampedes or gunshots.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Lisa Smith, 43, was with a female friend when she was killed outside the Three Horseshoes pub in Knockholt, Kent.

'She's dead. I can't live': Haunting final words of Valentines Day shooting suspect revealed

Steve Bannon has been accused of giving a 'Nazi salute'.

Steve Bannon denies using 'Nazi salute' and claims he was waving to crowd

An urgent search is currently underway in Teeside in the hunt for a missing runner, after her vehicle was found abandoned on the roadside.

Urgent hunt for missing runner, 23, as police become 'increasingly concerned' for her safety

Israeli hostages Tal Shoham left, and Avera Mengisto are escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Hamas release five Israeli hostages in Gaza - with sixth Arab-Israeli hostage to be handed privately to Red Cross

Piran Ditta Khan has died in jail

Gang boss behind PC Sharon Beshenivsky's murderer dies behind bars months after being locked up

Donald Trump said Zelenskyy and Putin need to 'work together'

Donald Trump says Putin and Zelenskyy 'need to work together' as he denies he's planning 'trip to Moscow'

Salman Rushdie

Man found guilty of attempted murder over Salman Rushdie attack

Diddy's lawyer has quit the sex trafficking case, a New York court heard today

‘I cannot continue’: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyer quits sex trafficking case

Police officers work at the scene where a person was stabbed near the memorial of the murdered jews of Europe in Berlin

Man seriously injured in stabbing at Berlin Holocaust Memorial as police hunt suspect

Kara Alexander, 47, of Dagenham, east London, murdered Elijah Thomas, two, and Marley Thomas, five

Drug addict mother guilty of murdering her two sons then leaving bodies in bunk bed for their dad to find

The hand was found at Our Lady Immaculate school in Darndale

Mystery of ‘severed hand’ found near school in Dublin

The US has held 'positive' talks with Zelenskyy

Ukraine has 'no cards left to play' Trump claims as he slams Starmer for 'doing nothing' to end Russia's war

Pope Francis's doctors say he is 'not out of danger'

Pope Francis ‘not out of danger,’ says doctors who have prescribed ‘absolute rest’

The three brothers have been jailed for dozens of child sex offences

Three brothers jailed for sexually abusing and grooming dozens of young girls in Leeds

iPhone security update.

Urgent warning for iPhone users as Apple to remove highest level of data protection amid government security row

Steve Bannon has been accused of giving a 'Nazi' salute

Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon accused of doing 'Nazi salute' during speech