Washington (US) | Jagran News Desk: United States (US) President Joe Biden on Thursday said that Taliban "must decide whether it wants to be recognised by the international community". However, Biden, while speaking to ABC News, refused that the militants have changed its fundamental beliefs.
Biden, who has been vastly criticised for the "hastly" withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, further said that Taliban also had to grapple with "whether it could provide for Afghans". He also said that economic and diplomatic pressure is needed in Afghanistan to ensure women's rights.
"I think they're going through a sort of existential crisis about: Do they want to be recognised by the international community as being a legitimate government? I'm not sure they do," he said, adding that the group appeared more committed to its beliefs.
"They also care about whether they have food to eat, whether they have an income that ... can run an economy, they care about whether or not they can hold together the society that they in fact say they care so much about," Biden said in the interview, taped on Wednesday. "I'm not counting on any of that."
Earlier, Biden had conceded that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan happened "more quickly" than anticipated, but insisted that he remains "squarely behind" his decision to withdraw American troops from the war-torn country. He also rejected blame for messy pull out amid chaotic scenes of Afghans clinging to US military planes in Kabul in a desperate bid to flee their home country.
He also described the images coming out of Afghanistan as "gut-wrenching" but said: "I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces."
"I stand squarely behind my decision...We were clear-eyed about the risks. We planned for every contingency. But I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you," Biden said.
He blamed the US-backed Afghan government and military for allowing the Taliban to take over.
"The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated. So, what happened? Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country," he said, a day after embattled Afghan President Ashraf Ghani feld the country.
Within hours of the Taliban takeover, chaos erupted at Kabul's international airport as desperate Afghans raced to flee the country. A harrowing video captured Monday showed Afghans storming the military side of the airport and clinging to a US Air Force plane as it attempted to move down the tarmac.
In the video, at least three people appear to fall to their death as the aircraft took off.
As the Taliban took hold of the country, Democrats on Capitol Hill and former Obama administration officials joined Republicans in publicly criticising Biden's handling of the situation.
(With agency inputs)
Posted By: Aalok Sensharma
