Despite the return of the Taliban to power and the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Lloyd Austin the US Defense Secretary, on Wednesday said he does not regret the American troops’ withdrawal from the country.
Defense Minister Austin added that none of the Pentagon officials have been questioned or reprimanded regarding the chaotic withdrawal of the troops from Afghanistan.
Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley, the United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were called to the US Congress on Wednesday to elaborate on the defense budget for next year.
Jim Edward Banks, a Republican representative emphasized the chaotic and shameful withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan. Banks pointed to the death of 13 American soldiers at Kabul International Airport on the last day of withdrawal, caused due to a terror attack by ISIS (Daesh), and asked the Defense Minister whether he felt regretful for what had happened.
In response, Austin said he supported President Biden’s decision about the full exit of the American forces from Afghanistan, and he absolutely does not regret it.
Lloyd Austin defended the 20-year occupation of Afghanistan as a ‘necessary war of self-defense’ and countering terrorism, the presence of which in Afghanistan still remains a major concern for the US.
Jim Banks called on the US House Speaker to hold Biden Administration accountable for what had happened in Afghanistan.
The United States invaded Afghanistan following the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2011, which result in the toppling of the Taliban regime. The US and its NATO allies remained in Afghanistan for twenty years to fight terrorism. They spent billions on so-called nation-building and restoring peace and order in the war-torn country. However, US troops’ hasty withdrawal in August 2021, caused the worst humanitarian crisis the world has possibly ever seen.
