Biden blames Trump for Afghanistan bedlam

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President Biden on Saturday doubled his long-standing justification for the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan as the threat of Kabul’s fall to the Taliban was widespread.

Driving the news: Biden blames his predecessor, Donald Trump, for empowering the Taliban and leaving them “in the strongest military position since 2001” but said in a statement he had to choose and he would not pass the war to a “fifth” US president.

“When I became President, I was faced with a choice by agreement, with a brief expansion to safely release our forces and the forces of our allies, or strengthen our presence and send more troops. Americans to fight again in another civil dispute, ”Biden said. Biden announced on Saturday that approximately 5,000 additional U.S. troops would be deployed to assist in the downfall of U.S. personnel and other allies as they evacuate the region. Of those, 3,000 have been announced, 1,000 are already in Kabul and 1,000 additional troops will come from the 82ndAirborne Division directly to Kabul, per ABC.

The big picture: Biden’s remarks came as Taliban offensives showed no signs of slowing and as the rebels threatened to overthrow the Afghan government and isolate Kabul.

“Another year, or five more years, of the U.S. military presence won’t make a difference if the Afghan military doesn’t or won’t hold its own country,” Biden said. “And an endless presence of Americans in the midst of another civil war is unacceptable to me.” Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, the second largest province in the country, fell to the Taliban on Saturday. Jalalabad and Kabul are the only major cities still under government control and officials fear Jalalabad could fall within hours.

Of note: Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Saturday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Ghani gave a speech on Saturday in which he did not give an indication that he would resign.

Go deeper: Behind the scenes of the Biden administration as the US dumps Kabul

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