On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. did not win the war in Afghanistan and will not have a “mission accomplished” moment, despite President Biden previously stating the United States has met its objective in Afghanistan.
“We’re not going to have a ‘mission accomplished’ moment, in this regard. It’s a 20-year war that has not been won militarily,” Psaki said. “We are proud of the men and women who have served.”
“We’re not having a moment of celebration,” Psaki said. “We’re having a moment where we feel it’s in our national security interest to bring our men and women serving home, and we feel it’s in our national security interest for Afghan forces to be in the lead.”
Psaki’s comments come in conflict with President Biden’s statements announcing the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, per the Department of Defense, “The United States met its objective 10 years ago with the assassination of Taliban leader Osama bin Laden, he said, adding since then, ‘Our reasons for staying have become increasingly unclear.’”
Psaki’s statements come after another White House official, State Department spokesman Ned Price, attempted to argue the decision to remove troops from Afghanistan was because the Biden administration was unable to reverse course on plans initiated under the Trump administration – the argument was quickly refuted by a reporter.
During a speech in April, Biden suggested it was his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after the United States achieved its objective of killing Osama bin Laden.
“After consulting closely with our allies and partners, with our military leaders and intelligence personnel, with our diplomats and our development experts, with the Congress and the vice president, as well as with [Afghan President Ashraf Ghani] and many others around the world, I concluded that it’s time to end America’s longest war. It’s time for American troops to come home,” Biden said.
