Biden says U.S. mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to be nation building

Reuters · 08/16/2021 20:13
Biden says U.S. mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to be nation building

- President Joe Biden said on Monday the mission of the United States in Afghanistan was never supposed to be nation building as he defended his decision to pull out U.S. troops from the country.

Thousands of civilians desperate to flee Afghanistan thronged Kabul airport's single runway on Monday after the Taliban seized the capital, prompting the United States to suspend evacuations as it came under mounting criticism at home.


(Reporting by Steve Holland and Nandita Bose in Washington
Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

((nandita.bose@thomsonreuters.com; +12023545868; Reuters Messaging: nandita.bose.reuters.com@reuters.net))