The speed of the Afghan government's collapse and the ensuing chaos posed the most serious test of Biden as commander in chief, and he was the subject of withering criticism from Republicans who said that he had failed.
Biden ran as an experienced expert in international relations. He spent months debunking the possibility of an ascendant Taliban, while also arguing that Americans have had enough of a 20 year war. This conflict showed the limits of military might and money to force democracy Western-style on a society that was not ready to accept it.
By Sunday, though, leading figures in the administration acknowledged they were caught off guard with the utter speed of the collapse of Afghan security forces. After reports of gunfire at Kabul's airport, Americans sought refuge as they waited for flights to safety.
"We have seen that the force is unable to defend the country and that has occurred more quickly than we expected," Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated to CNN about the Afghan military.
For a president who had largely focused on domestic issues, such as overcoming the pandemic and winning congressional approval for trillions in infrastructure spending, the turmoil in Afghanistan changes the focus.
According to White House officials, Biden was at Camp David on Sunday. He received regular briefings about Afghanistan and held secure video conferences with members of his national defense team. The White House released one photo of Biden alone, in a conference room with intelligence, military and diplomatic experts. It will be crucial to determine if the U.S. can regain some control of the situation over the next few days.
In a joint statement, the Pentagon and State Department stated Sunday that they were "completing a series of measures to secure Hamid Karzai International airport to allow the safe departure U.S. personnel from Afghanistan via civilian or military flights." Biden also ordered the deployment of another 1,000 troops to Kabul.
Two senior administration officials, who asked anonymity to discuss internal conversations, said that Biden was in talks to speak publicly. Biden is expected to stay at the presidential retreat until Wednesday and will return to the White House if necessary.
Biden is the fourth U.S. President to face Afghanistan's challenges and has repeatedly said that he would not hand over America's longest-running war to another president. But the president will likely have to explain how security in Afghanistan unraveled so quickly, especially since he and others in the administration have insisted it wouldn't happen.
Biden stated that while the jury is still out on whether the Taliban will overthrow the country and take control of the entire country, it is unlikely.
Biden expressed optimism that Afghan forces would be able to defend themselves, even as recently as last week. However, Biden ordered thousands of American troops to the region on Thursday after officials from the administration warned that the military was in decline. This decision was made to accelerate evacuation plans.
According to one official, Biden was more optimistic about projections that Afghan fighters would defeat the Taliban to protect their morale. It ended up being futile.
Both President Barack Obama and Donald Trump longed to leave Afghanistan. However, they ultimately refused to do so despite resistance from military leaders as well as other political concerns. Biden on the other side has remained firm in refusing to change the Aug. 31, deadline due to his belief that the American people are on his side.
For example, a late July ABC News/Ipsos survey showed that 55% of Americans approve of Biden's handling the troop withdrawal.
While most Republicans don't support Biden keeping troops in Afghanistan for the long-term, they do support Trump's push to leave the country. Some Republicans are still critical of Biden's withdrawal strategy. They said that images of American helicopters hovering over the U.S Embassy in Kabul on Sunday evoke the humiliating departures of U.S. personnel in Vietnam.
Senator Republican Leader Mitch McConnell described the scenes of withdrawal in his Senate speech as "the embarrassment a superpower laid low."
According to an anonymous source familiar with the matter, U.S. officials are becoming more concerned about terrorist threats to the U.S. as the Afghan situation worsens.
On Sunday, Gen. Mark Milley (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) told senators that U.S. officials will change their earlier assessments regarding the pace of terrorist groups reconstituting themselves in Afghanistan. Officials believe that terror groups such as al-Qaida could grow faster than anticipated based on the changing situation.
Senators were informed by the officials who spoke on the phone that the U.S. intelligence agency is currently forming a new timeline to address the evolving threats.
Despite this, Biden had already ordered additional troop deployments to help with the evacuations. Senior administration officials believe that the U.S. can maintain security at Kabul Airport long enough to rescue Americans and their allies. However, the fate of those who were unable to reach the airport was not certain.
Senator Chris Murphy, D.Conn., is a member the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that has supported the Biden administration’s strategy. He said in an interview that although "the speed of the process is a surprise", he would not call the situation an intelligence failure. He stated that it was long known that Afghanistan would fall under the Taliban if the United States withdraws.
Murphy stated that it was reasonable for analysts to think that the Afghan army would be able fight for longer than a few days, given how much has been invested in them. You want to believe that 20 years of investment and trillions of dollars add up to something even though it won't be enough to protect the country long-term.
The rapid collapse of Afghanistan in the top ranks of Biden's staff only confirmed his decision to leave. After nearly two decades of American presence, if the Afghan forces were to crumble so quickly, six months, a year, or more, it would have no impact on the decision to leave.
Biden has been arguing for over a decade that Afghanistan is a sort of purgatory for America. Biden found Afghanistan corrupt and dependent on America's wealth. He believed it should be left to its own devices. He wanted to prevent terrorist attacks on Americans and not build a country.
He was vice president and argued against Obama's deployment of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan as a way to stabilize the country, so that the United States could pull back its forces.
Biden, as president, stated in July that he took the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan with "clear eyes" following daily battlefield updates. Biden believed that Afghanistan would be split in peace negotiations with Taliban and not fall at once.
He stated that "there's not going to be any circumstance where you see people lifted off the roofs of a embassy of the United States in Afghanistan." "It is unlikely that there will be one government in Afghanistan which controls the entire country."
