Trump Urges Biden to 'Resign in Disgrace' as Taliban Declare 'End to War' in Afghanistan
22:15 GMT 15.08.2021 (Updated: 00:49 GMT 16.08.2021)
© REUTERS / EVELYN HOCKSTEIN
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As of Sunday, the Taliban movement claimed that they have established control over Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul amid a mass evacuation of Western diplomatic personnel that began amid the Taliban's surge in the country.
Former US President Donald Trump said in a statement on Sunday that it was time for the incumbent US president, Joe Biden, to resign, "for what he has allowed to happen in Afghanistan, along with the tremendous surge in COVID, the Border catastrophe, the destruction of energy Independence, and our crippled economy."
The ex-US president went on to say that it "shouldn't be a big deal" since, according to Trump's version of events, Biden "wasn't elected legitimately in the first place!".
The statement follows an announcement made by the Taliban*, following their entrance to Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul, that the movement was in control of all of Kabul's districts.
Hours prior to Trump's calls for Biden to resign, the former issued another statement, dubbing the incumbent POTUS' Afghanistan policy and its outcome as "one of the greatest defeats in American history!".
Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem told Al-Jazeera that the war in Afghanistan is "over", noting that the type of rule and the form of the regime in the country will soon be made clear. He also called on foreign diplomatic missions to be "in complete confidence" that there is no danger for them in Afghanistan, as the "forces of the Islamic Emirate are tasked with maintaining security in Kabul and other cities in the country".
Western countries, including the United States, continue to evacuate diplomatic personnel from the country, with Washington and Paris temporarily moving their embassies to the Kabul airport, where crowds of people are struggling to leave the country.
In order to assist with the evacuation of Americans from Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden authorized the increase of the US troops in the country to 5,000, with the US media reporting on Sunday that the Pentagon then moved to authorize an additional 1,000 troops.
The US president is currently on vacation, with his absence in the White House receiving intense backlash from those who are already disappointed with the decision to pull US forces out of Afghanistan.
According to reports, Biden is expected to address the nation on the situation in Afghanistan "in the next few days", with the administration officials noting that the remarks may be made from Camp David, not the White House, although officials are reportedly "aware of the optics of the President being out of town" amid a tense situation.
Biden's decision on the pullout from Afghanistan have received unflattering attention from critics, who compare the president's manner of drawdown in the Middle Eastern nation to how America exited Vietnam in 1975, and voiced concerns that the pullout might be the beginning of "ISIS 3.0".
Addressing the comparison with Vietnam, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pointed out that "this is not Saigon", and "there’s going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of the embassy of the United States from Afghanistan."
US President Donald Trump speaks during his address to the nation from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, on August 21, 2017. - Trump Monday left the door open to a possible political agreement with the Taliban, in an address to the nation on America's strategy in the 16-year Afghan conflict. "Some day, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political sentiment that includes elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan," he said.
© AFP 2023 / NICHOLAS KAMM
Trump, earlier criticizing Biden's policy in Afghanistan, said that POTUS 46 should have followed his "plan" that was, according to Trump, left for him by the previous administration.
While the ex-president did not elaborate on what his plan included, he was the one to pen a peace deal with the Taliban in 2020, pledging that the US and its allies would reduce their troops in the country and lift sanctions from the militants, who, in exchange, would promise not to allow Al-Qaeda* or other extremist groups to operate in the territories controlled by the Taliban.
*The Taliban and Al-Qaeda are terrorist groups outlawed in Russia and many other countries
