'every resource necessary'
Biden vows U.S. will evacuate Afghans who assisted in war effort, tells Americans 'we will get you home'
President Biden while delivering remarks Friday on the ongoing evacuation effort in Afghanistan vowed to all Americans in the country, "We will get you home."
Speaking from the White House amid the chaos that has unfolded since Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, Biden said the United States has evacuated about 13,000 people from the country since Aug. 14th amid "one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history." He went on to promise, "Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home," vowing to "mobilize every resource necessary" in this effort and saying his administration is focused on ensuring that "every American who wants to leave can get to the airport."
The president also said the United States will be making this "same commitment" to those Afghans who assisted in the war effort. Biden said, though, that he "cannot promise what the final outcome" of the "dangerous" evacuation mission will be, or "that it will be without risk of loss." He also didn't commit to the evacuation being completed by the end of August.
"I think we can get it done by then," he said. "But we're gonna make that judgment as we go."
During his Friday press conference, Biden also continued to defend the United States' withdrawal amid criticism, asking, "What interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point with Al Qaeda gone?"