Afghanistan is ‘Not a Winnable War,’ White House Says as Taliban Storms Country – By Jacqueline Feldscher (Defense One) / June 25 2021
President Ghani leaves Washington empty handed, as Biden rejects Republican calls to reverse U.S. troop withdrawal.
The conflict in Afghanistan—which the United States is preparing to hand over to the government in Kabul—is “not a winnable war,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday, dismissing Republican calls to reverse the withdrawal from the 20 year conflict hours before President Joe Biden met with his Afghan counterpart in Washington.
At the White House, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani capped a week of meetings, including with several members of Congress and defense officials at the Pentagon. After hearing Ghani talk about the security situation in his country, several Republican lawmakers asked Biden to reverse his decision to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan no later than Sept. 11.The military is on track to complete the drawdown much sooner.
Ghani said he respects America’s decision to withdraw and rejects any “false narrative of abandonment.” Still, he painted a grim picture of the security situation in Afghanistan, comparing it to the United States in 1861, when the Civil War that ultimately killed more than 600,000 people began despite President Abaraham Lincoln fighting to unite a bitterly divided nation.
“The then-young republic of the United States was under attack and unity, determination, and ensuring that an exclusionary agenda was not allowed—[this] is the type of moment for us,” Ghani told the press after his meeting with Biden. “The support for the republic is intense, immense, and across the board.”
