-- this seems to have been part of an orchestrated tele-band strategy -- taliban strategy. now that the taliban have the power, if they are in a stronger position, they might change that. whether or to what extent, only time will tell. anchor: we are going to go straight to the white house -- i apologize, we are still waiting to hear from u.s. president joe biden to address the nation live from the white house. meantime, if you are just joining us on pbs in the united

states, we are waiting for president biden's address to the nation. german military aircraft have been deployed to kabul but have been unable to land because of the chaos at the airport. berlin wants to accelerate efforts to evacuate as many as 10,000 people from afghanistan. chancellor angela merkel hopes to bring home military and other officials as well as afghan support staff the government considers in danger. >> a german air force plane en route to kabul. germany sending plans to rescue nationals, but many say the help comes too late. >> we requested the evacuation of people from afghanistan and the german parliament before the summer break. it was not done. it was simply rejected. we had years, we had months. this withdrawal of u.s. troops and the german armed forces was

set long and advanced and i cannot put it any other way. the behavior of the federal government toward local staff in afghanistan is shabby. >> frustration over germany's late response also felt on the streets of berlin. >> steps were taken to address the rapidly evolving events. my national security team and i have been closely monitoring the situation on the ground in afghanistan and moving quickly to execute the plans we had put in place to respond to every constituency, including in contingency, including the rapid collapse we are seeing now. i will speak more in a moment about the specific steps we are taking, but i want to remind everyone how we got here and what america's interests are in afghanistan. we went to afghanistan almost 20 years ago with clear goals -- get those who attacked us on september 11, 2001, and make

sure al qaeda could not use afghanistan as a base from which to attack us again. we did that. we severely degraded al qaeda in afghanistan. we never gave up the hunt for osama bin laden, and we got him. that was a decade ago. our mission in afghanistan was never supposed to be nationbuilding. it was never supposed to be creating a unified, centralized marker c. -- democracy. our only interest in afghanistan remains what he has always been, preventing a terrorist attack on the american homeland. i have argued many years that our mission should be narrowly focused on counterterrorism, not counterinsurgency or nationbuilding. that's why i opposed the surge when it was proposed in 2009 when i was vice president. that's why as president, i am adamant we focus on the threats we face today in 2021, not

yesterday's threats. today, the terrorist threat has metastasized well beyond afghanistan. al-shabaab in somalia, isis attempting to create a caliphate in syria and iraq and establish affiliates in africa and asia. these threats warrant our attention and resources. we conduct effective counterterrorism missions against terrorist groups in multiple countries, where we don't have a permanent military presence. if necessary, we will do the same in afghanistan. we have developed counterterrorism over the rising capability that will allow us to keep our eyes a fixed on the direct threats to the united states and the region, and act quickly and decisively if

needed. when i came into office, i inherited a deal that president trump negotiated with the taliban. under his agreement, u.s. forces would be out of afghanistan by may 1, 2021. a little over three months after i took office. u.s. forces had already drawn down during the trump administration from roughly 15,500 american versus -- forces to 2000. the taliban was at its strongest militarily since 2001. the choice i had to make as your president was either to follow through on that agreement or be prepared to go back to fighting the taliban in the middle of the spring fighting season. there would have been no cease-fire after may 1. there was no agreement protecting our forces after may

1. there was no status quo of stability without american casualties after may 1. there was only the cold reality of either following through on the agreement to withdraw our forces or escalating the conflict and sending thousands more american troops back into combat in afghanistan. lurching into the third decade of conflict. i stand squarely behind my decision. after 20 years, i have learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw u.s. forces. that's why we are still there. we were clear eyed about the risks. we planned for every contingency, but i always promised the american people i would be straight with you. the truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we

anticipated. what has happened? afghanistan's political leaders gave up and fled the country. the afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight. if anything, the developments of the past week reinforced ending u.s. military in afghanistan now was the right decision. american troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves. we spent over $1 trillion. we trained and equipped and afghan military force with some 300,000 strong. incredibly well-equipped, a force larger in size than the militaries of many of our nato allies. we gave them every tool they

could need. we paid their salaries. provided for the maintenance of their air force. something that taliban doesn't have. the taliban does not have an air force. we provided close air support. we gave them every chance to determine their own future. we could not provide them the will to fight for that future. there are some very brave and capable afghan special forces soldiers. but if afghanistan is unable to mount any resistance to the taliban now, there is no chance that one year, one more year, five more years or 20 more years of the u.s. military boots on the ground would have made any difference. here is what i believe to my core -- it is wrong to order american troops to step up when

afghanistan's own armed forces would not. the political leaders of afghanistan were unable to come together for the good of their people, unable to negotiate the future of the country when the chips were down. they would never have done so while u.s. troops remained in afghanistan, bearing the brunt of the fighting for them. our true strategic competitors, china and russia, would love nothing more for the u.s. to continue to funnel billions of dollars of resources and attention into afghanistan indefinitely. when i hosted the afghanistan president, and when we spoke by phone, we had frank conversations. we talked about how afghanistan should prepare to fight civil war's after the u.s. military departed.

to clean up the corruption in government so government could function for the afghan people. we talked extensively about the need for afghan leaders to unite politically. they failed to do any of that. i also urged them to engage in diplomacy, to seek a political settlement with the taliban this advice was flatly refused. he insisted the afghan forces would fight, but obviously he was wrong. so i am left again to ask of those who argue that we should stay, how many more generations of america's daughters and sons would you have me send to fight afghanistan's civil war when afghan troops will not? how anymore lives, american lives, is it worth? how many endless rows of

headstones at arlington national cemetery? i am clear in my answer. i will not repeat the mistakes we have made in the past. the mistake of staying and fighting indefinitely when the conflict is not in the national interest of the united states. of doubling down on a civil war in a foreign country. of attempting to remake a country through the endless military deployments of u.s. forces. those are the mistakes we cannot continue to repeat, because we have significant vital interest in the world that we cannot afford to ignore. i also want to a knowledge how painful this is for so many of us. the scenes we are seeing in afghanistan are not wrenching. -- gut region, particularly for anyone who has spent time on the ground working to support the

afghan people. for those who have lost of ones in afghanistan, and for americans who have fought and served in the country, serving our country in afghanistan, this is deeply personal. it is for me as well. i have worked on these issues as long as anyone. i have been throughout afghanistan through this war while it was going on from a -- from kabul to kandahar. i have traveled on four different occasions, i met the people, i have spoken to the leaders, i spent time with our troops, and i came to understand firsthand what was and was not possible in afghanistan. so now we are focused on what is possible. we will continue to support the afghan people. we will lead with our diplomacy,

international influence and humanitarian aid. we will continue to push for regional diplomacy and engagement to prevent violence and instability. we will continue to speak out for the basic rights of the afghan people, of women and girls, just as we speak out all over the world. i have been clear, human rights must be the center of our foreign policy, not the periphery. but the way to do it is not through endless military deployments, it is with our diplomacy, our economic tools, and rallying the world to join us. let me lay out the current mission in afghanistan. i was asked to authorize and i did 6000 u.s. troops to deploy to afghanistan for the purpose of assisting in the departure of u.s. and allied civilian personnel from afghanistan. and to evacuate our afghan allies and vulnerable afghans to

safety outside of afghanistan. our troops are working to secure the airfield and ensure continued operation of both civilian and military flights. we are taking over air traffic control. we have safely shut down our embassy and transferred our diplomats. our diplomatic presence is now consolidated at the airport as well. over the coming days, we intend to transport out thousands of american citizens who have been living and working in afghanistan. we will also continue to support the safe departure of civilian personnel, the civilian personnel of our allies, who are still serving in afghanistan. operation allies refugee, which i announced in july, has already moved 2000 afghans eligible for special immigration visas and their families to the united

states. in the coming days, the u.s. military will provide assistance to move more eligible afghans and their families out of afghanistan. we are also expanding refugee access to cover other vulnerable afghans who works for our ever see. u.s. nongovernmental organizations. and afghans who otherwise are at great risk come and u.s. news agencies. i know there are concerns about why we did not begin evacuating afghan civilians sooner. part of the answer is some of the afghans did not want to leave earlier. still hopeful for their country. part of it is because the afghan government and supporters discourage us from organizing a mass exodus to avoid triggering, as they said, a crisis of confidence. american troops are performing

this mission as professionally and effectively as they always do, but it is not without risks. as we carry out this departure, we have made it clear to the taliban, if they attack our personnel or disrupt our operation, the u.s. presence will be swift and the response will be swift and forceful. we will defend our people with devastating force if necessary. our current military mission is short in time, limited in scope and focused on its objectives. get our people and allies to safety as quickly as possible. once we have completed this mission, we will conclude our military withdrawal. we will end america's longest war after 20 long years of bloodshed.

the events we are seeing now are sadly proof that no amount of military force would ever deliver a stable, united, secure afghanistan. it is known in history as the graveyard of empires. what is happening now could just as easily have happened five years ago or 15 years in the future. we have to be honest. our mission in afghanistan has taken many missteps over the past two decades. i am now the fourth american president to preside over war in afghanistan. two democrats and two republicans. i will not pass this responsibility onto a fifth president. i will not mislead the american people by claiming just a little more time in afghanistan will make all of the difference. nor will i shrink from my share of responsibility for where we are today and how we must move

forward from here. i am president of the united states of america and the buck stops with me. i am deeply saddened by the facts we now face, but i do not regret my decision to end america's war fighting in afghanistan and maintain a laser focus on our counterterrorism mission there and in other parts of the world. our mission to degrade the terrorist threat of al qaeda in afghanistan and kill osama bin laden was a success. our decade-long effort to overcome centuries of history and permanently change and remake afghanistan was not. i wrote and believed it never could be. i cannot and will not ask our troops to fight endlessly in another country's civil war, taking casualties, suffering

life shattering injuries, leaving families broken by grief and loss. this is not in our national security interest. it is not what the american people want. it is not what our troops, who have sacrificed so much in the past two decades, deserve. i made a commitment to the american people when i ran for president, that i would bring america's involvement in afghanistan to an end. it has been hard and messy and far from perfect, but i have honored that commitment. more importantly, i made a commitment to the brave men and women who serve this nation that i wasn't going to ask them to continue to risk their lives in a military action that should have ended long ago. our leaders did that in vietnam when i got here as a young man. i will not do it in afghanistan. i know my decision will be

criticized, but i would rather take all of that criticism then pass this decision onto another president of the united states, a fifth one, because it is the right one, it is the right decision for our people. the right one for our brave servicemembers who risk their lives serving our nation. it is the right one for america. thank you, may god protect our troops, our diplomats,nd all brave americans serving in harm's way. [reporters clamoring] anchor: that is a joe biden, the u.s. president, addressing the united states of america live from the white house. there is absolutely mea culpa -- no mea culpa. he did make one concession, he seemed to suggest that he did

not anticipate all of this unfolding quite as quickly as it did, but he clearly put all of the blame on this on the afghan leadership and the afghan military. essentially saying the united states has extended many resources to afghanistan, that what they could not give them was the will to fight for their own future. joe biden, somewhat combative there. what do you make of his address? stephan: i think for viewers who watched us before he started speaking, it is exactly as we expected. again, there was no way president biden would roll over or paddle back from this decision, because it is a strategic decision for the united states. for this administration, at

least as the administration sells it to the american people and the world. it is the american strategy for central asia, it has changed. there are other problems and other theaters america has to put their attention, the biden administration wants to put their attention to, and it is not afghanistan, because as he reiterated, the core mission to eradicate al qaeda and i, etc. -- isis, etc., fighting terror is completed, done. at least america and the intelligence apparatus and national security involved in this, they are convinced they can handle this. i stand squarely behind my decision, that is a quote from the president just now. you are right, major blame goes,

even if he says the buck stops here, i am the president and i promised i would tell the truth, and the truth is this is my responsibility and it doesn't look pretty, but there is more blame -- he puts more blame on his afghan partners, the former ghani administration, and it is no secret it was not unified and corrupt. he blames the afghan national defense forces as unwilling to fight. capable but unwilling. that is supported by big military, we cannot buy the will to fight against a foe, that has to come from the people. he is in line with that. one more point, if you allow, it is really important here, and that is he says at the end it is

the right decision for the american people, referring to that the majority of americans really want this to end after 20 years and trillions of dollars, losing 2400 american lives, soldiers. it is the right decision for the american people, the right decision he says from a military and strategic perspective, and for america. again, that is underlining and emphasizing there are bigger problems somewhere else, which america needs to put their attention to. anchor: in addition to putting some blame on the afghan players, he made a reference to the decisions made by the previous at the discretion, saying donald trump and his administration essentially made a deal to be out of the country by the first of may. he called it a cold reality that

they should either comply with that agreement or look at an escalation of this war. biden said the u.s. mission is only counterterrorism and not rebuilding the nation, therefore , is his mission done? stefan: americans stayed in afghanistan longer than 2, 3, 4, 5 years, a decade longer than 2011 when osama bin laden was killed in the special forces raid. why? they thought -- look, if we help the afghans to clean up their country, their society, to even things out, terrorists will not come back. that was the entire premise for fighting the taliban. the taliban in the 90's had assimilated themselves with al qaeda and osama bin laden,

opened their doors. which resulted in 9/11, and america responded saying we are going to hunt those down responsible for this, as well as change the ground floor. this is never becoming a problem again from afghanistan. guess what? the second part of this never worked out, as we can clearly see. who knows? the taliban are back in charge. but it is critical in the eyes of the administration for americans to understand that this was something long-overdue, and biden stressed this again, that he is not someone who says i have a good idea, let's try this. there wasn't development to this, and you mentioned that's

rightfully so, the trump administration went to doha, negotiating the withdrawal conditions for u.s. troops. when can we get out, how can we get out, what you the taliban have to do so this will work out? it was not peace negotiations. until now, the afghan administration was never at the table. they had no input. it really was not a peace deal. anchor: stefan, i am sorry, we have to leave it there, we really appreciate your time. ♪

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>> the rush to leave kabul. civilians have been killed while clinging to aircraft. seven deaths have reported at the airport. with the taliban in control of afghanistan, fears. especially for women and girls. emmanuel macron speaks just pledge support for those women and girls who face a life of repression. macron -- an e.u. initiative to protect against the migrant flow peered at the french president praising the military and civil mission in afghanistana