Afghanistan is ‘Not a Winnable War,’ White House Says as Taliban Storms Country
By Jacqueline Feldscher
Senior National Security Correspondent
June 25, 2021
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.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/06/afghanistan-not-winnable-war-white-house-says-taliban-storms-country/174985/
