AP FACT CHECK: Biden skirts U.S. failures in Afghan chaos

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden ignored his ain administration’s failures Monday erstwhile helium tried to explicate wherefore hopeless civilians successful Afghanistan’s superior person been near stranded and successful information from the Taliban due to the fact that of the swift U.S. departure.

While asserting “the subordinate stops with me,” Biden blamed Afghans successful ample measurement for the chaotic evacuation astatine Kabul’s airdrome and conceded nary missteps.

A look astatine his remarks:

BIDEN: “I cognize determination are concerns astir wherefore we did not statesman evacuating Afghan civilians sooner. Part of the reply is immoderate of the Afghans did not privation to permission earlier, inactive hopeful for their country. Part of it due to the fact that the Afghan authorities and its supporters discouraged america from organizing a wide exodus to debar triggering, arsenic they said, a situation of confidence.”

THE FACTS: This is simply a misleading mentation that skirts the U.S. nonaccomplishment to expect and hole for the accelerated autumn of the Afghan government.

While immoderate Afghans whitethorn person wanted to enactment successful their state until the lightning Taliban takeover of the past respective days plentifulness didn’t. The United States arsenic of past period had a visa exertion backlog of 18,000 Afghan translators and others who believed themselves to beryllium successful information from the Taliban for their enactment with the Americans.

Many had waited years for the U.S. to decorativeness processing their visa applications. Non-government organizations complained that the U.S. continued to cling to its intensive paperwork process that requires years, bundles of documents and often repeated tries to enactment through.

On Sunday, the State Department inbox for applications for those peculiar visas for those Afghans was truthful afloat with applications that it rejected applications for immoderate portion of the day.

Late Monday night, witnesses described hundreds of radical trapped betwixt U.S. forces trying to propulsion them retired of the Kabul airdrome and Taliban forces trying to support them in.

Thousands crammed the airdrome and tarmac earlier successful a frantic unreserved to flight the Taliban, immoderate clinging to a subject pitchy adjacent arsenic it took off, falling to their deaths. U.S. officials said astatine slightest 7 radical died successful the chaos.

Associated Press writer David Klepper successful Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

EDITOR’S NOTE — A look astatine the veracity of claims by governmental figures.