Biden says delay in evacuating Afghan civilians was partly due to the Afghan government

In a speech about Afghanistan on Monday, President Biden attributed the delay in evacuating Afghan civilians to the fact that “The Afghan government and its supporters discouraged us from organizing a mass exodus to avoid triggering, as they said, a ‘crisis of confidence.’”

Video Transcript

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Operation Allies Refuge, which I announced back in July, has already moved 2,000 Afghans who were eligible for Special Immigration Visas, and their families, to the United States. In the coming days, the US military will provide assistance to move more SIV-elligble Afghans, and their families, out of Afghanistan. We're also expanding refugee access to cover other vulnerable Afghans who worked for our embassy, US non-governmental agencies, or, US non-governmental organizations, and Afghans who otherwise are at great risk, and US 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. And part of it because the Afghan government and its supporters discouraged us from organizing a mass exodus, to avoid triggering, as they said, a crisis of confidence.