President Joe Biden insisted that his military advisers and intelligence officers did not tell him to keep a U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan. 'No one said that to me that I can recall,' he said
* President Joe Biden insisted his military advisers did not tell him to keep a U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan
* 'No one said that to me that I can recall,' he told ABC News in his first interview since the Taliban take over
* He said his top brass did not argue that all troops would be pulled from Afghanistan 'in a time frame'
* There were multiple warnings, however, and The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley wanted to keep 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan
* He also insisted 'no one is being killed' in the chaos surrounding the Kabul airport despite 12 confirmed deaths
* Biden also said in the interview that he would have withdrawn troops from even without Donald Trump's deal – in a stark reversal of blaming the situation on his predecessor
* This was the first time Biden faced questions from media over his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan
Joe Biden said he can't 'recall' if he was warned to maintain a troop presence in Afghanistan and insists 'no one is being killed' in a confusing series of comments during his first interview since his bungled withdrawal.
He also said he would have still pulled troops from Afghanistan without former President Donald Trump's deal to get everyone out by May 1 in a reversal of his finger-pointing at his predecessor for the chaos.
'Your top military advisers warned against withdrawing on this timeline – they wanted you to keep about 2,500 troops,' ABC's George Stephanopoulos said to Biden in an interview that aired Thursday morning.
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WNU Editor: The complete video of the interview has not been posted. But the transcript of the interview is here .... Full transcript of ABC News' George Stephanopoulos' interview with President Joe Biden (ABC News).
I have read the complete transcript, and there are a few surprises. His admission that he does not recall being told that he should keep 2500 troops in Afghanistan while everyone else is saying that he was told is shocking.
His admission that he would have withdrawn US soldiers from Afghanistan even without a Trump-Taliban deal/understanding is not a surprise to me, but this now kills his excuse and the media narrative that he was bound to withdraw US forces because of former President Trump.
He also admits that there is a good chance that Al Qaeda will be back .... Biden admits Taliban could welcome Al Qaeda back in less than 18 months but claims terror group is having an 'existential crisis' about being 'recognized as a legitimate government' (Daily Mail). Someone should tell the President that Al Qaeda are already there .... Al-Qaeda operates under Taliban protection: UN report (IANS). More here .... Al Qaeda present in 15 Afghan provinces: UN (DAWN).
