United States President Joe Biden said American troops will complete their pullout from Afghanistan on Aug. 31, saying the U.S. had achieved its objectives there, reports said.
Delivering remarks at the White House, Biden said no amount of sustained American presence in Afghanistan could resolve the country's own problems and U.S. resources -- lives, money and attention -- were better focused elsewhere.
"I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome," CNN quoted Biden as saying.
Biden announced the decision in April, and he said Thursday he will stick to it, even as the consequences of that withdrawal become more and more stark.
The Pentagon announced Wednesday the withdrawal of U.S. forces was already more than 90% complete, according to The Guardian.
Last week, the U.S. announced it had pulled out its forces in Bagram - its key base in Afghanistan -- effectively completing its military campaign in the country.
Biden and his chief representative acknowledged there will not be a "mission accomplished" moment in Afghanistan, although he insisted the U.S. had already attained its goals in the military operation after dismantling al Qaeda and killing Osama bin Laden.
"No, there's no mission accomplished. The mission was accomplished in that we got Osama bin Laden, and terrorism is not emanating from that part of the world," he said.
A longtime skeptic of the war, Biden resisted pressure from military officials to keep a troop presence in Afghanistan. He had previously supported strong military and humanitarian efforts to rebuild the country.
Now, he said, it's up to the Afghans to defend their country, deciding there was nothing more the U.S. could do after 20 years of war.
