“Blunder”, “disaster”, “joke” … The American press criticizes Joe Biden’s speech on the withdrawal from Afghanistan – Le Monde

“A disaster”, “a provocative defense”, “a president on the defensive”. The address of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, who tried to justify for about twenty minutes the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, drew numerous comments from the American press. “After twenty years, I reluctantly learned that there was never a good time to withdraw American forces”the president said in an address to the nation eagerly awaited due to his silence over the weekend.

Really shaken for the first time since his election, Mr. Biden confirmed the withdrawal of troops, no later than August 31, by entrusting the fate of the country to an Afghan government and soldiers, now in disarray.

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Virtually all of the American media, including those who greeted his election with relief, speak of “Disaster”, like the CNN channel, or a “Provocative defense”, as the Boston Globe, when the Washington post describes a Joe Biden ” on the defensive “.

“A blunder”

In its editorial, the Washington post looks back at the different “Blunders” of the American president, denouncing a departure “Sloppy” US forces, which led to the disastrous images of the chaos at kabul airport, where several people died while trying to cling to military planes during takeoff. “The withdrawal should not have degenerated into a catastrophic spectacle”, writes the liberal newspaper, according to which “The president could have listened to the many enlightened opinions of his advisers”.

“Whether we find it fair or unfair, history will remember that Joe Biden is the one who presided over the humiliating conclusion of the American experience in Afghanistan” after twenty years of war, on Monday the New York Times, regretting the posture of the president during his speech. “Joe Biden spent a lot more time defending his decision to leave Afghanistan rather than revisiting the chaotic way in which that departure unfolded”, continues the daily.

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On this same line, the Los Angeles Times regrets that the president “Did not assume his responsibilities”, faced with this disastrous withdrawal of American troops.

In a joint letter, journalists from New York Times, from Wall Street Journal and Washington post also called on the President of the United States to help evacuate Afghan journalists who have contributed to media coverage of the region.

USA Today did not mince words to criticize Joe Biden’s statements. “Few American presidents have seen their blunders confirmed in such a spectacular way, in real time, as Joe Biden in Afghanistan”, comments the general daily, before recalling the comments made by the same a few weeks earlier: “The idea that the Taliban own the whole country is highly improbable. “

“A political battle which has only just begun”

Some media have also returned to the political repercussions of Mr. Biden’s speech. While he persists in defending the withdrawal of American troops, the Republican opposition has seized a golden opportunity to criticize him.

“Republicans, who are trying to win both houses of Congress in next year’s election, see opportunity to attack Biden on an issue where he has traditionally been very strong – foreign policy.”, argues Amber Phillips in an analysis published in the Washington Post. the Washington post perceives this conflict as “The first outlines of a political battle which is only just beginning as the war in Afghanistan ends”.

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The speech by the President of the United States also made the headlines of certain foreign press titles, notably in the United Kingdom, where the Daily Telegraph headlined “Biden defends escape from America”. The tabloid Sun, he posts a photo of Mr. Biden at a meeting table, with the pun “Joke Biden” (“The Biden joke”), accompanied by a subtitle stating “Prez’surprised’by rout” (“The president is surprised by the rout”).

“Biden: it’s the Afghans’ fault”, title, in one of its Tuesday edition, the Daily Mail, while its columnist Richard Littlejohn, believes that the war on terrorism ended as it began, with “Bodies falling from the sky and a humiliated America”.

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