‘It’s a silly question’: Biden hits back at reporter who asked him if he trusted the Taliban

‘Do I trust the Taliban? No, but I trust the capacity of the Afghan military, who is better trained, better equipped, and more competent in terms of conducting war’

US President Joe Biden appeared annoyed when he was asked by a reporter if he trusts the Taliban after delivering remarks on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“Is that a serious question?” Mr Biden asked the reporter, who said it was “absolutely” a serious question.

“No, I do not,” Mr Biden answered. When asked to “amplify” his answer, Mr Biden said it was a “silly question”.

“Do I trust the Taliban? No, but I trust the capacity of the Afghan military, who is better trained, better equipped, and more competent in terms of conducting war,” Mr Biden added forcefully.

The president said on Thursday that the US mission in Afghanistan would end on 31 August, arguing that “speed is safety” as the US attempts to leave the almost 20-year war behind.

“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build,” Mr Biden said. “Afghan leaders have to come together and drive toward a future.”

Mr Biden tried to justify the move to end US operations even as the Taliban is advancing in large parts of the country. The administration has framed the end of the US presence in Afghanistan as a conclusion that was made because it’s an “unwinnable war” that “does not have a military solution”.

“I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation to achieve a different outcome,” Mr Biden said. “The United States cannot afford to remain tethered to policies created in response to a world as it was 20 years ago.”

When asked if the last 20 years of US military presence in Afghanistan had been worth it, he said “you know my record,” referring to his long-held resistance to US intervention in the country.

“I opposed permanently having American forces in Afghanistan,” he added. “No nation has ever unified Afghanistan – no nation. Empires have gone there and not done it.”

The president noted that he had personally visited the country and said that one of the objectives of the US mission was “to bring Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell”. Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in 2011 by US Special Forces when Mr Biden served as Barack Obama’s vice president.

Another reason for the US military to go to Afghanistan was to “eliminate Al-Qaeda’s capacity” to conduct more attacks against the United States “from that territory,” Mr Biden said.

“We accomplished both of those objectives. Period. That’s why I believed from the beginning why we should have gone to Afghanistan,” he added. “That job had been over for some time and that’s why I believe this is the right decision, and quite frankly overdue.”