- The United States ended 20 years of war in Afghanistan,
he longest war in American history.
We completed one of the biggest airlifts in history,
with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety.
The extraordinary success of this mission
was due to the incredible skill,
bravely, and selfless courage the United States military
and our diplomats and intelligence professionals.
And they did it knowing ISIS-K terrorists,
sworn enemies of the Taliban,
were lurking in the midst of those crowds.
And still, the women and men of the United States military,
our diplomatic core,
and intelligence professionals did their job and did it well.
Risking their lives, not for professional gain,
but to serve others.
Not in a mission of war, but in a mission of mercy.
That assumption, that the Afghan government
would be able to hold on
for a period of time beyond military draw down
turned out not to be accurate.
But, I still instructed our national security team
to prepare for every eventuality, even that one.
And that's what we did.
So we were ready.
We got thousands of Afghan translators and interpreters
and others who supported the United States out as well.
Now we believe that about 100-200 Americans
remain in Afghanistan.
With some intention to leave.
Most of those who remain are dual citizens,
long-time residents that earlier decided to stay
because of their family roots in Afghanistan.
So we're left with a simple decision.
Either follow through on the commitment made
by the last administration and leave Afghanistan
or say we weren't leaving and commit
another tens of thousands more troops going back to war.
That was the choice, the real choice.
I was not going to extend this forever war.
And I was not extending a forever exit.
But I also know, that the threat from terrorism continues --
in it's pernicious and evil nature,
but it's changed, expanded to other countries.
Our strategy has to change, too.
We will maintain the fight against terrorism
in Afghanistan and other countries.
We just don't need to fight a ground war to do it.
I believe this is the right decision.
A wise decision.
The best decision for America.
Thank you, and may God bless you all.