Sullivan: Biden Went Back on Staying to Evacuate Americans Because We’re ‘More Likely to Get More Americans’ and Allies out ‘by Leaving’

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said one reason President Joe Biden went back on his pledge to stay in Afghanistan until all Americans were out is that Biden determined “that we were more likely to get more Americans out of that country and more Afghan allies out of that country by leaving than by staying on an open-ended basis.”

Sullivan stated, “I think there were two major factors in the president’s decision to leave on the 31st. And, by the way, that was a decision that was backed up unanimously by every one of his civilian and military advisers, including the commanders on the ground, including his entire military leadership, and his secretary of state. Everyone stood behind that decision. Because they believed, not only was there going to be increasing risk to force, which is to say the likelihood that more American Marines could die the longer that we stayed. But there was increasing risk to mission as well. Because the United States’ presence at that airfield was creating a greater magnet for terrorism, instability, and violence than us transitioning from a military to a diplomatic mission. He ultimately made the judgment that we were more likely to get more Americans out of that country and more Afghan allies out of that country by leaving than by staying on an open-ended basis. That was a judgment he made as the dynamic situation evolved over the course of the thirteen days from the ABC interview to the 31st, and it’s a judgment that he very much stands behind.”

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