US President Joe Biden has said he stands "squarely" behind the US exit from Afghanistan as he faces withering criticism over the Taliban's lightning conquest of the war-torn country.
The BBC reports that Biden has asked how many more American lives is it worth.
He said that despite the "messy" pullout, "there was never a good time to withdraw US forces".
On Sunday, the Taliban declared victory after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled and his government collapsed.
The militants' return to rule brings an end to almost 20 years of a US-led coalition's presence in the country.
Kabul was the last major city in Afghanistan to fall to a Taliban offensive that began months ago but accelerated in recent days as they gained control of territories, shocking many observers.
Biden says American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.
Biden is facing intense political backlash over the turmoil in Kabul following his April decision to order all American troops out of Afghanistan by 11 September - the 20 year anniversary of the terror attacks that triggered the US invasion.
[Source : BBC]
