VIDEO: "I STAND SQUARELY BEHIND MY DECISION" - PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN SAYS

President Joe Biden says he stands "squarely behind his decision to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan as he acknowledged the "gut-wrenching" images coming out of the country after the swift Taliban takeover of the government.

Biden said he had to choose between sticking to a previously negotiated agreement to withdraw U.S. troops this year or sending thousands more service members back into Afghanistan to fight a third decade" of war.

Biden, sounding resolute in the face of withering criticism of his handling of the situation, said he chose the latter so as not to repeat past mistakes. He reiterated that he had no regrets.

"I stand squarely behind my decision" the president told the nation in a televised address from the White House East Room after he flew back from the Camp David presidential retreat "After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.

Many disagree with Biden's decision, angered by the chaos the world witnessed over the weekend as the Taliban ultimately captured Kabul, the capital, and Afghanistan's president left the country.

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