Faced with tough questions about leaving Afghanistan, including Americans left behind, President Joe Biden planned to address the nation Tuesday about the way forward after 20 years of U.S. war.
Biden is under heavy criticism, particularly from Republicans, for his handling of the final evacuation, which successfully airlifted more than 120,000 people from Kabul airport but left more than 100 Americans behind.
“He will make clear that as president, he will approach our foreign policy through the prism of what is in our national interests, including how best to continue to keep the American people safe,” press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
But the president still faces many questions — about extracting the Americans and thousands of Afghans left behind, resettling tens of thousands of refugees who were able to flee and dealing with congressional criticism that the administration was caught flat-footed by the rapid collapse of the Afghan government.
Biden is also adjusting to a new relationship with the Taliban, the Islamist militant group that it toppled nearly 20 years ago that is now once again in power in Afghanistan.
