President Joe Biden argued that the way to address women’s rights around the world “is not with a military invasion.”
During an interview with “Good Morning America” Wednesday, host George Stephanopoulos asked Biden, “What do we owe the Afghans that are left behind, particularly Afghan women who are facing the prospect of subjugation again?”
Biden responded, “As many as we can get out, we should.”
He added, “The idea that we’re able to deal with the rights of women around the world by military force is not rational.”
The president explained there are “a lot of places where women are being subjugated,” adding, “The way to deal with that is not with a military invasion. The way to deal with that is putting economic, diplomatic, and international pressure on them to change their behavior.”
Check out part of the president’s interview below:
Pres. @JoeBiden to @GStephanopoulos on Afghanistan: “The idea that we're able to deal with the rights of women around the world by military force is not rational … the way to deal with that is not with a military invasion.” https://t.co/nYExSPhUkr pic.twitter.com/N6NQHmlwR3
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 19, 2021
Rina Amiri, a former official at the State Department and United Nations, told The New York Times stories of how women in Afghanistan and their families have been caught up in between gunfire and were beaten by supporters of the Taliban while trying to find a plane to get on to leave.
“It’s just damning that the United States and the international community have put these women in the position of having to risk not only their lives, but that of their children and families, in order to leave and save themselves and their families,” Amiri said to the newspaper.
The Times noted that the United States on Wednesday joined 20 countries and the European Union in calling for the rights of Afghan women to be protected. They also vowed to send humanitarian aid and other support “to ensure that their voices can be heard,” as the outlet reported.
During the same interview, Biden was pressed about his remarks in July where he said, “The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.”
He replied, “Yeah, well the question was whether or not– the idea that the Taliban would take over was premised on the notion that somehow the 300,000 troops we had trained and equipped was just going to collapse.”
Biden also said there was no way for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan without “chaos ensuing.”
