AFT’s Weingarten on President Biden Ending the War in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement commending President Joe Biden on bringing our troops, citizens and allies home from Afghanistan:

“Sometimes leadership requires hard choices that forgo political expediency. Joe Biden is the first president to go beyond words and act to end the war in Afghanistan—a war that killed far too many and solved far too little. Yes, we all yearn for an Afghanistan that treats women equitably and enables girls to go to school, an Afghanistan that protects the human rights of all. But that will require a political solution; it cannot be enforced by the U.S. military.

“Biden has been consistent: He made these points as vice president. He ran for president on his commitment to withdrawing. He honored former President Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban, which left him only two choices—to leave or to escalate. And he airlifted more than 120,000 allies and American citizens out of the country in record time. A burden remains on the United States to help those who want to leave, to increase humanitarian aid, and to welcome thousands more Afghan refugees. But we are a stronger nation today than we were a week ago, and that’s because of this president’s steadfast commitment to bringing our troops home.”