President Biden says he stands squarely behind his decision. “Our mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to have been nation building. It was never supposed to be creating a unified, centralized democracy … [it was] preventing a terrorist attack on the American homeland.” He also admits that “this did unfold more quickly than we anticipated.” He made an eloquent and convincing speech about why we’re leaving. He also took full responsibility for the decision and, refreshingly, was quite open about America’s mistakes in Afghanistan. But I’m guessing that, behind the scenes, there is fury being directed at the advisors and leaders who screwed up the withdrawal. Here’s the speech.