By Trevor Hunnicutt
'It was time to end a 20-year war' -Biden
WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden, his voice breaking with emotion, vowed on Thursday the United States
would hunt down those responsible for twin explosions at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan and said he asked the Pentagon
to develop plans to strike back at them.
Biden spoke hours after the blasts killed at least a dozen American troops and scores of civilians, the worst day of
casualties for U.S. forces there in a decade. read more
Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), an affiliate of militants who previously battled U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq, claimed
responsibility for the attack.
"We will not forgive, we will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," Biden said in remarks at the White
House.
He promised U.S. evacuations would continue. He gave no indication of a change in next Tuesday's U.S. pullout target.
"I have also ordered my commanders to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership and facilities. We
will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place we choose and the moment of our choosing," Biden said.
Biden appeared to be fighting back tears and his voice cracked with emotion as he talked about the American "heroes" who
died. "It's been a tough day," he said.
The president said he had told the U.S. military that he would grant additional force if they needed it: "Whatever they
need, if they need additional force, I will grant it."
Biden defended his handling of his most serious foreign policy crisis, saying ultimately it is his responsibility, while
assigning some blame to his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, for the 2020 agreement Trump negotiated with the
Taliban.
"I bear responsibility for, fundamentally, all that's happened of late," Biden told reporters when asked if he was
responsible for the events of the past two weeks.
He said he did not trust the Taliban but believed it was in the group's interest to let the evacuations continue.
Biden had been warning of the possibility of attacks before the blasts erupted at the Kabul airport.
"I know of no conflict, as a student of history, no conflict when a war was ending one side was able to guarantee that
everyone who wanted to be extracted from that country was able to get out," he said.
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney