WASHINGTON (AP) — Striking a defiant tone, President Joe Biden said Monday that he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and that the Afghan government's collapse was quicker than anticipated.

Biden said he was faced with a choice between sticking to a previously negotiated agreement to withdraw U.S. troops this year or sending thousands more service members back into Afghanistan for a “third decade” of war.

Biden said he will not repeat mistakes of the past and did not regret his decision to proceed with the withdrawal.

“I stand squarely behind my decision,” Biden said in a televised address to the nation from the White House East Room. “After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.”

Biden said he'd rather take the criticism over the fallout in Afghanistan than leave the decision to another president. He said the decision to leave Afghanistan is “the right one for America."

He said keeping a U.S. presence in Afghanistan was no longer a U.S. national security interest.

Biden described the images coming out of Afghanistan — especially at the airport in Kabul, where Afghans descended in hopes of fleeing the country — as "gut-wrenching." Video of Afghans clinging to a U.S. Air Force plane as it prepared to take off had circulated widely on the internet.

But he did not admit any U.S. fault in how the drawdown was executed. He acknowledged that the Taliban takeover unfolded faster than had been anticipated.

About a month ago, Biden batted away the notion of a rapid Taliban takeover.

Biden said Monday the U.S. will continue to support the Afghan people, push for regional diplomacy and speak out for the rights of Afghans.

Senior U.S. military officials said the chaos at the airport in Kabul left seven people dead Monday, including some who fell from a departing American military transport jet. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss ongoing operations.

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