[337] Biden addressed the withdrawal in July, saying, "The likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely."[337]
On August 15, the Afghan government collapsed under the Taliban offensive, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.[337][367] Biden reacted by ordering 6,000 American troops to assist in the evacuation of American personnel and Afghan allies.[368] He faced bipartisan criticism for the manner of the withdrawal,[369] with the evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies described as chaotic and botched.[370][371][372] On August 16, Biden addressed the "messy" situation, taking responsibility for it, and admitting that the situation "unfolded more quickly than we had anticipated".[367][373] He defended his decision to withdraw, saying that Americans should not be "dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves".[373][374]
On August 26, a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport killed 13 U.S. service members and 169 Afghans. On August 27, an American drone strike killed two ISIS-K targets, who were "planners and facilitators", according to a U.S. Army general.[375] On August 29, another American drone strike killed ten civilians, including seven children. 