Biden says U.S. set to complete war in Afghanistan by August 31: It’s up to ‘the Afghan people alone to decide their future’

 (CNN) -- President Joe Biden on Thursday stood by his decision to end the war in Afghanistan, insisting no amount of sustained American presence there could resolve the country's own intractable problems.

Speaking as a near-complete withdrawal of American troops coincides with major Taliban gains, Biden grew defensive when pressed on the likelihood of a total Taliban takeover.

He said it was now up to the Afghans to defend their country. And he insisted there was nothing more the United States could do after two decades of war.

"I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome," Biden said from the East Room after receiving an update from his national security team on the deteriorating security situation on the ground.

"The current security situation only confirms that just one more year fighting in Afghanistan is not a solution, but a recipe for being there indefinitely," he said.

In his remarks, Biden said American troops will be done with the military mission by August 31 -- weeks ahead of his original schedule.

He said the US went into Afghanistan to prevent another terrorist attack on the scale of the tragedies on September 11, 2001, and the military accomplished that mission.

"We achieved those objectives, that's why we went. We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build, and it's the right and responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country," Biden said.

Now, Biden said the US must turn to other global challenges.

"The United States cannot afford to remain tethered to policies creating a response to a world as it was 20 years ago. We need to meet the threats where they are today," he said.

Facing the prospect of a Taliban takeover within a year -- accompanied, most likely, by devastation and suffering -- Biden aimed to convey continued support for the country.

He directly addressed the thousands of Afghans who assisted the United States during the war who are now waiting on their US visa applications.

Biden has vowed to allow those who helped the US effort to come to the United States, but the visa process has been slow, leading officials to develop plans to relocate them to a third country.

The President's aides have said the relocation for those waiting on visas will be finished before the drawdown is complete at the end of August, without specifying how many people they plan to move or confirming where they will go while they wait.

One administration official told CNN the first flights for the interpreters could begin in two weeks.

The deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, while troubling, has not deterred Biden from pushing ahead with his plans to bring US troops home.

Instead, the pace with which the Taliban have gained ground in recent weeks has, in a way, only solidified for the White House the merits of Biden's decision, according to multiple officials, who said it has made clear the limited value of a long-term force presence.

Last week, Biden bristled under questioning on Afghanistan, saying he'd rather discuss the matter after the July 4 holiday.

"It's a rational drawdown with our allies -- there's nothing unusual about it," Biden said on Friday of the pace of withdrawal, which has caught some in Washington by surprise.

He said he had faith in the civilian leaders in Kabul, whom he met in the Oval Office last month, despite American intelligence assessments the capital could fall to the Taliban in as little as six months after US troops depart. But he said the fractious divides within the government must be resolved.

"I am concerned that they deal with the internal issues that they have to be able to generate the kind of support they need nationwide to maintain the government," Biden said.

The withdrawal has proceeded quickly after Biden announced in April he would wind down America's presence in Afghanistan by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks that prompted the war.

Officials recently began citing an earlier date -- late August -- by which the last remaining troops would exit the country, with a small contingent left behind to protect diplomatic facilities.

The withdrawal is now more than 90% complete, officials say. The last US troops left Bagram Air Base last week, marking the end of the American presence at the sprawling compound that became the center of military power in Afghanistan.

Some Afghan soldiers told CNN they only found out the Americans were leaving that very day. And Afghan officials accompanying CNN on a tour of Bagram on Monday confessed they were only then getting access to much of the base and working out what had been left behind.

One senior officer said he was notified last Thursday that his forces had less than 24 hours to secure the perimeter of the base.

US intelligence services, military commanders and members of Congress have all warned that the Afghan government won't be able to stand up to the Taliban without the backing of American firepower. The Taliban are already moving rapidly to take over districts in the northern parts of Afghanistan, leading US military commanders to raise the prospect of a civil war once US troops are gone.

Other big decisions have yet to be made, including whether and how the US will use drones in the future to target suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and how to secure the civilian airport in Kabul.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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