US 'no longer had a clear purpose in Afghanistan,' Biden says: LIVE UPDATES

President Biden’s address to the nation Tuesday following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan hid the fact that he completely ignored the terms of which the U.S. agreed to pull out, Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane revealed on "The Story."

See the interview here.

Among those at greatest risk under Taliban rule are women, who make up roughly half the country’s population and were severely oppressed during the Islamist group’s previous time in power in the late 1990s.

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As Afghanistan readies for a future without the presence of U.S. troops, American military officials will most likely combat ISIS-K through the use of drone strikes, said drone expert Brett Velicovich. 

One of the first strikes was carried out on Friday in response to a bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members a day earlier amid evacuations at Kabul's international airport. ISIS-K, an Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the terror attack.

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not deny Tuesday that President Biden looked at his watch during a dignified transfer ceremony in honor of the 13 U.S. service members killed by a terrorist bombing in Kabul.

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The Pentagon will continue to conduct drone strikes against ISIS-K militants and other targets within Afghanistan when necessary even after the permanent withdrawal of the U.S. military presence within the country, spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday.

The U.S. launched deadly drone strikes against an individual described as an "ISIS-K planner" as well as a suspected suicide car bomber in recent days after the terrorist group claimed responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 13 U.S. service members. Kirby indicated the Pentagon would utilize drone strikes if threats arose in the future.

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Florida Rep. Brian Mast, who lost both of his legs while serving in Afghanistan, has become the latest official to suggest President Biden should resign over his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from the country.

Gen. Mark Milley has issued a memorandum for the Joint Force thanking U.S. military members for their service following the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"Your actions honor the sacrifice of our brothers and sisters in arms who lost their lives or were wounded in Afghanistan," reads the letter, co-signed by Gen. Mark Milley. "Over the last two decades and the last 2 weeks, you embodied our American values of equality, liberty and human dignity for all."

Reporters grilled White House press secretary on the Biden administration's Afghanistan withdrawal Tuesday, including with questions about an Afghan ally who drove through a snowstorm to rescue then-Sen. Joe Biden and three other senators after the weather forced their helicopter to land in a remote valley.

The interpreter, identified only as Mohammed out of concerns for his safety since he is still trapped in the Taliban-held country, told the Wall Street Journal Monday that he is in hiding with his wife and four children.

"Hello Mr. President, Save me and my family," he told the paper. "Don't forget me here."

"Our message to him is, thank you for fighting by our side for the last 20 years," Psaki said. "Thank you for the role you played in helping a number of my favorite people out of a snowstorm. And for all of the work you did. And our commitment is enduring not just to American citizens, but to our Afghan partners who have fought by our side and our efforts and our focus right now is, as you heard General Mackenzie say and others say over the last twenty four hours, is to the diplomatic phase. We will get you out. We will honor your service and we're committed to doing exactly that.  

White House press secretary Jen Psaki addressed concerns about the hundreds of U.S. citizens who remain trapped in Afghanistan following the full withdrawal of American troops.

“The vast majority, if not everyone, are dual citizens who are still there who have lived their entire lives in Afghanistan,” Psaki said. “This is where they’ve lived. This is where their family members are. This is not an easy decision to leave.”

President Biden "was deeply impacted" after the deaths of 13 U.S. service members killed at Kabul's airport airport last week and frequently talks about them in meetings, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.

The remark came in response to a question about criticism from the fallen heroes' families over Biden appearing to check his watch during the dignified transfer ceremony.

“I would say his message to all of the family members who were there, those were not even in attendance, is that he is grateful to their sons and daughters, the sacrifice they made to the country, that he knows firsthand what it’s like to lose a child and the fact that no one can tell you anything or say anything or there’s no words to fill that hole that is left by that," Psaki said.

President Biden noted the true cost of the nearly 20-year war in Afghanistan during his remarks.

"I'm the fourth president that must face the issue of whether to end this war," he said. "We no longer had a clear purpose in an open ended mission in Afghanistan. After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, I refuse to send another generation of America's sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long ago."

"And most of all, after 800,000 Americans serving in Afghanistan ... After 20,744 American servicemen and women injured, and the loss of 2,461 American personnel, including 13 lives lost just this week, I refuse to open another decade of warfare in Afghanistan."

"If you're 20 years old today, you've never known an America at peace. So when I hear that we could have, should've continued this so-called low-grade effort in Afghanistan, at low risk to our service members, at low cost, I don't think enough people understand how much we have asked of the 1 percent of this country who put that uniform on, willing to put their lives on the line in defense of our nation," he continued, citing his deceased son, Beau Biden, who served in Iraq.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that U.S. leverage over the Taliban includes access to the global marketplace -- warning that the radical Islamist group could face sanctions going forward if it fails to live up to international norms.

"We have enormous leverage over the Taliban, including access to the global marketplace," she said during her daily news briefing. "That's no small piece of leverage. And in order to gain access to the global marketplace, we're going to be watching closely, as will the global community. I would note that yesterday the U.N. Security Council also signed a passed a resolution that made clear to what the expectation is in terms of safe travel and evacuation or departure, I should say, of individuals who want to leave Afghanistan. And nearly half of the countries in the world have also signed on to a statement making clear that is the expectation."

Biden promised that the 13 service members who lost their lives during an attack by ISIS-K fighters would not be forgotten.

"Twenty service members were wounded in the service of this mission. Thirteen heroes gave their lives," he said. "We owe them and their families a debt of gratitude we can never repay."

Earlier, he warned those looking to commit terror acts against the U.S.

"We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down to the end of the Earth and you will pay the ultimate price," he said.

Biden said his administration will work to make sure the Taliban follows through on its commitments, specifically allowing those who want to leave the country.

"We don't take them by their word alone, but by their actions," he said. And we have leverage to make sure those commitments are met."

He said he no longer believe that having troops and spending billions strengthens America's safety and security.

"The fundamental obligation of a president, in my opinion, is to defend and protect America," he said. "Not against threats of 2001 but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow."

He cited promises to end the conflict on the campaign trial.

More than 5,500 Americans were airlifted out of Afghanistan, as well as thousands of Afghan translators and interpreters, Biden said in his address in which he priased the chaotic evaucation effort.

"Since March, we reached out 19 times to Americans in Afghanistan, with multiple warnings and offers to help them leave Afghanistan, all the way back as far as March," Biden said. 

In his remarks from the White House about the U.S. withdrawl from Afghanistan, President Biden said Tuesday that 120,000 people were evacuated from the country, concluding America'slongest war almost two decades after it began.

"We completed one of the biggest air lifts in history with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety," he said. "That number is more than double what most experts thought were possible. No nation, no nation has ever done anything like it in all of history."

Around 100 to 200 Americans remain in Afghanistan. Most are dual citizens who decided to stay, possibly because of family connections, he said. His administration will work to grant safe passge to Americans who want to leave, he said.

"We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out," he said.

The assumption that Afghan forces would be able to hold up to the country amid threats from the Taliban turned out to not be accurate.

The family of fallen U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, a soon-to-be father who was killed in a bombing during the mass evacuation in Afghanistan, was welcomed back to Wyoming on Monday with a police escort and people waving American flags as they lined the streets.

McCollum, 20, was among 13 service members killed by a suicide bomb attack Thursday at the Kabul airport while providing security as people tried to flee the country amid the U.S. withdrawal and Taliban takeover. He was expecting his first child in three weeks, according to his family.

Since McCollum’s death, thousands of people from across the country have made donations to his family. As of Tuesday, the donations exceeded $500,000 across two GoFundMe campaigns set up for McCollum’s widow and their unborn child’s future education costs.

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The young widow of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, one of 13 service members killed a suicide bomb attack at Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, said her husband "would not regret" being called for the mission to evacuate Americans and refugees, adding "if he knew the outcome, he would do it again."

"We were just blissfully happy," Alena Knauss said of life with her husband and high school sweetheart, whose remains were transported back from Afghanistan in a flag-draped coffin. "I have no regrets." 

"For him, it's the ultimate honor he could give back to his country," she told WBIR. "To help those people and to know he was helping people, he would not be sorry. He would not regret it."

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A former British soldier has plotted an escape from Afghanistan with hundreds of refugees in tow, according to reports. Ben Slater, 37, used to work as a bodyguard to British ambassadors abroad.

Now, he’s charting a course through Taliban-controlled lands with 400 Afghan citizens – including staff from his organization, the Nomad Concepts Group – after the British Foreign Office failed to approve his visas for the air evacuation. 

"It’s going to be a long trip, and I am hoping on the other end that the FCDO have got our visas sorted, or at least have spoken to the foreign affairs ministry in our destination country to allow access for our vulnerable staff," Slater told The Telegraph. 

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