The Afghan president made the remark after a meeting with President Joe Biden.
Afghan president Ashraf Ghani on Friday said his country is experiencing an “1861 moment, like President Lincoln” after he met with President Joe Biden, while emphasizing that America’s decision to withdraw its troops was a sovereign one. Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, head of the country’s High Council for National Reconciliation, met with Biden in Washington, D.C., as the U.S. military largely withdraws from Afghanistan. Ghani said the leaders did not bring up the possibility of delaying the troop withdrawal when they met. “We respect that decision,” he said at the post-meeting news conference. “Our course is to manage the consequences and to ensure that the people of Afghanistan rise to the challenge.” The meeting between the leaders comes amid concerns that the Afghan government could collapse within months of the U.S. withdrawal. The Afghan leader appeared resigned to the decision and spoke in both somber and positive tones.
