\u201cThe consequences are going to be unbelievably bad,\u201d Bush said.<\/b>
\nFormer President George W. Bush on Wednesday criticized President Joe Biden\u2019s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, predicting it would lead to suffering for the Afghan people. \u201cI will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome,\u201d Biden said in a speech at the White House last week as he announced the U.S. would formally end its mission in Afghanistan on August 31. Bush\u2019s comments come as U.S. intelligence officials warn the Afghan government could fall in as little as six months under increased pressure from the Taliban. In the past two months, the Taliban have made huge gains, and now control 195 of the country\u2019s 407 districts, according to The Foundation for Defense of Democracies. On Friday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kerby called the Taliban\u2019s advances \u201cconcerning,\u201d and acknowledged it was a \u201cdeteriorating security situation.\u201d According to CNN, the surge in fighting has forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee. Biden first announced in April the U.S. would withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11, pushing back the May 1 deadline former President Donald Trump set last year. When Biden made the decision, he said he called Bush to inform him before he made a public announcement. Biden\u2019s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan has divided Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday called the pullout a \u201creckless rush for the exits\u201d and a \u201cglobal embarrassment,\u201d while Trump, back in April, applauded the move. Biden Says U.S. Will Conclude Military Mission In Afghanistan On August 31 (Forbes)<\/p>\n