Blinken says not in U.S. interests to stay in Afghanistan

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Sunday that it was not in the interests of the United States to remain in Afghanistan, as Taliban insurgents entered the capital Kabul.

Blinken said Washington had invested billions of dollars over four U.S. administrations in Afghan government forces, giving them advantages over the Taliban, but they have failed to beat back the Taliban’s advance.

“The fact of the matter is we’ve seen that force has been unable to defend the country,” Blinken said. “And that has happened more quickly than we anticipated.”