 And now news from outside Africa, U.S. President Joe Biden is standing squarely behind as the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. He has also rejected broad criticism of the chaotic withdrawal and has instead blamed the Afghan government for the country's recent crisis. We spent over a trillion dollars. We trained and equipped an Afghan military force with some 300,000 strong, incredibly well-equipped, a force larger in size than the militaries of many of our NATO allies. We gave them every tool they could need. We paid their salaries, provided for the maintenance of their air force, something the Taliban doesn't have. Taliban does not have an air force. We provided close air support. We gave them every chance to determine their own future. But if Afghanistan is unable to mount any real resistance to the Taliban now, there is no chance that one year, one more year, five more years, or 20 more years, the U.S. military boots in the ground would have made any difference. And here's what I believe to my core. It is wrong to order American troops to step up when Afghanistan's own armed forces would not.