United States President Joe Biden has defended his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan despite the Taliban’s takeover of the country.

According to the President, the US’s mission was never supposed to be about nation-building.

Biden’s first comments Monday since the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital, Kabul, noted the collapse of the Afghan government amid the Taliban’s rapid advance but said it unfolded more quickly than they have anticipated.

The Biden administration has faced criticism for a hasty withdrawal of troops, with some – including Republican lawmakers, in particular – drawing parallels to the US exit from Saigon in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War.

Recall, Biden in July moved forward the deadline to withdraw US troops from the country, pledging that all forces would be out of Afghanistan by the end of August.