Mr Biden said former President Ghani had "given up" and did "not want to fight" for Afghanistan as he unleashed a volley of attacks on the nation as it falls into the hands of the Taliban. In a furious speech to the world, Mr Biden refused to accept the US was to blame for the collapse of the country and insisted "we did all we could" in training and equipping the army. He added how the US gave the Afghan army "every chance to determine their own future" but conceded "we could not provide them with the will to fight for their future". His comments come as President Ashraf Ghani deserted Afghanistan and reportedly flew to neighbouring Tajikistan as he left his country in tatters as the army abandoned their positions in the face of the Taliban.

       The President said: "I stand squarely behind my decisions, after 20 years, I learned the hard way.

       "Afghanistan's political leaders gave up and fled the country!

       "The Afghan military collapsed.

       "Sometimes without trying to fight!

       "He said Afghanistan would fight. But obviously, he was wrong."

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       Mr Biden added: "American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight in themselves.

       "We trained and equipped an Afghan military force of some 300,000 strong... incredibly well equipped.

       "We gave them every tool they could need, we paid their salaries."

       Mr Biden went on to double-down on his words adding he was not willing to commit the United States to future conflicts if the country could not fend off the Taliban in the long term.

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       He said: "I am clear in my answer, I will not repeat the mistakes we have made in the past.

       "We gave them every chance to determine their own future. We could not provide them with the will to fight for their future.

       "There are some very brave and capable Afghan Special Forces units and soldiers."

       But Mr Biden insisted: "If Afghanistan is unable to mount any real resistance to the Taliban now, there is no chance that one more year, five more years, or twenty more years US military boots on the ground would have made any difference."

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       And in a brutal conclusion, Mr Biden stressed: "Here is what I think to my core: it is wrong to order American troops when Afganistan's own armed forces would not.

       "The political leaders of Afghanistan were unable to come together for the good of their own people.

       "Unable to negotiate for the future of their country when the chips were down.

       "They would never have done so while US troops remained in Afghanistan bearing the brunt of the fighting for them."