US military power must be a tool of last resort, says Biden at UNGA

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that America will continue to defend itself and its allies against any terrorist threat but stressed that the mission must be clear and achievable. During his maiden speech at the UN General Assembly, Biden noted that the security, prosperity and freedom of countries are interconnected more than ever. 

Defending the pullout from Afghanistan, the US commander-in-chief said that America is concentrating on devoting its resources to take on the challenges that hold the key to collective future instead of fighting the “wars of the past”. He told global leaders that issues like the pandemic, climate crisis, terrorism, and managing the shifts in power dynamics should be the focus. 

"US military power must be our tool of last resort not our first and should not be used as an answer to every problem we see around the world," Biden said.

"We've ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan, and as we close this period of relentless war, we're opening a new era of relentless diplomacy, of using the power of our development aid to invest in new ways of lifting people up around the world, of renewing and defending democracy, of proving that no matter how challenging or how complex the problems we're going to face, government by and for the people is still the best way to deliver for all of our people," he added.

Biden was speaking on the backdrop of recent US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan that turned chaotic in the final days. He also talked about the challenges arising out of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

"We meet this year in a moment of intermingled with great pain and extraordinary possibility. We've lost so much to this devastating pandemic that continues to claim lives around the world and impact so much on our existence. We're mourning more than 4.5 million people, people of every nation, from every background. Each death is an individual heartbreak," he added.