President Joe Biden delivered a speech of quiet fury at the White House on Monday, defending his decision to bring home U.S. troops before blaming Afghan leaders for their failure to prevent the country from collapsing.

'I stand squarely behind my decision,' Biden said. 'After 20 years I've learned the hard way. That there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces. That's why we're still there.'

Later Monday night, Biden authorized up to $500million from an emergency fund to meet 'unexpected urgent' refugee needs stemming from the situation in Afghanistan, including for Afghan special immigration visa applicants, the White House said.

The United States is said to be preparing to begin evacuating thousands of Afghan applicants for special immigration visas (SIVs) who risk retaliation from Taliban insurgents because they worked for the U.S. government.

Biden's remarks earlier in the day was the first time the president had spoken publicly about the unfolding crisis in six days. He was forced to return from Camp David amid hostile headlines about his absence from Washington while Americans were being rescued from Kabul airport.

He admitted missteps during the past two decades and described the chaos at Kabul airport, where throngs of Afghans are desperately seeking escape, as 'gut wrenching.'

'I am president of the United States of America,' he said. 'And the buck stops with me.'

But only up to a point. He said the blame for such a rapid disintegration lay not with him, but his predecessor as president and Afghanistan's leaders.

'The truth is - this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated,' he said, his eyes narrow.

'So what's happened? Afghanistan's political leaders gave up and fled the country.

'The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight.'
Source: Dailymail.co.uk