Former US President George W. Bush said he and former First Lady Laura Bush feel 'deep sadness' over the events unfolding in Afghanistan.
In a statement issued late on Monday night, the former president and his wife said their 'hearts are heavy for both the Afghan people who have suffered so much and for the Americans and NATO allies who have sacrificed so much.'
Bush had criticized the planned withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan just last month, warning that civilians would be left to be 'slaughtered' by the 'brutal' Taliban and women and girls would face 'unspeakable harm.'
The former Republican president was responsible for the initial US onslaught against the Taliban when he deployed troops to Afghanistan in 2001 after the September 11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center.
Former U.S. President George W. Bush said he and former First Lady Laura Bush feel 'deep sadness' over the events unfolding in Afghanistan
Bush had criticized the planned withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan just last month, condemning the decision as a 'mistake'
Almost 20 years ago, the former president announced that the US and Britain had started bombing Afghanistan from the Treaty Room of the White House on October 7, 2001
After expressing his condolences, the former president asserted his confidence that the United States Armed Forces (USAF) would be able to carry out an effective evacuation plan of the remaining Americans and Afghan refugees.
Bush and his wife went on to recognize the veterans who had served in Afghanistan, lauding their accomplishments and recognizing the wounds, both visible and invisible, suffered by those who were embroiled in the conflict.
Their statement read 'in times like these, it can be hard to remain optimistic', but echoed the sentiments of Dr. Sakena Yacoobi of the Afghan Institute of Learning who declared 'the Taliban cannot crush a dream.'
The former president and his wife rounded off their statement by offering their support and that of the Bush Center, a complex which houses Bush's presidential library, policy institute and the George W. Bush Foundation.
In an July interview with Deutsche Welle, Bush said: 'It's unbelievable how [the Afghan] society changed from the brutality of the Taliban and how all of a sudden, sadly, I'm afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm.'
'I think about all the interpreters and the people that helped not only US troops, but NATO troops and it seems like they're just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart.'
The full statement from George W. Bush and his wife Laura was issued by the former president late Monday night
Bush said in July that the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan was a 'mistake' and warned civilians were being left to be 'slaughtered' by the 'brutal' Taliban in an interview with Deutsche Welle
The Taliban swept into the Afghan capital on Sunday after the Western-backed government collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country 'to avoid bloodshed', bringing a stunning end to a two-decade effort in which the US and its allies had tried to transform the country.
Almost all major checkpoints in Kabul were under Taliban control even before Bush had issued his statement on Monday evening.
The US Embassy was officially closed and evacuated along with the flag on Sunday evening, with ambassador Ross Wilson and other diplomats relocating to the airport in embarrassing scenes reminiscent of the evacuation of the embassy of Saigon in 1975.
Meanwhile, Taliban officials promised civilians would not be harmed and announced everyone would be allowed to return home from Kabul airport if they decided to stay in the country.
The Taliban previously said westerners would be allowed to leave the country but that Afghans would be barred from departing.
A forlorn soldier clutches the hastily rolled American embassy flag as it is loaded onto US air force transport and flown out of Afghanistan in a scene reminiscent of the 1975 evacuation of Saigon
There are thought to be at least 40,000 people who need evacuating from the country - including 30,000 US diplomats, visa holders and Afghans they have promised sanctuary, 4,000 Britons and an unknown number of other westerners including Spanish, French, Germans and Poles.
America is hoping to fly out some 5,000 people per day and the UK 1,200 - though both managed just a few hundred on Monday, meaning the operation is likely to drag on for weeks, if not months.
Politicians in both the US and UK have urged their government to be 'generous' with granting asylum to Afghans who helped in the war effort, but there are fears that thousands will be left behind amid the chaos.
US President Joe Biden, in his address to the nation on Monday, said that he did not regret his decision to withdraw US troops.
'The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated,' he said.
He pointed the finger of blame at Afghan leaders who 'gave up and fled the country' and Afghan forces who 'collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight.'
'We gave them every chance to determine their own future. What we could not provide them was the will to fight for that future,' Biden said.
On July 8, the president said: 'The jury is still out, but the likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.'
As recently as last week, Biden publicly expressed hope that Afghan forces could develop the will to defend their country.
But privately, administration officials warned that the military was crumbling, prompting Biden on Thursday to order thousands of American troops into the region to speed up evacuation plans.
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