Biden Under Fire for Taliban Comments

The White House rushed to Vice President Joe Biden’s defense on Monday, saying his controversial comments that the Taliban “is not our enemy” were taken out of context. Biden made the remark in an interview with Newsweek’s Leslie H. Gelb. “Look, the Taliban per se is not our enemy. That's critical,” Biden said. “There is not a single statement that the president has ever made in any of our policy assertions that the Taliban is our enemy.” The remark drew ire, especially since the U.S. is set to begin peace talks with the Taliban. Sticking up for Biden, White House spokesman Jay Carney said his words were "only regrettable when taken out of context," arguing that Biden had clarified the Tailban would be a threat if they allowed al Qaeda to strike the U.S.