osama bin laden and we got him. that was a decade ago. our mission in afghanistan was never supposed to have been nationbuilding. it was never supposed to be creating a unified, centralized democracy. our only vital national interest in afghanistan remains today what has always been, preventing a terrorist attack on american homeland. i've argued for many years that our mission should be narrowly focused on counterterrorism, not counterinsurgency or nationbuilding. that's why i opposed the surge when it was proposed in 2009 when i was vice president. and that's why as president i'm adamant we focus on the threats we face today in 2021, not yesterday's threats. today a terrorist threat has metastasized well beyond