President Joe Biden has vowed to end the longest US war, saying it is “time for American troops to come home” from Afghanistan.
This will close the book on 20 years of US military involvement in the conflict-torn country even as critics warn peace is not assured.
“We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago,” President Biden said.
“That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021.”
Biden announced that all 2500 US troops remaining in Afghanistan will be withdrawn no later than September 11.
By pulling out without a clear victory, the United States opens itself to criticism that a withdrawal represents a de facto admission of failure.
“I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats,” Biden said.
“I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth.”
“It is time to end America’s longest war. It is time for American troops to come home.”
September 11 is a highly symbolic date, coming 20 years to the day since al Qaeda’s attacks on the US that prompted then-President George W Bush to launch the conflict.
The war has cost the lives of 2400 American service members and consumed an estimated $US2 trillion. US troop numbers in Afghanistan peaked at more than 100,000 in 2011.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, saying foreign troops under NATO command in Afghanistan will leave the country in coordination with the US withdrawal, after Germany said it would match American plans.
Blinken also spoke by phone with Pakistan’s army chief on Wednesday and discussed the peace process, according to a statement from the media wing of Pakistan’s military.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter that he has spoken with Biden and he respects the US decision.
Ghani added that “we will work with our US partners to ensure a smooth transition” and “we will continue to work with our US/NATO partners in the ongoing peace efforts.”
There is a summit planned about Afghanistan starting on April 24 in Istanbul that is due to include the United Nations and Qatar.
The Taliban, ousted from power in 2001 by US-led forces, said it would not take part in any meetings that would make decisions about Afghanistan until all foreign forces had left the country.
US officials can claim to have decimated al Qaeda’s core leadership in the region years ago, including tracking down and killing the group’s leader Osama bin Laden in neighboiring Pakistan in 2011.
But ties between the Taliban and al Qaeda elements persist and peace and security remain elusive. There is concern over the impact a withdrawal would have on human rights in Afghanistan given the gains, particularly for women and girls, during the past two decades.
