On April 14, United States President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. Donald Trump, during his presidency, announced the withdrawal of troops by May 1, 2021, but Biden made this date only a starting point, and the troops will be completely withdrawn only on September 11. President Biden explained his decision as follows: “We cannot continue this cycle – to extend and expand our military presence in Afghanistan in the hope of creating ideal conditions for our withdrawal and expect other results.”
“I am currently the fourth president of the United States to lead US troops in Afghanistan. Two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not transfer this responsibility to the fifth president. It’s time to end the longest war in our history, and it’s time for American troops to return home.” The conflict in Afghanistan was indeed the longest in American history. For almost 20 years, military operations were conducted on the territory of this country with the participation of American troops. No more than 3,500 Pentagon soldiers and about 7,000 servicemen from other NATO countries are currently based in Afghanistan.
Biden also noted that the United States now needs to focus on “other priorities” abroad. “We went to Afghanistan because of a terrible attack that happened 20 years ago. It doesn’t explain why we should continue to stay there in 2021. ” – said the president. By “other priorities” abroad, Biden meant China, which he also partially mentioned in his speech. In his opinion, it is precisely on “facing the growing competition from China” that the US government should focus.
The date of the final withdrawal of troops, September 11, was also not chosen by chance. It is no secret that the fighting in Afghanistan began because of the famous tragedy on this day in September 2001.
But the US is not ready to relax. “We have to be ready for any scenario and their whole spectrum. We are looking at this very sensibly,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in an interview with CBS.
But what will happen to Afghanistan after the withdrawal of American troops? The head of the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah, is not worried about this. “If the Taliban think they will take power in Afghanistan by military force after the withdrawal of foreign forces, they are wrong,” he said. He also stressed that there should be no foreign soldiers in Afghanistan in the future. And here is what the former Afghan Ambassador to the UK Ismail Khan said: “If the peace process does not achieve its goals, if the government becomes too weak to maintain security and stability, if big cities are on the verge of collapse, then we are fully prepared to defend our country. which we have been doing for the last 40 years. ”
The US is leaving Afghanistan, but not abandoning it.
“Just because our military is returning home does not mean that we are leaving Afghanistan. Our embassy remains, the assistance that we provide to Afghanistan, when it comes to support in the field of economy, development, humanitarian issues, remains. And not only from us, but also from partners and allies “- concluded Blinken.
