US troops to leave Afghanistan by 9/11

O America’s longest war to end on 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks

President Joe Biden will formally announce early today the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks on New York and Pentagon, finally ending America’s longest war despite mounting fears of a Taliban victory.

The drawdown delays only by around five months an agreement with the Taliban by former president Donald Trump to pull troops, amid a growing consensus in Washington that little more can be achieved.

The decision came as Turkey announced an international peace conference on Afghanistan in hopes of reaching an agreement that brings stability to a nation battered by nearly 40 years of war.

But the Taliban, newly emboldened, said they would boycott the conference.

Biden had earlier mused about keeping a residual force to strike at Al-Qaeda or an emergent Islamic State extremist threat, or making withdrawal contingent on progress on the ground or in slow-moving peace talks.

In the end, he decided to do neither and will order a complete withdrawal other than limited US personnel to guard the US installations – including the imposing embassy in Kabul, a senior official said.

“The president has judged that a conditions-based approach, which has been the approach of the past two decades, is a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the moment had arrived to bring forces back home, and Washington would work out a “coordinated” withdrawal plan with its Nato allies.

“Together, we have achieved the goals that we set out to achieve and now it is time to bring our forces home,” Blinken said ahead of talks with Nato partners in Brussels.

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said yesterday that Nato would likely join the US in withdrawing its troops by September.

“We always said: we’ll go in together, we’ll leave together.”

The Times newspaper said Britain would withdraw its roughly 750 troops, citing sources as saying “they would struggle without American support because of a reliance on US bases and infrastructure”.

Under the Trump administration’s February 2020 deal with the Taliban, all US troops were to leave by next month in return for the insurgents’ promise not to back Al-Qaeda – the original reason for the 2001 invasion.

The Biden official said the withdrawal would begin next month and that the delay was largely logistical, with troops possibly out of Afghanistan well before Sept 11.

Fighting will likely grind on.

A threat assessment report published on Tuesday by the director of national intelligence said the Taliban “is confident it can achieve military victory”. – AFP