US to quit ‘endless conflict’
US President Joe Biden announced yesterday that the United States would withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11, saying in a speech from the White House that the United States had become mired in an endless and increasingly irrelevant conflict that more time and more troops would not resolve.
Biden did not declare a military victory, saying instead that a perpetual presence in the country would not serve US interests. America must focus on a modern landscape of threats that is far different from nearly two decades ago, when the war began in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Biden said.
‘‘I’m now the fourth United States president to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans, two Democrats,’’ Biden said. ‘‘I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.’’
In a sober address from the Treaty Room, the same location where President George W. Bush announced that the war had begun, Biden said the United States had long since achieved the original goals of the war.
‘‘I’ve concluded that it’s time to end America’s longest war. It’s time for American troops to come home,’’ he said.
Biden punctuated his remarks with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery’s Section 60, where dead from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried.
‘‘Look at them all,’’ Biden marvelled, his voice thick with emotion. He walked a long line of white headstones, then made the sign of the cross before a large wreath. He saluted before turning away.
In his remarks, Biden said that each president who has dealt with the war has given a version of the same rationale for continuing to fight it.
‘‘The main argument for staying longer is what each of my three predecessors have grappled with: No one wants to say that we should be in Afghanistan forever, but they insist now is not the right moment to leave,’’ he said.
More than 2000 US service members have died in Afghanistan in a conflict that has cost trillions but often lacked a clear objective.
‘‘We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago,’’ Biden said.
‘‘That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021. Rather than return to war with the Taliban, we have to focus on the challenges that are in front of us.’’
Since it became public on Wednesday, Biden’s decision has been criticised by many Republicans, who called it reckless or shortsighted. Pulling out US troops, and announcing the specific timetable for doing so, will lead to victories by the Taliban and more terrorist acts, they warned.
Biden’s decision also means the end of a long mission for Nato and other allied forces that entered the fight at the request of the United States.
After a day-long meeting in Brussels with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Nato members – who still have thousands of troops in Afghanistan – released a statement saying they, too, would start withdrawing by May 1.
‘‘The United States will never forget the solidarity that our Nato allies have shown every step of the way,’’ Blinken said at a news conference with Austin and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Saying that the objective of preventing another terrorism attack launched from Afghanistan had been met, Blinken added that ‘‘no country could have achieved what we achieved as an alliance, working together.’’
Those comments marked a sharp contrast in tone from former president Donald Trump, who often questioned America’s role in Nato.
The allies have long said they could not continue to operate in Afghanistan without US security and logistical support, and a handful of Nato members reportedly questioned the US decision in a closed-door meeting.
Austin, asked whether US military leaders – some of whom were less than enthusiastic about the withdrawal – agreed with the decision, answered indirectly.
‘‘What I can tell you is this was an inclusive process and their voices were heard, and their concerns taken into consideration,’’ he said.
The US withdrawal plan follows a road map established by Trump, who also said that the war had run its course and could not be won in the decisive manner of World War II or other iconic conflicts.
‘‘We’re not really fighting. ‘‘We are almost a police force over there. We are not supposed to be a police force,’’ Trump said in 2019.