US troops to leave Afghanistan by Sept 11
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden confirmed yesterday he will begin withdrawing United States troops from Afghanistan on May 1 to end America’s longest war.
In a White House speech, Biden acknowledged that US objectives in Afghanistan had become “increasingly unclear” over the past decade.
He set a deadline for withdrawing all 2500 US troops remaining in Afghanistan by September 11, exactly 20 years after al Qaeda’s attacks on the US that triggered the war.
But by pulling out without a clear victory, the US opens itself to criticism that a withdrawal represents a de facto admission of failure.
“It was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking,’’ Biden said.
‘‘We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives.’’
He noted al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces in 2011 and that that organisation had been “degraded” in Afghanistan.
“And it’s time to end the forever war,” Biden added.
The war has cost the lives of 2448 American service members and consumed an estimated $US2 trillion ($NZ2.8 trillion).
US troop numbers in Afghanistan peaked at more than 100,000 in 2011.
The Democratic president had faced a May 1 withdrawal deadline, set by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who tried but failed to pull the troops out before leaving office in January. Instead, Biden said the final withdrawal would start on May 1 and end by September 11.
“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 on to a fifth.”
Meeting Nato officials in Brussels, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said foreign troops under Nato command in Afghanistan will leave in coordination with the US withdrawal.
Blinken also spoke by phone with Pakistan’s army chief yesterday and discussed the peace process, the media wing of Pakistan’s military said.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Biden and respected the US decision.
A conference on Afghanistan is due to start on April 24 in Istanbul. It will include the United Nations and Qatar.
The Taliban, ousted from power in 2001 by USled forces, said it would not take part in any meetings involving decisions about Afghanistan until all foreign forces have left.
The president made the decision personal, invoking the memory of his late son Beau who served in Iraq.
Visiting Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, Biden later said the decision was not hard.
“To me, it was absolutely clear.”