Nato to join Afghanistan withdrawal

Nato has followed US President Joe Biden’s announcement of his nation’s withdrawal from Afghanistan by agreeing to withdraw its own roughly 7000 forces.

Biden said this week the US would begin pulling out from Afghanistan by May 1, saying it cannot continue to pour resources into an intractable war and expect different results.

“It is time to end America’s longest war,” Biden said, but he added that it will not be a “hasty rush to the exit”. As Biden announced his decision, his top national security aides — Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin — were consulting in Brussels to coordinate Nato’s withdrawal from Afghanistan with the planned pullout of American troops.

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance’s full withdrawal would be completed “in months” but did not mention the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

“We went into Afghanistan together . . . and we are united in leaving together,” he said.

Withdrawing all 2500 US troops comes with clear risks. It could boost the Taliban’s effort to claw back power and undo gains towards democracy and women’s rights. It also opens Biden to criticism, from mostly Republicans and some Democrats, even though former president Donald Trump had also wanted a full withdrawal. Biden emphasised that his administration will continue to support peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and assist international efforts to train the Afghan military.

Biden has also made clear he wants to recalibrate US foreign policy to face bigger challenges posed by China and Russia.

The US drawdown would begin rather than conclude by May 1, which has been the deadline for full withdrawal under a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.

The 2500 troops will be gone by September 11, the anniversary of the 2001 World Trade Centre attacks, which were co-ordinated from Afghanistan.