‘Time to end the forever war’
● US to start Afghanistan pullout on May 1, withdrawal to be competed in Sept
President Joe Biden said yesterday he will begin withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan on May 1 to end America’s longest war, rejecting calls for US forces to stay to ensure a peaceful resolution to that country’s internal conflict.
In a White House speech, Biden set a goal of withdrawing all 2,500 US troops remaining in Afghanistan by Sept 11.
By pulling out without a clear victory, the United States opens itself to criticism that a withdrawal represents a de facto admission of failure for American military strategy.
“It was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking. We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives,” Biden said, noting that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces in 2011 and saying that organisation has been “degraded” in Afghanistan. “And it’s time to end the forever war.”
Sept 11 is a highly symbolic date, coming 20 years to the day of Al Qaeda’s attacks on the United States that prompted then-President George W
Bush to launch the conflict.
The war has cost the lives of 2,400 American service members and consumed an estimated $2tn.
“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.”
“It is time to end America’s longest war. It is time for American troops to come home,” he said.
Meeting Nato officials in Brussels earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said foreign troops under Nato command in Afghanistan will leave the country in coordination with the US withdrawal by Sept 11, after Germany said it would match American plans.