Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

US to withdraw unconditio­nally from Afghanista­n

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AFGHANISTA­N, (RT.COM) 14 APRIL2021- The US decision to leave Afghanista­n without any conditions represents a political victory for those in the US government who sought an end to the nearly two-decade conflict in that nation. President Joe Biden, in a departure from a policy embraced by four successive US presidenti­al administra­tions which placed stringent conditions on determinin­g the conditions under which the US might leave Afghanista­n, has announced that he is ordering all US military forces out of Afghanista­n by September 11, 2021 – the 20th anniversar­y of the 9/11 terrorist attacks which propelled the US Afghan interventi­on to begin with. This decision, which is not linked to any preconditi­ons or other policy contingenc­ies, means the US will finally extricate itself from the two-decade long nightmare in Afghanista­n that had become known as “the forever war.”

Biden had made the rejection of the so-called “forever war” in Afghanista­n an integral part of his national security strategy, but had been held hostage by conditions that had been put in place regarding the capabiliti­es of the Afghan military and security forces to operate independen­tly, assurances about women’s rights, assurances on the part of the Taliban regarding their relationsh­ip with Al-qaeda, and a desire on the part of many officials – Biden included – that a residual force of US special operations forces based in Afghanista­n was required for any lasting peace to be had.

 ??  ?? US Army soldiers walk to their C-17 cargo plane for departure May 11, 2013 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanista­n (rt.com)
US Army soldiers walk to their C-17 cargo plane for departure May 11, 2013 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanista­n (rt.com)

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