US forces depart Bagram Air Base
Looters storm buildings when local forces are late
For nearly two decades, Bagram Air Base was the epicenter of coalition activity in Afghanistan.
Built in the 1950s by the Soviet Union, it was later used as the main base for the Soviet invaders. The last U.S. troops left the sprawling base late Thursday to Afghan security forces, who arrived later and found that looters had flooded in in the interim.
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, reportedly discussed the future role of the U.S. in Afghanistan with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday. The U.S. is committed to paying about $4 billion yearly until 2024 to support Afghanistan security forces; almost all coalition troops were expected to be out of the country ahead of President Joe Biden’s deadline of Sept. 11.
KABUL, Afghanistan – After nearly 20 years, the U.S. military left Bagram Air Base, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two U.S. officials said Friday.
The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force in its entirety, they said, speaking on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to release the information to the media.
One of the officials also said the U.S. top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, “still retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the forces.”
Miller met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday and, according to a Dari-language tweet by the presidential palace, the two discussed “continued U.S. assistance and cooperation with Afghanistan, particularly in supporting the defense and security forces.”
There were no specifics, but the U.S. is already committed to paying nearly $4 billion annually until 2024 to finance Afghan security forces.
While no one was calling Miller’s visit a farewell, in the backdrop of the evacuation of Bagram it had the hallmarks of a goodbye.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s district administrator for Bagram, Darwaish Raufi, said the American departure was done overnight, so dozens of local looters stormed through the unprotected gates before Afghan forces regained control early Friday.
“Unfortunately the Americans left without any coordination with Bagram district officials or the governor’s office,” Raufi said. “Right now our Afghan security forces are in control both inside and outside of the base.”
However, U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said the handover was an “extensive process” that spanned several weeks and began soon after President Joe Biden’s mid-April announcement that America was withdrawing the last of its forces.
The Taliban also welcomed the American withdrawal from Bagram Airfield. In February 2020, the Trump administration signed a peace deal with the Taliban promising the withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that Friday’s departure was a “positive step,” urging for the “withdrawal of foreign forces from all parts of the country.”
The withdrawal is the clearest indication that the last of the 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops have left Afghanistan or are nearing a departure – months ahead of Biden’s promise that they would be gone by Sept. 11.
It was clear soon after the mid-April announcement that the U.S. was ending its “forever war,” that the departure of U.S. soldiers and their estimated 7,000 NATO allies would be completed nearer to Sunday, when America celebrates its Independence Day.
As of this week, most other NATO soldiers already have exited Afghanistan. Announcements from several countries analyzed by the AP show that a majority of European troops has left with little ceremony – a stark contrast to the dramatic and public show of force and unity when NATO allies lined up to back the U.S. invasion in 2001.