The last American soldiers have left Afghanistan and the international military operation is over. The US president is undeterred after the chaos and declares the era of major military operations to be over.
After the end of the international military operation in Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden vehemently defended his controversial decision to withdraw. “It was time to end this war,” said Biden, speaking at the White House. The alternative would have been to send tens of thousands more soldiers into the country and escalate the conflict. With the withdrawal of the last US soldiers from Kabul airport on Tuesday night, the international mission in Afghanistan came to an end after almost 20 years. Now all eyes are on the renewed rule of the militant Islamist Taliban in the country. The presentation of the new leadership is expected shortly.
Biden accuses the government and the military
The last US military aircraft left the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul a minute before midnight. America’s longest war ended. Biden said again that his predecessor Donald Trump had signed an agreement with the Taliban and promised the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. He himself had the choice of sticking to it or sending tens of thousands more US soldiers to war, but he did not want to prolong the war or the withdrawal forever. Once again, the US President blamed the former Afghan government and the country’s unwilling security forces for the Taliban’s takeover.
Biden announced consequences for future military operations. “We have to learn from our mistakes,” he said. “This decision on Afghanistan is not just about Afghanistan. It is about ending an era of major military operations to transform other countries.” Future assignments should have clear, achievable goals. They would also need to focus “on the basic national security interest” of the US.
123,000 people flown out
The president also promised that the US would continue to take action against the local branch of the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) after it withdrew from Afghanistan. He threatened the group that had claimed responsibility for the most recent devastating attack at the airport in Kabul: “We are not finished with you yet.” The fight against terrorism continues, albeit without ground troops. The US would hunt and capture terrorists attacking the country “to the end of the world,” Biden said. “We will not forgive, we will not forget.” Dozens of Afghans and 13 US soldiers were killed in the terrorist attack at Kabul airport a few days before the deployment.
The withdrawal of the last US soldiers also marked the end of the military evacuation of US citizens, allies and vulnerable Afghans. The USA and its partners had flown out western citizens and Afghan people in need of protection in a massive military evacuation mission over the past two weeks. According to the government in Washington, the US military alone brought around 79,000 civilians out of the country, including around 6,000 Americans. The United States and its allies have flown more than 123,000 people together.
However, there are still tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan who want to flee the Taliban – most of them are in Afghans. Biden said there are probably 100 to 200 US citizens in Afghanistan who have “some intention of leaving.” Most of those who stayed behind are dual citizens and have long-term ties to Afghanistan. “We’re sticking to getting them out in case they want to get out,” said Biden. The President had promised all US citizens wishing to leave the country to get them out of the country.
With the withdrawal, the West is relinquishing the country to those Islamists whom it had ousted through the US-led operation at the end of 2001. The Taliban had regained power in Afghanistan in mid-August after a military conquest that had accelerated rapidly after Biden’s announcement of withdrawal. So far, the Islamists have acted more moderately than during their rule from 1996 to 2001 and have been conciliatory. Many Afghans doubt that they will stick to this line. There have been reports of human rights violations and attacks on journalists.
Only a few countries such as Russia, China and Turkey currently operate their embassies in Kabul. The US gave up its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan with the troop withdrawal and relocated it to Qatar for the time being.
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
