Biden is expected to say, according to a letter received by news agencies, when he officially announced his presence in Afghanistan: “It is time to end the longest war of the United States.”
“We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan, hoping to create ideal conditions for withdrawal, and therefore we expect a different result,” the letter said.
Biden is also expected to indicate that US diplomatic efforts and humanitarian aid will continue, in addition to support for the Afghan government.
According to the draft letter, Biden did not mention a deadline for withdrawal. The date was announced by an unnamed high-ranking official in the Biden government.
High source
Government sources earlier stated that all US soldiers must have left the country before 9/11. The date is a postponement to the end point, May 1, that former President Donald Trump had set.
The announcement means that two decades of the US military presence in Afghanistan is over.
The war cost the United States more than 2,000 billion dollars and killed more than 2,400 American soldiers. According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 civilians have been killed or injured in the fighting in the country.
Before Biden’s announcement, intense talks were taking place between NATO countries. The NATO operation in Afghanistan includes a total of 9,600 foreign soldiers, including between 2,500 and 3,000 Americans.
On Wednesday evening, NATO will present its common position on future operations in Afghanistan. Before the talks, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke of the importance of a comprehensive strategy.
– Blinken said at a press conference in Brussels: – Together we have achieved the goals we sought to achieve and now the time has come to bring our troops home.
He continued: – We will work closely in the coming months for a safe, thoughtful and coordinated withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Bloody twentieth birthday
Several NATO countries have already announced that they will not continue to be in the country without US forces. These include Norway, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
– German Defense Minister Angret Kramp-Karenbauer said during an interview with TVARD, We have always said that we enter the country together, that we withdraw together.
It is no coincidence that all soldiers are said to have left the country before 9/11. History marks exactly 20 years since the Al Qaeda terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The attack prompted the US invasion of Afghanistan, which marked the beginning of the ongoing war in the country.
“Turn your back”
Although the troop withdrawal would put an end to the longest running US military operation, the tone is mixed in Washington.
On Tuesday, Congress received a written statement from an intelligence statement warning that an extremely rapid withdrawal could have dire consequences for the security of a still volatile Afghanistan.
“The Afghan government will find it difficult to keep the Taliban in trouble if the military coalition withdraws its support,” the statement said.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is also critical of the resolution, likening it to “turning his back on the fight.”
“The hasty withdrawal of the American forces is a grave mistake,” he said in a call with the announcement of the date of the withdrawal.
Taliban intersection
On April 24, the United States and the State of Qatar will meet in Istanbul, Turkey, for a ten-day meeting on the situation in Afghanistan.
Unlike the meetings held last year in Doha, Qatar, no representative of the Taliban will attend the meeting. They announce that they will not sit at the negotiating table until all foreign forces leave the country.
Correction: An earlier version of the text provided incorrect information on US military costs.
As more and more troops withdraw from Afghanistan, there is great concern that the influence of the Taliban over the population will grow. Photo gallery. Photo: Acceptable Companion / AP / TT
The country is an Islamic republic with a society that is somewhat divided between the sexes, despite the fact that complete equality between women and men must prevail according to the constitution. Civil wars have been relatively steady since the late 1970s, and the economy and infrastructure are in ruins.
The Soviet invasion in 1979 was followed by a long war between the communist regime and Islamic mujahideen groups with US support. After the seizure of power in 1992, the militias quickly directed their weapons against each other. The chaos and fatigue of the war paved the way for the fundamentalist Taliban, who took control of the country in just a few years.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, US-led forces began bombing Afghanistan. This is because the leader of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, who is believed to be behind the terrorist operation, was a haven with the Taliban. This led to the downfall of the Taliban regime.
The NATO force ISAF had around 130,000 troops in Afghanistan at most. About 50 countries participated, including Sweden. The ISAF combat mission officially ended on December 31, 2014, although the situation at the time remained violent and uncertain. Attempts to rebuild the country have largely failed since then.
Sources: Nationalencyklopedin, Landguiden / UI, and more
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