US President Joe Biden will remove all US troops from Afghanistan just before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, which would technically mark the end of America’s longest war.
According to a US Offical, this move would be coming around 5 months later than planned.
Biden has ‘reached the conclusion that the United States will complete its drawdown — will remove its forces from Afghanistan — before September 11,’ the official told reporters on condition of anonymity yesterday.
Biden is expected to make an announcement on Wednesday(Today) that all US forces, in coordination with those of Western allies, will leave other than limited personnel to guard US diplomatic installations, the official said.
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However, Biden will not link the departure to conditions on the ground, probably due to rising fears that the Taliban could make major gains against the internationally-backed government in Kabul.
‘The president has judged that a conditions-based approach, which has been the approach of the past two decades, is a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever,’ the official said, calling for shifting of US priorities.
For Afghans, the fighting will most likely continue from there. The official spoke shortly after US intelligence released a threat assessment report warning that the embattled Afghan government “will struggle” to hold off the “confident” Taliban if the US-led coalition withdraws.
Former president Donald Trump also favored a withdrawal and reached a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 under which all US troops would leave by May 2021 in return for the insurgents’ promise not to back Al-Qaeda and other extremists -– the original reason for the 2001 invasion.
The Biden official said that the withdrawal would begin in May and that the delay was largely logistic, with troops possibly out of Afghanistan well before September 11.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK