The United States (US) completed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan on Monday on the scheduled date, marking the end of its 20-year-long presence in the country.
General Kenneth McKenzie, Commander of the US Central Command, said, “Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11, 2001.” He added, “The US evacuated 79,000 people from Kabul, including 6,000 American citizens, since August 14, a day before the Taliban took control of the city.”
As the last US flight took off from the Kabul airport before dawn, Taliban insurgents celebrated their “freedom” with a series of celebratory gunshots. “It is a historic day and a historical moment,” the Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, adding, “We are proud of these moments, that we liberated our country from a great power.”
The Taliban captured the Afghan capital on August 15, and former president Ashraf Ghani fled the country, resulting in the collapse of his government. Last week, the group warned the US to stick to its August 31 deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The United States, which established its military bases in Afghanistan in September 2001, resolved to exit entirely by the deadline, provoking extensive worldwide backlash and criticism.
In a public address following the drawdown, US President Joe Biden thanked the American troops “for their execution of the dangerous retrograde from Afghanistan as scheduled...with no further loss of American lives.” “They have done it with unmatched courage, professionalism, and resolve. Now, our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has ended,” he noted.
Biden, who has firmly defended his decision of complete evacuation in the weeks following August 15, confirmed that the US administration would continue its stabilising efforts in Afghanistan in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolution and urged the Taliban to ensure safe passage to all those who wish to leave the country.
“The Taliban has made commitments on safe passage, and the world will hold them to their commitments. It will include ongoing diplomacy in Afghanistan and coordination with partners in the region to reopen the airport allowing for continued departure for those who want to leave, and delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” he said.
The President ended his address by remembering the 13 US Marine Corps killed in the suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport last Thursday.
Reiterating Biden’s sentiments, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin III, in a statement, said, “I am deeply saddened that, in the course of this historic evacuation mission, we lost 13 of our own, along with so many others who were killed and wounded days ago by cruel terrorists.” He lamented the losses and thanked all those who were a part of this long-drawn operation. “We lost 2,461 troops in that war, and tens of thousands of others suffered wounds, seen and unseen. The scars of combat don’t heal easily and often never heal at all,” he said.
Similarly, Secretary Antony Blinken commended the US efforts, service members, employees, military, and Afghan allies and partners. “This has been a massive military, diplomatic, and humanitarian undertaking—one of the most difficult in our nation’s history–and an extraordinary feat of logistics and coordination under some of the most challenging circumstances imaginable,” Blinken noted.
He said the US’ new diplomatic post in Doha, Qatar, transferred from Kabul, would be utilised for diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan.
Blinken also emphasised on the US’ continued efforts in ensuring safe passage for people moving out of Afghanistan as per the UN Security Council’s directives. “We’ve worked intensely to evacuate and relocate Afghans who worked alongside us and are at particular risk of reprisal. We’ve gotten many out, but many are still there. We will keep working to help them. Our commitment to them has no deadline,” he said.
In an article published by Al Jazeera, Asfandyar Mir, an affiliate with the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, referred to the US withdrawal as a “historic moment,” deeming it the “lowest point in the history of US diplomacy, a hasty departure that proved to be tremendously humiliating.”
United States Completes Withdrawal From Afghanistan, Taliban Celebrates
The United States has concluded its withdrawal from Kabul, ending its longest war. The Taliban celebrated its “freedom” by firing gunshots at Kabul airport.
August 31, 2021
Afghan civilians line up to board a US flight taking off from Hamid Karzai airport at Kabul on Tuesday. SOURCE: REUTERS