But Mr. Biden’s decision fueled the Republicans.
“This is a reckless and dangerous decision,” said Sen. James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, the Republican’s rank in the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Random deadlines are likely to jeopardize our troops, jeopardize all the progress we have made and lead to civil war in Afghanistan – and create a breeding ground for international terrorists.”
President Donald J. Trump set a withdrawal date for May 1, but he was known for announcing and reversing a number of major foreign policy decisions, and Pentagon officials continued to push. Mr. Biden, who has long been skeptical of the Afghan deployment, spent his first three months in office judging the timeline.
The Afghan central government cannot stop the Taliban’s progress, and US officials offer a poor assessment of the prospects for peace in the country. U.S. intelligence agencies continue to say they do not believe Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups pose an immediate threat to strike the United States from Afghanistan. The assessment was critical to Biden’s government, as it decided to withdraw most of the remaining forces from the country.
A senior administration official said the withdrawal of troops would begin before May 1 and end before the symbolic date of September 11. The attack on the withdrawal of NATO troops will be answered with a forceful response.
Taliban leaders have long promised that any breach of the deadline would mean that their forces would attack the US and coalition troops again. Under a withdrawal agreement negotiated during the Trump administration, the Taliban have largely halted the attacks – but in recent weeks they have shot up US bases in southern and eastern Afghanistan.
In public statements on Tuesday, Taliban leaders did not focus on the decision of Mr. Pray for a complete withdrawal – leaving behind a weak central government that has apparently been unable to stem rebellious progress in the country – but rather for the government to miss the May 1 deadline.
“We do not agree with the delay after May 1,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told local television. “Any delay after May 1 is not acceptable to us.”