WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he would withdraw the remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan, declaring the 9/11 attacks “could not explain” why U.S. troops should still be there 20 years after the deadliest terrorist attack on the United States States not.
His plan is to pull out all US forces, now 2,500, on September 11, the anniversary of the attacks, coordinated from Afghanistan.
The US cannot continue to pour resources into an unworkable war and expect other results, Biden said.
The withdrawal would begin rather than end on May 1, which was the deadline for full withdrawal under a peace deal the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.
“It’s time to end America’s longest war,” Biden said, but added that the U.S. “will not lead a hasty rush to the exit.”
“We can not continue to expand or expand our military presence in Afghanistan in the hope of creating the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, with the expectation of a different outcome,” Biden said. “I am now the fourth American president to lead a US troops in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats. I will not transfer this responsibility to a fifth. ”
The decision is perhaps the most important foreign policy decision for Biden in the beginning of his presidency.
He has long been skeptical of the US presence in Afghanistan. As Barack Obama’s vice president, Biden was a lone voice in the government advising the 44th president to move to a smaller role in the country against terrorism, while military advisers urged a build-up of troops to make profits. of the Taliban to counter. Biden has also made it clear that he wants to recalibrate US foreign policy to meet greater challenges facing China and Russia.
The withdrawal of all U.S. troops poses clear risks. It could boost the Taliban’s effort to force back power and undo gains in democracy and women’s rights that have been made over the past two decades. It also opens Biden to criticism, mostly Republicans and some Democrats, although former President Donald Trump also wanted a complete withdrawal.
“This government has decided to abandon the US efforts in Afghanistan that have helped curb radical Islamic terrorism,” said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. “And strangely, they decided to do it on September 11.”
While Biden’s decision keeps U.S. forces in Afghanistan four months longer than originally planned, it puts an end to two decades of war that killed more than 2,200 U.S. troops, wounded 20,000 and cost as much as $ 1 trillion .
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he spoke to Biden on Wednesday ahead of the US president’s speech.
“The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan respects the US decision, and we will work with our US partners to ensure a smooth transition,” Ghani said in a Twitter post.
Biden consulted with allies, military leaders, lawmakers and Vice President Kamala Harris to make his decision. White House press secretary Jen Psaki added that Biden had also spoken to “some of his predecessors” in the White House and that administration officials had recently 44 officials from other countries, NATO, the European Union and the United Nations contacted.
He stressed that his government would continue to support peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and assist international efforts to train the Afghan army.
After his speech, Biden would visit Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery to honor those who had died in recent American conflicts.
William Burns, director of the CIA, admitted during a hearing on Wednesday that the United States’ ability to curb the terrorist threat from Afghanistan had benefited from the military presence there, and that the U.S. government’s ability to gather threats and responding to it will diminish when this presence is withdrawn.
“It’s simply a fact,” Burns said. ‘It is also a fact, however, that the CIA and all our partners in the US government, after the withdrawal, will each time retain a range of capabilities, some of which will remain in place, some of which we will generate. , which can help us anticipate and challenge any reconstruction effort. ”
A senior official said the withdrawal date of September is an absolute deadline that will not be affected by the security conditions in Afghanistan.
The long-running conflict largely paralyzed al-Qaeda, leading to the death of Osama bin Laden, the architect of the 9/11 attacks. But a U.S. withdrawal also jeopardizes much of the gains in democracy, women’s rights and government, while the Taliban, which provided al-Qaeda’s refuge, remains strong and in control of large parts of the country.
When Biden announced his decision, his leading national security assistants consulted in Brussels on Wednesday to coordinate the withdrawal of the alliance from Afghanistan with the planned withdrawal of US troops.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met senior officials of the 30 members of the alliance to discuss NATO’s future presence in Afghanistan in light of the announcement of the US withdrawal that Praying would make the day later.
Blinken said he expected the allies to withdraw together, but insisted that neither the US nor NATO would leave the country despite the impending withdrawal. There are still about 7,000 NATO forces still in Afghanistan, in addition to the remaining 2,500 US troops.
“Together, we went to Afghanistan to deal with those who attacked us and to make sure that Afghanistan would not again become a refuge for terrorists who would attack any of us,” Blinken said.
___ Lee reports from Brussels. Associated Press authors Eric Tucker and Alexandra Jaffe reported.