Foreign Desk Report
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden’s planned announcement on Wednesday of a complete U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 aims to close the book on America’s longest war even as critics warn that peace is not assured after two decades of fighting.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, saying foreign troops under NATO command in Afghanistan will leave the country in coordination with the U.S. withdrawal by Sept. 11, after Germany said it would match American plans.
Blinken also spoke by phone with Pakistan’s army chief on Wednesday and discussed the peace process, according to a statement from the media wing of Pakistan’s military. Biden plans to announce at the White House that all 2,500 U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan will be withdrawn no later than Sept. 11, U.S. officials said. By pulling out without a clear victory, the United States opens itself to criticism that a withdrawal represents a de facto admission of failure.
Sept. 11 is a highly symbolic date, coming 20 years to the day of al Qaeda’s attacks on the United States that prompted then-President George W. Bush to launch the conflict. The war has cost the lives of 2,400 American service members and consumed an estimated $2 trillion. U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan peaked at more than 100,000 in 2011.
The Democratic president had faced a May 1 withdrawal deadline, set by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who tried but failed to pull the troops out before he left office. Biden’s decision will keep troops in Afghanistan past that deadline, but officials suggested troops could fully depart before Sept. 11. There is a summit planned about Afghanistan starting on April 24 in Istanbul that is due to include the United Nations and Qatar.
The Taliban, ousted from power in 2001 by U.S.-led forces, said it would not take part in any meetings that would make decisions about Afghanistan until all foreign forces had left the country. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Wednesday called on the United States to adhere to the deal the group reached with Trump’s administration.
“If the agreement is committed to, the remaining problems will also be solved,” Mujahid wrote on Twitter. “If the agreement is not committed to … the problems will certainly increase.”
The U.S. intelligence community renewed concerns on Tuesday about the outlook for the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, which is clinging to an eroding stalemate. In Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul, officials said they would carry on with peace talks and their forces defending the country.
“Now that there is an announcement on foreign troops withdrawal within several months, we need to find a way to coexist,” said Abdullah Abdullah, a top peace official and former presidential candidate. “We believe that there is no winner in Afghan conflicts and we hope the Taliban realize that too.”
Waheed Omer, director of the Afghan government’s public affairs office, said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani would speak with Biden in the near future to discuss the withdrawal plan.
