White House: By September 11, Biden Will Withdraw US Troops from Afghanistan

On Wednesday, the president will make an official statement on the matter, a source in the Biden administration said. President Joe Biden decided to completely withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by 9/11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that sparked the longest-running US military conflict. A senior White House official told reporters on Tuesday. According to France-Presse Agency, President Biden will make an official statement on the matter on Wednesday. Earlier, the president considered the possibility of retaining a small contingent in Afghanistan to fight the terrorist groups "Al-Qaeda" and "Islamic State". In addition, an option was considered to link troops withdrawal with the progress of peace negotiations between the Taliban and official Kabul. As a result, the president decided to order a complete troops withdrawal, with the exception of limited personnel to guard American facilities in Afghanistan, including the US embassy in Kabul, a White House spokesman said. "The President decided that the approach ... that has been followed over the past two decades is a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever," an administration source said. According to a deal struck by the administration of former President Donald Trump with the Taliban in February 2020, all US troops were to leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for a Taliban pledge not to support al-Qaeda and other extremist groups. Biden administration’s official said the withdrawal would begin in May and that the delay was logistical, clarifying that troops could be withdrawn from Afghanistan well before 9/11. At the same time, the source warned the Taliban about the inadmissibility of striking the coalition forces after Americans withdraw and warned of an imminent "retaliation" to any such attack. Ten years ago, the United States deployed about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the force-building strategy implemented by President Barack Obama to defeat the Taliban. By the end of the Trump presidency, the number of the US military in this country had dropped to 2,500. Democratic Senator Tim Kane, Biden’s ally, said the United States achieved its primary goal 10 years ago when eliminating Osama bin Laden and added that it was time to "reorient American national security to the most pressing challenges we face." At the same time, Mike McCall, the top Republican on the House Foreign Relations Committee, said he was "shocked and appalled" by Biden's decision. According to McCall, troops withdrawal means "the refusal to support our Afghan partners during the most important peace negotiations and ... the full Talibans’ victory."