Biden lays out plan for Afghanistan withdrawal
By Rebecca Kheel and Morgan Chalfant - 04/14/21 03:04 PM EDT
President Biden on Wednesday laid out his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan and end America’s longest war by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that spurred the conflict.
“War in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking,†Biden said during a speech delivered in the Treaty Room of the White House, where former President George W. Bush announced the start of the war. “It’s time to end the forever war.â€
Biden’s deadline, if adhered to, would bring to a close a chapter of U.S. history that saw more than 2,300 troops killed in combat and has cost the country as much as $1 trillion.
“I believed that our presence in Afghanistan should be focused on the reason we went in the first place: to ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again. We did that, we accomplished that objective,†Biden said. “I've concluded that it's time to end America's longest war. It's time for American troops to come home.â€
Biden argued the reasons for keeping a U.S. military presence in the war-torn country have become “increasingly unclear†as the terrorist threat has become more dispersed over recent years.
The president stressed that the U.S. would execute the withdrawal plans in coordination with allies and partners and would continue to provide humanitarian assistance and support peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
In announcing a withdrawal by September, Biden is pushing back a May 1 deadline that was set in an agreement with the Taliban signed last year by the Trump administration.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Taliban were supposed to uphold certain commitments including denying safe haven for al Qaeda and other terrorists intent on attacking the West and reducing attacks on Afghan forces.
U.S. military officials have repeatedly said the Taliban have yet to meet their ends of the deal. But Biden said Wednesday the United States “will hold the Taliban accountable towards commitment not to allow any terrorist to threaten the United States or its allies from Afghan soil.â€
more
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/548261-biden-lays-out-plan-for-afghanistan-withdrawal