US President Joe Biden defended the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in the face of the advance of the radical Islamic Taliban. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the US had “fulfilled” its goals in the anti-terror fight in the Hindu Kush, Biden said at the White House on Thursday. Now the Afghans must “decide their future alone”. He said: “Our military mission in Afghanistan will end on 31 August.«
Biden acknowledged that the militant Islamist Taliban is now stronger than ever since the fall of their regime in late 2001, but that a Taliban takeover is “not inevitable.” The US president pointed out that the Afghan security forces are well equipped.
The operation has been going on for almost 20 years now, Biden said. “I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan.”Outraged, Biden denied the question of whether the US would be responsible for civilian casualties in the event of a Taliban takeover or civil war. He rejected parallels with the US defeat in the Vietnam War. Biden called on the political leaders in Afghanistan to unite and also to reach an agreement with the Taliban.
Biden announced in April that he would withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11 – the 20th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. His spokeswoman Jen Psaki then spoke last week of “late August,” now Biden specifically named August 31. He said the operation had two objectives: to “bring Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell” and to deprive the terrorist network of the ability to attack the United States from Afghanistan. “We have achieved these two goals.”However, the US armed forces and intelligence services could also intervene in the future if Afghanistan again poses a terrorist threat to the US.
Observers fear Taliban takeover
The US forces have already withdrawn their last soldiers from the important military base in Bagram. The air base, located about 50 kilometers north of the Afghan capital Kabul, had served as the headquarters of the US forces in the country. The last Bundeswehr soldiers left Afghanistan at the end of June.
Even after the end of the US military mission, US troops will remain in Afghanistan to protect the US embassy and possibly the airport in the capital Kabul, according to the US Department of Defense. The “Washington Post” reported that this could be 650 to 1000 soldiers.
Observers fear that the Taliban could regain power in the country after the complete withdrawal of the US and its NATO partners from Afghanistan. The Islamists are already on the rise in many parts of the country and sometimes hardly encounter any resistance.
The advance of the Islamists also raises fears for the safety of thousands of Afghan translators and other aid workers who worked for US forces. Biden promised them and their families a reception in the US on Thursday. “There is a homeland for them in the United States,” the US president said. “We will stand by your side, just as you stood by our side.«
