Joe Biden announced that after 20 years the United States was withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan

“Now is the time to end the longest war of the United States. “With this sentence, President Joe Biden announced this Wednesday in a speech to the White House that he would withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan on September 11 and thus end American participation in a conflict. that lasted longer, over 2,000 soldiers dead and costing billions of dollars.

In addition, the NATO countries have also agreed to begin the withdrawal of their troops on May 1, in a process which should be completed in “a few months”, announced the transatlantic military alliance in a statement.

“It’s time for US troops to go home”Biden said in the Treaty Hall, a symbol because it was the same place where former President George W. Bush announced in October 2001 that he had started the war in Afghanistan with attacks on terrorist bases.

The withdrawal date is also symbolic because it will mark the 20th anniversary ofthe bloodiest terrorist attack in US history, on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and on a plane in Pennsylvania, which left some 3,000 dead and sparked the US offensive in Afghanistan.

Calmly and emotionally, Biden said that “we went to Afghanistan for a horrible attack this happened 20 years ago. That cannot explain why we have to stay there in 2021. Rather than returning to war with the Taliban, we must focus on the challenges that will determine our position and our reach now and in the future, ”he said. -he declares.

“We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan in the hope of creating ideal conditions for our country,” he said. “I am now the fourth US president to lead Afghanistan with troops: two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth ”, He said.

“I think our presence in Afghanistan should be focused on why we went there in the first place: to ensure that Afghanistan is not used as a base to attack our homeland. We achieve this goal “, Indian. But he said they would continue to monitor that terrorism does not spread.

Biden’s announcement means he is extending the deadline to May 1, when his predecessor Donald Trump negotiated with the Taliban last year to completely withdraw his troops. Now it starts in May and will end in September. United States has 2,500 soldiers deployed thereBut there are 1,000 additional Special Forces members.

Biden said he spoke with George Bush about the decision he would announce today and that they both agreed on the courage of US troops and the sacrifice for their country, which the Democrat said. said he checked in person while traveling to Afghanistan.

In another symbolic gesture minutes after finishing his speech, Biden went to Arlington Cemetery, a few blocks from the White House, and visited the graves of fallen servicemen in Afghanistan on a gray and rainy day. .

Without conditions

A Biden administration official, who spoke to the press on condition that his name not be revealed, said the pullout was not based on “No condition” on the ground. He said it was because the president concluded that the United States had linked the presence of troops to the situation at the scene and that the improvements had failed.

But the decision also sparked controversy because it is happening in very volatile times and with experts and senior military commanders warning that a withdrawal of all troops may lead to an increase in terrorism.

Marvin Weinbaum is very familiar with the situation in the region. He was an analyst for Pakistan and Afghanistan in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Investigations from 1999 to 2003. Consulted by Bugle, he said that he does not think that a total withdrawal of troops is appropriate.

“US security interests would make the most of the presence of a small counterterrorism force. Without a continued American presence and with access to air power, Afghan security forces will soon disband and whatever influence the United States has in the region, it will be diminished. Retirement, to be responsible, must be based on the conditions on the ground, ”he said.

The expert, who is now director of studies on Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Middle East Institute, poses a dangerous scenario: “Without the presence of foreign troops and allied forces of the United States who will leave. also, the war will intensify, which will lead to the capture of major cities by the Taliban or to a political agreement that will amount to surrender. But even then, there will be no peace, as the Taliban will struggle to consolidate their power. Well-armed ethnic militias will wage an open civil war ”.

For him, the withdrawal of troops will also change the regional map. “United States will leave a vacuum where the regional powers in the Afghan civil war, they will find their representatives and help fuel the conflict. If the Taliban wins, these powers, fearing the contagion of militant radical Islam, will then attack the Taliban in an effort to contain Islamic forces. In general, the American disconnection will destabilize the region and millions of refugees will create humanitarian and political problems which will have a global impact ”.

Biden heeded these concerns and said in his speech that the United States would continue to support the Afghan government. through humanitarian and diplomatic work.

Biden’s move was supported by more progressive sectors of the party, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who praised the president’s decision to end this long-standing conflict. But some Republicans attacked the president and They warned that the decision was reckless and dangerous.