Around 650 American soldiers will remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after completing troops’ withdrawal in the next two weeks, United States (US) officials told the Associated Press.
Furthermore, several hundred additional US troops will be stationed at the Kabul airport until September to temporarily assist Turkish troops in providing security until Turkey sets up a more formal military establishment to exercise effective control over the volatile region. The officials said the US expects to have the American and coalition military command, its leadership, and the majority of troops out of Afghanistan by July 4.
The departure of more than 4,000 troops is well before President Joe Biden’s September 11 deadline for complete withdrawal. However, it comes amid an increasing Taliban offensive, raising scepticism that the Afghan government and its military could collapse in a matter of months after the exit of the US. The engagement in Afghanistan has cost the US trillions of dollars and claimed the lives of more than 2,000 US service members. It has also been America’s longest war, and saw more than 100,000 soldiers deployed during its peak in 2011.
Former US President Donald Trump set the troop withdrawal process in motion last year after his administration secured a deal with the Taliban to “cut ties with Al-Qaeda” and “bring peace”. The historic agreement, which involved a combination of ceasefires, prisoner swaps, and the lifting of sanctions, was struck in February 2020, and was the culmination of America’s determination to bring its soldiers back home and the Taliban’s realisation that the negotiation table was the only realistic path to Kabul and peace.
Initially, the withdrawal process was planned to be completed in 14 months and thus missed the May 1 deadline set by the previous administration. President Biden indicated that it was ‘tough’ to complete the process by early May because of unforeseen delays caused by the presidential transition and due to the ‘further review’ the new administration had been conducting into the deal with the Taliban.
In April, a senior White House official informed journalists that the Biden administration had completed a “rigorous policy review” on the deal and concluded that any future threat arising from Afghanistan could be managed without the presence of an active military base in the country. The official said: “The president deeply believes that in contending with the threats and challenges of 2021, as opposed to those of 2001, we need to be focusing our energy...On those threats and challenges that are most acute for the United States”, adding, “And doing that requires us to close the book on a 20-year conflict in Afghanistan and move forward with clear eyes.”
With other NATO countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom also on the verge of completely removing their troops stationed in the country, Afghanistan is set for a new chapter in its decades-long history riddled with foreign battles.
US to Keep About 650 Troops in Afghanistan Post-Withdrawal
Around 650 US troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after the main American military force completes its withdrawal in September.
June 25, 2021
SOURCE: CFR