WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he will withdraw the remaining US forces from Afghanistan, stating that the September 11 attacks “cannot explain” why US forces there still remain there 20 years after the deadliest terror attack on the United States. should be.
His plan is to withdraw all US troops – now 2,500 in number – by September 11, the anniversary of the attacks coordinated from Afghanistan.
The US cannot continue to deploy resources in a persistent war and expect different results, Biden said.
The withdrawal was set to begin rather than end on May 1, which was the deadline for full withdrawal under a peace deal that the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.
“It is time to end America’s longest war,” Biden said, adding that the US “will not rush to the exit.”
“We cannot continue the cycle of expanding or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan in hopes of creating the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, pending a different outcome,” Biden said. “I am now the fourth president of the United States to preside over the presence of a US force in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats. I will not transfer this responsibility to a fifth. ”
The decision marks arguably the most important foreign policy decision for Biden early in his presidency.
He has long been skeptical of the US presence in Afghanistan. As Barack Obama’s vice president, Biden was a lone voice in the administration advising the 44th president to lean towards a smaller role in the country’s counter-terrorism, while military advisers pushed for a troop build-up to counter Taliban acquisitions. to go. Biden has also made it clear that he wants to rethink US foreign policy to face the bigger challenges facing China and Russia.
Withdrawal of all US troops carries obvious risks. It could spur the Taliban’s efforts to regain power and undo the achievements towards democracy and women’s rights over the past two decades. It also opens up Biden to criticism, mostly Republicans and some Democrats, although former President Donald Trump would have also wanted a full withdrawal.
“This administration has decided to abandon US efforts in Afghanistan that have helped contain radical Islamic terrorism,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. “And strangely enough, they decided to do this before September 11th.”
While Biden’s decision keeps US forces in Afghanistan for four months longer than initially planned, it puts an end to two decades of war that killed more than 2,200 US troops, wounded 20,000 and cost as much as $ 1 trillion.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he spoke with Biden on Wednesday in the run-up to the US president’s speech.
“The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan respects the US decision and we will work with our US partners to ensure a smooth transition,” Ghani said in a Twitter post.
Biden conferred with allies, military leaders, lawmakers and Vice President Kamala Harris to help make his decision. White House press secretary Jen Psaki added that Biden also spoke to “some of his predecessors” in the White House and that administration officials have contacted 44 officials from other countries, NATO, in recent days. the European Union and the United Nations.
He emphasizes that his government will continue to support peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and will support international efforts to train the Afghan army.
Following his speech, Biden would visit Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery to honor those who died in recent American conflicts.
CIA Director William Burns acknowledged in a hearing on Wednesday that the US ability to contain the terrorist threat from Afghanistan has benefited from the military presence there, and that when that presence is withdrawn, “the ability of the US government to counter threats. collecting and responding to it will decline. “
“That’s just a fact,” said Burns. “It is also a fact, however, that after withdrawal, the CIA and all our partners in the US government, when that time comes, will maintain a range of capabilities, some of which will remain in place, some that we will generate, that can help us to to anticipate and fight against any attempt at reconstruction. ”
A senior government official said the September withdrawal date was an absolute deadline that will not be affected by security conditions in Afghanistan.
The long conflict largely paralyzed Al-Qaeda and led to the death of Osama bin Laden, the architect of the September 11 attacks. But a US withdrawal also jeopardizes many of the achievements of democracy, women’s rights and governance, while ensuring that the Taliban, who formed the port of Al-Qaeda, remain strong and large swaths of the country under control. to keep.
While Biden announced his decision, his key national security officials met in Brussels on Wednesday to coordinate the alliance’s withdrawal from Afghanistan with the planned withdrawal of US forces.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with senior officials from the 30 members of the alliance to discuss NATO’s future presence in Afghanistan in light of the announcement of the US withdrawal that Biden later announced in the United States. day.
Blinken said he expected the allies to withdraw together, but insisted that neither the US nor NATO would leave the country despite the impending withdrawal. There are approximately 7,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, in addition to the remaining 2,500 US troops.
“Together we went to Afghanistan to deal with the people who attacked us and to ensure that Afghanistan would not again become a haven for terrorists who would attack all of us,” said Blinken.
___ Lee reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Alexandra Jaffe contributed to the reporting.