US troops leave Afghanistan ahead of August 31 deadline

New York, August 21, 2021, Tuesday

The U.S. military has withdrawn from Afghanistan after the Taliban took over. The Taliban, which has been in the process of withdrawing its army since last May, has now taken control of all locations, including Kabul airport. It may be recalled that after the US World Trade Center incident in New York in 2001, the US declared war on Afghanistan to eradicate the Taliban and establish a democratic government. The United States had an army of 3 lakh Afghan soldiers and 1 lakh of its own. After spending billions of dollars, peace talks with the Taliban in 2016 paved the way for the withdrawal of the army from Afghanistan.

The Taliban maintained its existence despite the presence of US troops. On the one hand, US troops were gradually withdrawing from Afghanistan, while on the other hand, the Taliban were occupying areas. In some places, such as Kandahar, the Afghan army fought, but in Kabul, the US-trained Afghan army sank. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country before the Taliban took control of Kabul and commanders entered the presidential palace. The deadline for the US military to withdraw was August 31. Some time ago, at least 150 people, including 12 US soldiers, were killed in a bomb attack on Kabul airport by ISIS, a terrorist group opposed to the US-Taliban pact.

After the incident, it appeared that the US military could make a long stay in Afghanistan, but instead, it withdrew on the night of August 30, before the August 31 deadline. According to the US Pentagon, the last troops left at night. Major General Chris Donhue was the last soldier to leave Afghanistan for the United States aboard a C-17 aircraft, marking the end of a long US military campaign. U.S. Central Command Commander General Kenneth Menkeji announced during a Pentagon news conference that the withdrawal process was over. US President Joe Biden responded that in the last 15 days, our troops have completed the largest airlift operation in US history.