Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2020–2021)

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This article is about the 2020–2021 withdrawal. For the 2011–2016 withdrawal, see Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2011–2016).

2020–2021 withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
C-17s support Afghanistan drawdown 2021.jpg
US airmen board a C-17 at Al Udeid Air Base during the withdrawal, 27 April 2021
Date29 February 2020 – present
(1 year, 5 months, 3 weeks and 5 days)
Location
Afghanistan
Result

Taliban victory

  • Withdrawal of troops and civilians set to end on 31 August 2021
  • Concurrent collapse and overthrow of United States-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan following the 2021 Taliban offensive
Belligerents

 NATO

  •  United States
  •  United Kingdom
  •  France
  •  Canada
  •  Australia
  •  Germany (also evacuation support)

 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
(until 15 August 2021)
Resolute Support Mission (36 countries)[1]
Evacuation support:

  •  Italy
  •  India
  •  Austria
  •  Belgium
  •  Denmark
  •  Netherlands
  •  Sweden
  •  Spain
  •  Turkey
  •  Ukraine

Taliban

  • Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Commanders and leaders
Joe Biden
Donald Trump
Lloyd Austin
Mark Esper
Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr.
Austin S. Miller		 Hibatullah Akhundzada
Abdul Ghani Baradar
Casualties and losses
Afghan civilian casualties (Summer 2021):[2]
20 killed
17 wounded

The United States Armed Forces are scheduled to be fully withdrawn from Afghanistan by 31 August 2021, concluding Operation Freedom's Sentinel and NATO's Resolute Support Mission.[3] The US and allied forces invaded and occupied the country in 2001 following the 11 September attacks, with the resulting war becoming the US's longest military engagement.

On 29 February 2020, the US and the Taliban signed a peace agreement titled the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan,[4] with provisions including the withdrawal of all regular American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, a Taliban pledge to prevent al-Qaeda from operating in areas under Taliban control, and talks between the Taliban and the government of the then Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.[5] The deal was supported by China, Pakistan, and Russia,[6] and unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council.[7]

The Trump administration agreed to an initial reduction from 13,000 to 8,600 troops by July 2020, followed by a full withdrawal by 1 May 2021 if the Taliban kept its commitments.[8] The Biden administration, however, said the US would not begin withdrawing until 1 May and would complete the withdrawal before 11 September.[9][10] On 8 July, Biden specified a US withdrawal deadline of 31 August.[11]

During the withdrawal, the US launched Operation Allies Refuge to airlift translators and selected Afghan citizens considered at-risk of reprisals to the United States where they will be temporarily housed by the US military while they complete their Special Immigrant Visa requirements. US Forces Afghanistan Forward was established as a successor command overseeing all US diplomatic, security, advisory, and counter-terrorism personnel remaining in the country post-withdrawal. However, following the Fall of Kabul to the Taliban on 15 August, the operation expanded to evacuating all Americans, any eligible Afghans, and other NATO nationals. Biden considered extending the withdrawal deadline beyond 31 August.[12]

Prior developments[]

Further information: Taliban insurgency and Afghan peace process

Obama administration[]

Further information: Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2011–2016)

In 2011, President Barack Obama announced that the US would withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, concluding Operation Enduring Freedom.[3][13][14] Although significant numbers of US troops were withdrawn by 2014 and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had concluded, 9,800 US soldiers remained deployed inside of Afghanistan during Operation Freedom's Sentinel, a part of NATO's subsequent Resolute Support Mission (RSM).[15] General John F. Campbell requested an additional 1,000 US troops in light of the new military operation.[15]

Trump administration[]

US President Donald Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the United Nations General Assembly, October 2, 2017

In the summer of 2017, with an official number of 8,400 US troops operating in Afghanistan,[16] President Donald Trump gave the US military decision-making authority to increase troop numbers for military operations in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan without first seeking formal agreement from the White House.[17][18] US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis praised the decision: "This assures the department can facilitate our missions and nimbly align our commitment to the situation on the ground. Our overall mission in Afghanistan remains the same, to train, advise and assist the Afghan forces so they can safeguard the Afghan people and terrorists can find no haven in Afghanistan for attacking us or others."[19] The broad outlines of the US's Afghanistan strategy that was in place since April 2017 were described as "an increase in special operations forces to train, advise and assist Afghan forces; a more robust plan to go after elements in Pakistan that aid the Taliban; the deployment of more air power and artillery; and a political commitment to the survival of the current government in Kabul".[20]

On 21 August 2017, President Trump unveiled his administration's strategy for Afghanistan, saying "victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), crushing al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over the country, and stopping mass terror attacks against Americans before they emerge".[21][22] On 24 August, the commander for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John W. Nicholson Jr., confirmed that troop levels, strategy, and conditions for success were dependent on the momentum of the war effort and on-the-ground conditions, not "arbitrary timelines".[23] Trump did not specify the number of troops to be committed under his new open-ended strategy, but congressional officials were told an additional 4,000 troops were to be deployed.[21] The Washington Post reported on 30 August that the additional US forces for Afghanistan would likely include paratroopers as well as small Marine artillery detachments, composed of about 100 or so troops per unit, which were to be dispersed across the country to fill in gaps in air support.[24] According to the report, air support in the form of more F-16 fighters, A-10 ground attack aircraft and additional B-52 bomber support, or a combination of all three, were likely to be used.[24] The newspaper also stated: "The additional US forces will allow Americans to advise Afghan troops in more locations and closer to the fighting, US officials in Kabul said [...]. With more units farther away from the country's biggest bases, additional air support and artillery will be needed to cover those forces."[24] The New York Times added that "the American military will be able to advise select Afghan brigades in the field instead of trying to mentor them from more distant headquarters. They can step up the effort to train special operations forces and, thus, substantially increase the number of Afghan commandos. This will allow American war commanders and service members to call in air and artillery strikes on behalf of more Afghan units."[25]

On 30 August 2017, the Department of Defense disclosed that there were more troops in Afghanistan than previously acknowledged. The Pentagon stated the actual "total force" number was closer to 11,000 rather than the previously stated 8,400, with the larger number including covert as well as temporary units.[25][26] The lower troop-level estimate was a result of misleading accounting measures and red tape.[24]

General Austin S. Miller became commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan in September 2018 and oversaw the withdrawal until July 2021.

In September 2017, the Trump administration began deploying more than 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of US forces in Afghanistan to more than 14,000.[27][28][29] When General Austin "Scott" Miller took command of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan in September 2018, there were 15,000 US troops deployed. In October 2019, following an abrupt end to peace talks with the Taliban a month prior, General Miller announced that US forces had been reduced to 13,000 within a year as a result of a unilateral decision by the US command in Kabul. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper commented on the troop decrease, saying "General Miller is doing exactly what I asked all our commanders to do when I entered office ... to look where they can free up time, money and manpower," as part of the National Defense Strategy to gradually shift global US military strategy from prioritizing counter-terrorism to also countering Russia and China.[30] In December 2019, the Afghanistan Papers revealed that high-ranking military and government officials were generally of the opinion that the war in Afghanistan was unwinnable, but kept this hidden from the public.[31][32] By the end of 2019, nearly 2,400 Americans had died in the war, with more than 20,000 wounded.[30]

United States–Taliban peace agreement[]

Main article: Doha Agreement (2020)

In February 2020, President Trump and NATO allies agreed to formulate a deal with the Taliban, allowing for a formal withdrawal of US combat forces from Afghanistan. Under the terms of the agreement, the Taliban promised "not to allow al-Qaeda or any other extremist group to operate in the areas they control". The deal, titled the "Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan", saw US and NATO forces withdrawing in earnest and set the deadline for a complete withdrawal of US forces by 1 May 2021.[33][34] Trump left open the possibility of a renewed war effort if the Taliban were to violate the terms of the agreement, promising that, if terms were broken, "we'll go back with a force like no-one's ever seen".[33]

On 29 February 2020, the US signed an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw troops in 14 months if the Taliban upheld the terms of the agreement. As of February 2020, about 13,000 American troops were still in the country. The two sides agreed a gradual, conditions-based withdrawal over 14 months and the withdrawal agreement encompasses "all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners, including all non-diplomatic civilian personnel, private security contractors, trainers, advisors, and supporting services personnel". In the first phase the US will initially reduce its forces in Afghanistan by about 5,000 troops to 8,600 within 135 days of the US–Taliban agreement. During the gradual withdrawal, the Taliban and the Afghan government would have to work out a more concrete power-sharing settlement. That time frame would give the government the cover of American military protection while negotiating. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the remaining US troops will serve as leverage to ensure the Taliban lives up to its promises. If the Taliban fulfills its commitments to renounce al-Qaeda and begin intra-Afghan peace talks, the US agreed to a complete withdrawal of all remaining American forces from Afghanistan within ten months.[35][36][37][38][39][40] The US and its NATO allies have agreed to withdraw all troops within 14 months if the militants uphold the deal.[41]

On 1 March 2020, the peace agreement hit a major snag when President Ghani stated during a press conference that the Afghan government, which was not a party to the deal, would reject the deal's call for conducting a prisoner exchange with the Taliban by the proposed start of intra-Afghan negotiations on 10 March 2020, even stating that "[t]he government of Afghanistan has made no commitment to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners", that "an agreement that is signed behind closed doors will have basic problems in its implementation tomorrow", and that "[t]he release of prisoners is not the United States authority, but it is the authority of the government of Afghanistan".[42][43][44][45] Ghani also stated that any prisoner exchange "cannot be a prerequisite for talks" but must be a part of the negotiations.[41]

Withdrawal[]

General Austin Miller, US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meet with the Taliban delegation in Doha, Qatar on 12 September 2020

Some US troops withdrew from Afghanistan on 9 March 2020, as required in the US–Taliban peace agreement.[46][47] On 10 March 2020, US Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected reports that the US military had developed a plan to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan. General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., chief of CENTCOM, also stated that the plan was to reduce the number of US troops in Afghanistan to 8,600 over a 14-month period.[48] The US Army later confirmed that more troops would be sent to Afghanistan in the summer of 2020.[49] According to CENTCOM, the US had reduced its Afghan troop numbers to 8,600 by 18 June 2020, in accordance with the February 2020 Taliban peace deal.[50] On 1 July 2020, following media reports of Taliban participation in an alleged Russian bounty program to target US troops, the US House Armed Services Committee voted for a National Defense Authorization Act amendment to set additional conditions to be met before President Trump could continue the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, including requiring an assessment on whether any country has offered incentives for the Taliban to attack US and coalition troops along with prohibiting funding to reduce troop numbers to below 8,000 and again at 4,000 unless the administration certifies that doing so would not compromise American interests in Afghanistan.[51][52]

On 1 July 2020, the US Senate rejected an attempt by Rand Paul's amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which would have required the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan within a year and bring an end to the 19-year war.[53] On 8 August, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that the United States would reduce troop levels to below 5,000 by the end of November 2020.[54] In August 2020, US intelligence officials assessed that the Iranian government offered bounties to the Taliban-linked Haqqani network to kill foreign servicemembers, including Americans, in Afghanistan. According to CNN, Donald Trump's administration has "never mentioned Iran's connection to the bombing, an omission current and former officials said was connected to the broader prioritization of the peace agreement and withdrawal from Afghanistan".[55]

On 17 November 2020, acting US Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller announced further withdrawals of troops by 15 January 2021, leaving 2,500 troops across both Afghanistan and Iraq, down from the previous amount of 4,500 and 3,000, respectively. US National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien issued a statement on behalf of President Trump that it was his hope the incoming Biden administration would have all US troops "come home safely, and in their entirety" by their previously agreed 1 May 2021, deadline.[56] Joe Biden had previously signalled his support for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan during his presidential campaign,[57] although he left room for the possibility that the US would be "open to maintaining a small number of troops in the country whose mission would focus solely on counterterrorism operations".[58]

The Pentagon announced on 17 November 2020, that it would reduce the number of US forces in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500 by mid-January, i.e. by 15 January 2021, before President Trump's term of office expires on 20 January 2021.[59][60][61][62] US National security adviser Robert C. O'Brien stated that the remaining troops in Afghanistan will defend American diplomats, the American embassy and other agencies of the US government doing important work in Afghanistan, enable allies of the United States to do their work in Afghanistan and deter foes of America in Afghanistan.[62] The announcement was criticized by members of the United States Senate like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell or Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island.[59][60][62] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned in a statement that "the price for leaving too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high".[61] Critics said that the Afghan withdrawal would not only undermine already fragile security in the region, but also stated that the troop reductions would not only hurt the ongoing peace talks between Taliban fighters and the government of Afghanistan, but also undermine delicate security in Afghanistan.[59][60][61] According to a senior defense official the conditions used to measure the drawdown are now based on whether national security would be threatened by a reduction in Afghanistan to 2,500 troops. "We do not feel that it is," said the official. The other condition was, "can we maintain a force posture in Afghanistan that permits us to carry out our mission with our allies and partners".[60] The announcement created anxiety in Afghanistan because US troops are considered a hedge against the Taliban. There is a fear of a Taliban revitalization in Afghanistan. Atiqullah Amarkhel, a retired Afghan Army general and military analyst, told The New York Times that the Taliban "are stronger than in the past, and if the Americans leave and don't support and assist the Afghan Army they won't resist long, and the Taliban will take over. This is what scares me the most."[61]

The Trump administration completed its reduction of forces to 2,500 troops in January 2021, the lowest number of American soldiers in Afghanistan since 2001.[63] As of January 2021, there are more than seven contractors for each US military service member remaining in Afghanistan, amounting to over 18,000 contractors,[64] according to figures from US Central Command.[64] In January 2021, then-incoming president Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US would review the peace agreement in order to effectively withdraw its remaining 2,500 soldiers from Afghanistan.[65] Biden supported a full withdrawal in 2014[66] but it was initially unclear as to whether he would uphold Trump's May 2021 withdrawal deadline.[67][68][69]

General Austin S. Miller alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Afghanistan, March 2021

On 18 February 2021, Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance has not made a decision on how to proceed regarding the withdrawal.[70][71] Britain is expected to withdraw its remaining 750 Resolute Support Mission troops at the same time as the US[72] According to the plan, NATO troops would also follow the same withdrawal timeline. The US indicated that some troops (the exact number had not yet been decided) will remain in the country to provide diplomatic security,[73] and is unclear what will happen to the several hundred US special operations forces working for the CIA on counter-terrorism missions.[74][73] New CIA Director William Joseph Burns told the US Senate Intelligence Committee on 14 April 2021, that "[t]here is a significant risk once the US military and the coalition militaries withdraw" but added that the US would retain "a suite of capabilities".[75] The administration of President Biden intends to use a broad array of foreign police tools stretching from military occupation to total abandonment.[75]

In March 2021, news reports stated that President Biden was potentially considering keeping US forces in Afghanistan until November 2021.[3][76] On 14 April 2021, Biden announced his intention to withdraw all regular US troops by 11 September 2021, the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and four months after the initially planned 1 May deadline.[3][77][78][73][79] The day before the announcement, Biden called former US presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama regarding his decision to withdraw.[80] US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the decision was made in order to focus resources on China and the COVID-19 pandemic.[81] Following withdrawal, the US is reportedly considering options for redeploying troops such as relocating to US Navy vessels, countries in the Middle East, or Central Asian countries like Tajikistan.[82][73][75]

Taliban offensive and continued withdrawal[]

Further information: 2021 Taliban offensive and Fall of Kabul (2021)
Aerial porters load a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter unto a C-17 Globemaster III for departure from Bagram Airfield, June 16, 2021

In May 2021, the Biden Administration announced that US and NATO forces would withdraw unconditionally, effectively scrapping the terms of the Doha Agreement negotiated by Zalmay Khalilzad in 2020.[83][84] On this news, the Taliban launched an offensive, quickly advancing ahead of the collapsing Afghan Armed Forces.

On 2 July 2021, Germany and Italy withdrew their troops from Afghanistan.[85] On the same day, American forces vacated Bagram Airfield. Afghan officials complained that the Americans had left without notifying the new Afghan commander until more than two hours after abandoning the base. As a result, the base was ransacked by looters before they could take control of the airfield.[86][87][88] Meanwhile, fighting raged between the Taliban and Afghan government forces, with analysts from Al Jazeera saying that the Taliban is "at the door of Kabul".[89] On 8 July 2021, President Biden announced that the official conclusion to the war in Afghanistan will be on 31 August 2021.[11] President Joe Biden defended the withdrawal of US troops, saying to trust "the capacity of the Afghan military, who is better trained, better equipped and ... more competent in terms of conducting war".[90] On 12 July 2021, Austin S. Miller stepped down from his post as commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.[91]

By 12 July 2021, the Taliban had seized 139 districts from the Afghan National Army. According to a US intelligence report, the Afghan government was expected to collapse within six months of the withdrawal,[92][93] however the US military later revised the assessment stating the collapse would occur much sooner.[94]

Various spokesman for the Taliban including Suhail Shaheen and Mohammad Naeem have issued statements that all foreign forces should withdraw from Afghanistan. The Taliban (self-styled the "Islamic Emirate") refused to participate in any talks until all foreign forces withdrew from the country.[95][83]

According to The Washington Post, local militias in the north of the country have engaged in combat against the Taliban.[96] Footage taken on 16 June and released on 13 July showed Taliban gunmen executing 22 Afghan servicemen who had been attempting to surrender.[97]

On 21 July, the highest-ranking US military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, reported that half of all districts in Afghanistan were under Taliban control and that momentum was "sort of" on the side with the Taliban.[98] On 21 July 2021, the US Air Force launched airstrikes against Taliban positions in Afghanistan.[99]

It was reported by the UN Security Council in July 2021 that members of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) are still present in as many as 15 Afghan provinces, and that they are operating under Taliban protection in Kandahar, Helmand and Nimroz provinces in violation of the Doha agreement.[100][101][102]

Operation Allies Refuge[]

Main article: Operation Allies Refuge
US Marines of the 24th MEU evacuating US embassy staff at Kabul Airport, 15 August 2021
82nd Airborne Division soldiers guarding Kabul Airport on 17 August 2021
Marines guarding an evacuation checkpoint at Kabul Airport on 20 August 2021

On 22 July 2021, the US House of Representatives voted 407–16 to pass the Allies Act, a bill that would improve and provide visas for Afghan interpreters who worked for American personnel during the war.[103][104] The initiative aimed to bring in Afghans under a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) which would allow them to bring their families and establish work in the United States. The SIV program was first created in 2006 by Congress, for Iraq and Afghan interpreters with an estimated 50,000 or more individuals qualifying for the program.[105] The first flight of the program arrived on 30 July 2021, with individuals who had qualified for the SIV and family members. While the majority of arrivals were to be relocated either to the United States, US facilities abroad or other countries to finish out the visa applications, the first group were to complete their Visa applications at Fort Lee, Virginia due to prior background checks and security screening.[106]

In August 2021, as the Taliban took city after city including Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, where the elite forces of the Afghan government were deployed, the Biden Administration continued to defend the withdrawal and their support for the "political process" in Afghanistan, saying it was up to Afghan leaders to "show political will at this point to push back". In the words of the President, "Afghan leaders have to come together".[94]

News from within the Canadian government released on 12 August 2021 confirmed the country sent a small but undisclosed number of special forces to assist the evacuation effort in Kabul and secure the country's embassy.[107] The next day, on 13 August 2021, the Canadian government announced a plan to resettle 20,000 displaced Afghans in Canada.[108]

Kabul airlift[]

On 15 August 2021, the Taliban seized the capital city of Kabul as the Afghan government under President Ashraf Ghani dissolved, the speed of which surprised the US government.[109] With Taliban fighters surrounding the city, the US embassy evacuated and retreated to Hamid Karzai International Airport, where fleeing Afghan forces had handed over control to NATO. As the security situation in the city deteriorated, other countries began to shutter and evacuate their respective embassies to the airport, where it became the center of the withdrawal for all US and NATO personnel as it became the only secure route out of Afghanistan.[110] 5,000 US troops and some NATO troops, including British, Italian, Turkish, and Spanish personnel, remained in the city as chaos was ensuing as thousands of fleeing Afghan civilians rushed the airport, overrunning the runway and forcing US troops to conduct crowd control.[111][112] The US government later authorized the deployment of 1,000 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne to the airport, increasing troop presence in Kabul to 6,000 to facilitate the evacuations.[113] With the fall of Kabul, the military withdrawal evolved into an airlift of all of NATO's diplomatic staff, at-risk Afghan and Western nationals, and eligible refugees able to enter the surrounded Kabul Airport, prompting Western countries to send in additional troops to facilitate the evacuations.

On 16 August, the United Kingdom agreed to send 200 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of British troops in the country to 900.[114]

Also on 16 August, following the chaotic start of the Kabul Airport airlifts, President Biden held a press conference in which he justified the reasons for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, affirming his view that following through on the withdrawal was the correct decision.[115] On 18 August, US House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY) called for Biden to delay the withdrawal, stating that the evacuations were a more important priority.[116]

During some evacuation incidents at the Kabul Airport, the Taliban fired crowd control gunshots and blocked efforts which were made by Britain to carry out evacuations.[117][118] On 20 August, President Biden promised Americans that are stuck in Afghanistan that the US government will bring them back home. He also stated that the government do not know the exact number of Americans that are still in Afghanistan, and how many of them want to come back home to the United States.[119]

US Forces Afghanistan Forward[]

About 650 US troops remained on the ground in Afghanistan in early August 2021, keeping to a schedule made months earlier. They were tasked with protecting the airport and embassy.[120][121] By 12 August, however, as the Taliban had—within just a few days—captured 18 of 34 provincial capitals including Herat and Kandahar, the US and UK said they would send more troops to evacuate embassy staff, other US and UK nationals, and their local translators. For this purpose, the US planned to send 3,000 troops and the UK planned to send 600 troops[122] as part of US Forces Afghanistan Forward.[123] Mazar-e-Sharif was taken by the Taliban on 14 August; on this day, the US increased its troop commitment to 5,000.[124] On 15 August, the Taliban seized Kabul and overthrew the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country;[125] after which the Taliban took the presidential palace.[126] However, 5,000 US troops still remained in Kabul, and NATO troops were still present at the Hamid Karzai International Airport.[112][111] The same day, the US government ordered the deployment of 1,000 additional troops from the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of US troops in Kabul to 6,000.[127][128] On 16 August, President Biden announced the deployment of another thousand members of the 82nd Airborne Division, bringing the total number of troops to 7,000 in the coming hours.[129]

Analysis[]

According to some media analysts, such as Alexander Nazaryan of Yahoo! News, the withdrawal was included among other actions that Biden broke with both Obama and Trump on, and was seen as maintaining the promise Biden made prior to becoming president that his term would not be "a third Obama term" because "President Trump has changed the landscape". Princeton professor Julian E. Zelizer claimed Biden "clearly learned a great deal from his time in the Obama presidency". Washington Post journalist Steven Levingston wrote, "Obama listened to military leaders who advised him that withdrawal would be a mistake. Biden, meanwhile, was the top administration official arguing for a much more limited role for American forces in Afghanistan. Later, Biden would go on to say that he could tell by Obama's 'body language' that he agreed with that assessment—even though he ultimately rejected it." Harvard historian James Kloppenberg stated, "only a fool would have been confident he knew all the answers [when it came to Afghanistan]. Obama was no fool."[130]

The Diplomat reported on 17 April 2021, about the internal and external challenges for Afghanistan following the US troop withdrawal from the perspective of Afghanistan's civil society.[131]

The Washington Post editorial board was critical of the withdrawal in an article dated 2 July 2021, saying the US was allowing its ally to fend for itself against the Taliban with insufficient resources, writing, "the descent from stalemate to defeat could be steep and grim. We wonder whether [Biden] has fully considered the consequences."[132]

David E. Sanger, a New York Times correspondent, analyzed the decision to leave Afghanistan by Joe Biden, and consequently the manner of the fall of Kabul, as the result of four basic assumptions, or miscalculations: that there was enough time before the Afghan government collapsed for the US to withdraw, that the Afghan forces had "the same drive" to win as the Taliban did, that there was "a well-planned system for evacuating the embassy" and Afghans who had helped the US and their families, and that if the Taliban made it to Kabul, that there would be a "bloody block-by-block civil war" taking place in its streets.[133]

Reactions[]

Domestic[]

On 8 July 2021, US President Joe Biden stated that: "The likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely."[134]

The Biden administration's initial announcement of a full withdrawal of troops by 11 September 2021, generated both criticism and praise within the US.[73][75] Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Jim Inhofe,[135] Mitt Romney,[136] Joni Ernst,[137] and Jeanne Shaheen[138] criticized the withdrawal, while Patrick Leahy, Barbara Lee, Elizabeth Warren,[139] Bernie Sanders, Ro Khanna,[140] Rand Paul[141] and Jack Reed[142] supported the decision. Former President Donald Trump, while maintaining that withdrawal was "a wonderful and positive thing to do", criticized Biden for choosing 11 September as the day of the withdrawal, criticizing the deadline extension as "we can and should get out earlier", calling for the US to withdraw "as close" to 1 May as possible, and that 11 September "should remain a day of reflection and remembrance honoring those great souls we lost".[143][144] Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that there were "consequences both foreseen and unintended of staying and of leaving"; one of these consequences, she expressed, was a potential collapse of the Afghan government, resulting in a takeover by the Taliban and a fresh civil war.[145] Former President George W. Bush, who oversaw the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, said the withdrawal made him "concerned" and that he believed it had the potential to "create a vacuum, and into that vacuum is likely to come people who treat women as second class citizens".[146] During an interview with Deutsche Welle on 14 July 2021, Bush reaffirmed his opposition to the troop withdrawal.[147]

Following the collapse of the Afghanistan government, the Biden Administration's withdrawal plan received bipartisan backlash.[148] Former Secretary of Defense and CIA Chief Leon Panetta, who oversaw the raid which successfully killed Osama bin Laden,[149] compared Biden's poor withdrawal planning to that of how former US President John F. Kennedy handled the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion.[150] In addition to Republicans, numerous fellow Democrats in Congress, including chairs of some important Congressional committees, criticized Biden's handling of the withdrawal as well.[151] Jordain Carney of The Hill even wrote on 18 August 2021 that Biden now had "few Capitol Hill allies" amid the Afghanistan backlash.[152] During an interview with ABC News, Biden defended his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, and that chaos during the withdrawal is inevitable. Biden stated that while he had priced in enormous chaos in the withdrawal, and what is happening in Afghanistan is not priced in by him.[153]

Johnny Spann, the father of Johnny Micheal Spann, the first American killed in action during the war in Afghanistan, said he was "disgusted" by the "shameful" way the Kabul evacuation was carried out, saying the scenes of people falling to their death from evacuation planes reminded him of the people who jumped from the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. Spann warned that terrorists in Afghanistan still posed a threat to America and that "This war is not over. We've just conceded territory that we took."[154]

International[]

President Joe Biden meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chairman Abdullah Abdullah, June 25, 2021

British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace said the US put Britain in a "very difficult position" following the withdrawal, though they subsequently followed suit.[155] At the 2021 Raisina Dialogue, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of Iran, said that the withdrawal was a welcome move, adding that foreign troops could not bring peace in Afghanistan.[156]

There are concerns about the rise of violence and unstable situations in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US forces. On 25 May 2021, Australia closed its Embassy in Kabul due to security concerns.[157] Belgium and France withdrew their diplomats.[158] The Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan issued a travel warning on 19 June, urging Chinese citizens to "leave Afghanistan as soon as possible" and demanding Chinese organizations to "take extra precautions and strengthen their emergency preparedness as the situation deteriorated" in the country.[159] The Chinese government dispatched a charter-flight operated by XiamenAir to evacuate 210 Chinese nationals from Kabul on 2 July.[160]

The two presidents of Afghanistan after the 2001 invasion, Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, both criticized the "abrupt" withdrawal of US troops from the country as giving momentum to the Taliban advance, with Karzai calling on the United States to "end this failed mission".[161][162]

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, condemned the US withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan stating that the US' decision to leave was "political" rather than "strategic". In an article on the website of Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, he wrote, "The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours."[163] Blair further accused Biden of being "in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending ‘the forever wars’," and warned that “The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics."[164]

See also[]

References[]

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