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The troop withdrawal Biden ordered in April could be substantially complete early next month. Biden had set a September 11 deadline for ending the US military mission, saying that the war he initially supported had ceased to be in US interests.
“We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan, hoping to create ideal conditions for the withdrawal and expecting a different result,” Biden said then.
More than 2,000 US service members have died in Afghanistan in a conflict that has cost trillions but often lacked a clear objective. Australia’s troops are also withdrawing - 41 ADF soldiers have died in Afghanistan in the last two decades.
Afghanistan analysts say the Taliban has no incentive to negotiate with the Afghan government before they seize control of Kabul. Credit:AP
Tens of thousands of Afghans also died over the same period - estimates by the UN and other agencies in May suggested up to 47,000 civilians have already been killed in a war that will not end with the departure of US and allied forces.
Biden has requested $US3.3 billion ($4.35 billion) for security assistance for Afghanistan next year, a slight increase over current funding. It is not clear how training of Afghan forces or maintenance of US-made equipment will work from afar.
The American Embassy in Kabul will remain, secured by a force of about 650 military personnel. That is much larger than the typical Marine Corps guard forces assigned to protect embassies, a sign that the administration is safeguarding against potential Taliban attacks or even a possible evacuation of American diplomats down the road.
Former Afghan interpreters hold placards during a demonstrations against the US government, in front of the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June 25, 2021. Credit:AP
A Taliban offensive across northern Afghanistan has shown the weaknesses of Afghan security forces, which have uneven readiness and skills despite years of US and NATO training.
Officials in Afghanistan say Taliban attacks have increased since Biden’s withdrawal announcement in April. In some areas, local forces have surrendered after negotiations between community elders and the Taliban. In others, departing US troops have destroyed bases or stripped them of anything the Taliban might be able to use.
When he ordered the withdrawal, Biden said he understood the argument that the United States would lose leverage over the insurgents by leaving, but noted that staying had not achieved peace.
“We gave that argument a decade,” Biden said in April. “It’s never proved effective. Not when we had 98,000 troops in Afghanistan and not when we were down to a few thousand.”
Ghani and Abdullah had already gone over many of the withdrawal details with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin during a meeting at the Pentagon earlier Friday.
Ghani smiled when asked by reporters to comment on the US intelligence analysis that his government may fall within six months after U.S. forces leave the country.
“There have been many such predictions and they have all proven, turned out, false,” he replied.
also denied the notion that the United States is walking away from his country.
“The false narrative of abandonment is just false,” Ghani said.
Many longtime Afghanistan analysts have said the Taliban has little incentive to pursue a deal with the Kabul government now and may be running out the clock until US forces are gone.
Pentagon leaders had initially urged Biden to leave a small force of up to 3,000 in the country to focus on terrorism threats.
After a meeting with Ghani on Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, called on Biden to reverse course.
“President Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces leaves our Afghan partners alone to confront threats that his own top advisors acknowledge are grave and growing worse,” McConnell said in a statement.
The Washington Post