US President Joe Biden on Wednesday officially announced that he will withdraw the remaining US troops from the “forever war” in Afghanistan.
The plan is to pull out all American forces, which 2,500 now, by September 11, Biden said, according to The Associated Press.
The US cannot continue to pour resources into an intractable war and expect different results, Biden said.
The drawdown would begin rather than conclude by May 1, which has been the deadline for full withdrawal under a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.
“It is time to end America’s longest war,” Biden said, but he added that the US will “not conduct a hasty rush to the exit.”
“We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, expecting a different result,” he continued. “I am now the fourth United States president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth.”
Biden has long been skeptical about the US presence in Afghanistan. As Barack Obama’s vice president, Biden was a lonely voice in the administration who advised Obama to tilt towards a smaller counterterrorism role in the country while military advisers were urging a troop buildup to counter Taliban gains. Biden has also made clear he wants to recalibrate US foreign policy to face bigger challenges posed by China and Russia.
Biden’s decision keeps US forces in Afghanistan four months longer than initially planned, but it also sets a firm end to two decades of war.
Biden spoke with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday ahead of his speech, according to AP. The White House said in a statement that Biden told Ghani the United States would continue to support the Afghan people through development, humanitarian and security assistance.
In his speech, Biden stressed that his administration will continue to support peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and assist international efforts to train the Afghan military.