Afghanistan || "We're Ending America's Longest War"

US President Joe Biden has defended the withdrawal of American soldiers from Afghanistan. Critics fear a quick return of the Taliban to power.

The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan should be completed by the end of August. This was announced by US President Joe Biden. He also defended himself against the accusation that he was leaving the country to the radical Islamic Taliban . He trusts that the Afghan military can defend the country against the extremists.

Afghanistan has 300,000 well-equipped security forces and its own air force. A return of the Taliban is not inevitable, even without the presence of US soldiers. "We didn't go to Afghanistan to build a state," said Biden. "The leaders of Afghanistan must come together to work together towards a future."

Read more: Taliban are occupying more and more areas

Since mid-April, when Biden announced the withdrawal of US soldiers from Afghanistan, the Taliban have expanded their territory and taken power in several regions. They advanced especially in the north, in the traditional heartland of the warlords allied with the USA, who had also contributed to the overthrow of the Taliban government in 2001. The extremists now control around a third of all 421 districts and counties in Afghanistan.

Biden sees no military solution for the US mission in Afghanistan, which has been going on for almost 20 years. He spoke of a "not to be won war". Regarding the detachment's critics, he said, "How many more thousands of American daughters and sons are you willing to risk? I am not going to send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan without a reasonable expectation that it will comes to a different conclusion." 

Biden: Targets in the fight against terrorism have been achieved

The withdrawal does not endanger the security of the USA : After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the USA "achieved" its goals in the fight against terrorism. The US armed forces and secret services could also intervene in the future should Afghanistan again pose a terrorist threat to the US. But now there is no need to continue the operation: "We are ending America's longest war."

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The US troops had already left their main base, Bagram , at the end of last week . The Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that the withdrawal was more than 90 percent complete. The departure of the US soldiers also means the end of the NATO mission in Afghanistan. The Bundeswehr flew the last German soldiers out last week . British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in Parliament in London that the majority of British units had also already withdrawn.

Read more: "They're coming"

In February 2020, the US had signed a peace agreement with the Taliban. In it they initially agreed on a reduction, later on a complete withdrawal of the US troops on site. In return, the Taliban pledged to initiate peace talks with the Afghan government and to refrain from terrorist attacks. However, the Islamists broke the agreement and have carried out numerous attacks since then. The troop withdrawal announced by Biden is not linked to the conditions of the agreement concluded under his predecessor Donald Trump.