U.S. Troops to Leave Afghanistan by Sept. 11

IslamNews – President Joe Biden plans to withdraw the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, 20 years to the day after the al Qaeda attacks that triggered America’s longest war, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

The disclosure of the plan came on the same day that the U.S. intelligence community released a gloomy outlook for Afghanistan, forecasting “low” chances of a peace deal this year and warning that its government would struggle to hold the Taliban insurgency at bay if the U.S.-led coalition withdraws support.

Biden’s decision would miss a May 1 deadline for withdrawal agreed to with the Taliban by his predecessor Donald Trump. The insurgents had threatened to resume hostilities against foreign troops if that deadline was missed. But Biden would still be setting a near-term withdrawal date, potentially allaying Taliban concerns.

In resetting withdrawal plans, Mr. Biden selected a symbolic target date—the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda terrorist attacks—to define the end of an era in which the U.S. spent trillions of dollars on efforts to counter foreign extremist threats. Officials said the troop withdrawal is likely to be completed well before the Sept. 11 target date, possibly by this summer.

Source: Reuters