I do not trust the Taliban: Biden declares final date to end US military mission in Afghanistan- Details here
America’s military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31, President Joe Biden has announced, noting that the drawdown of troops in the war-ravaged country is proceeding in a secure and orderly way. In a major policy address on Afghanistan on Thursday after a meeting with his national security team earlier in the day, Biden said that the US has accomplished its goals in the country and this was the appropriate time to withdraw.
Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31st. The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way, prioritising the safety of our troops as they depart, Biden told reporters at the White House. Biden dismissed reports that the Taliban would take over the country soon after the withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan.
Biden said the United States has achieved those objectives. That’s why we went. We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build. It is the right and the responsibility of Afghan people alone to decide their future, and how they want to run their country. “Together with our NATO allies and partners, we have trained and equipped nearly 300,000 current serving members of the military, the Afghan National Security Force, and many beyond that are no longer serving. Add to that hundreds of thousands more Afghan National Defense and Security Forces trained over the last two decades, he said.
US support for Afghan people will endure,” the US president said, adding,”US achieved goals in Afghanistan of degrading Al-Qaeda and prevent more attacks on the United States.”
“I do not trust the Taliban,” Biden told reporters, adding, “but I trust the capacity of the Afghan military.”
US and British troops were deployed in Afghanistan in 2001 after the September 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington. NATO had earlier announced its troops will withdraw in coordination with US forces deployed in the area.
The US president’s statement comes even as the Taliban makes massive inroads in Afghanistan’s northern areas. Afghan security forces on Thursday claimed they had inflicted heavy casualties on the Taliban during their offensive in Laghman province.
Earlier, Russian President Putin had assured the Tajikistan President of all help as Afghan troops reportedly poured into the country as the Taliban made rapid headway along the border areas.
(With inputs from Agencies)