THE Pentagon on August 30, 2021 said the United States has ended its longest war in history as it pulled out the last of its troops and diplomats from Afghanistan, signifying the completion of a 20-year war, reports The Washington Post.
The paper reported that US’s last aircraft took off at one minute before midnight from Kabul airport Monday carrying all remaining American troops and diplomats.
“I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan,” the head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., said at a news conference about an hour later as the final C-17 plane cleared Afghan airspace. The last to leave, he said, were Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the commander of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, and acting American ambassador Ross Wilson.
President Biden issued a written statement saying he would address the American people Tuesday afternoon. The statement said that the decision to end the final U.S. military mission, which evacuated more than 120,000 Americans, Afghans and others over the past several weeks, was the “unanimous recommendation of the Joint Chiefs and of all our commanders on the ground.”
Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in a formal address, said the U.S. diplomatic mission to Afghanistan would be transferred for the time being to Doha, Qatar. From there, he said, “we will continue our relentless efforts to help Americans, foreign nationals and Afghans” at risk “to leave Afghanistan if they choose,” as well as what he said would be ongoing humanitarian and counterterrorism operations. He said fewer than 200 American citizens are believed to still be in Afghanistan.
Calling it a “massive military, diplomatic and humanitarian undertaking,” Blinken said the evacuation mission was “one of the most difficult in our nation’s history.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement released Monday night that he hoped all Americans share his pride in the U.S. troops and diplomats who “raced to help save lives” in Afghanistan in August.
“Our service members secured, defended, and ran a major international airport,” he said. “They learned how to help consular officers screen and verify visa applicants. They provided medical care, food and water, and compassion to people in need. They flew tens of thousands of people to safety, virtually around the clock. They even delivered babies.”
The costs of the war were immense, lasting through four administrations — more than 2,400 U.S. military deaths and tens of thousands of Afghans killed, and trillions of defense and development dollars spent.
Yet at the end of the day, the final departure returned Afghanistan to the undisputed rule of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist militants whom U.S. forces ousted from power in 2001 and battled for nearly two decades.
Feature picture credit: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/afghanistan-war-ends-last-u-221606704.html
