US President Joe Biden has this week announced that the US will remove its military forces from Afghanistan by 31 August 2021. This announcement is a continuation of plans which were set in motion by former President Donald Trump, to essentially bring an end to America’s longest war.
Although diplomatic relations between the US and Afghanistan will continue and forces which aim to protect the US Embassy will remain, military leaders have been concerned that this move by Biden would have a disastrous outcome.
General Austin Miller, a commander of US troops in the Afghan territory, has been vocal regarding the possibility that a US withdrawal would result in a chaotic civil war between the Taliban and Afghan security forces, which could further destabilise the entire region.
Despite this, Biden has remained firmly committed to the US withdrawal.
He stated that “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build, it’s the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.”
According to the Pentagon, the withdrawal of US forces is 90% complete, which indicates that the removal of troops has progressed ahead of schedule.