US To Withdraw All Troops From Afghanistan By Sept. 11
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent
(Worthy News) – U.S. President Joe Biden will announce that all American troops will leave war-torn Afghanistan by September 11, officials said.
The new deadline would coincide with the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the U.S.
Biden had previously warned that a previously announced May 1 deadline would be tough to meet. However, officials said he decided that a hasty withdrawal would put US forces at more risk.
The drawdown is part of an agreement with the Taliban group by former president Donald Trump. He agreed with the Islamic militants to pull troops amid growing consensus in Washington that little more can be achieved.
Biden’s decision came as Turkey announced an international peace conference on Afghanistan to bring stability to a nation battered by nearly 40 years of war. But the Taliban said they would boycott the meeting.
Biden had earlier considered keeping a smaller force to strike at terror groups such as Al-Qaeda or an emergent Islamic State extremist threat. He also wanted to make a complete withdrawal dependent on progress in slow-moving peace talks with the Taliban.
The Taliban was warned that if they attack US troops during the pull-out phase, they “will be met with a forceful response,” said a senior administration official briefing reporters.