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According to a new AP report, the United States plans to leave hundreds of troops in Afghanistan even after the promised withdrawal from the war-torn country.
The Associated Press reported on Friday that about 650 American troops will stay in Afghanistan to provide security at the U.S. Embassy after troops leave the country later this summer. Hundreds of more troops will also stay at the Kabul airport.
U.S. officials told AP that the withdrawal may be completed in the next two weeks, which would be ahead of Joe Biden’s September 11 deadline to withdraw all troops from the country.
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The report stated that several hundred US forces will remain at the Kabul airport, at least until September, to assist Turkish troops who have agreed to provide security for the airport.
The officials stated that troops will remain until formal plans are in place for Turkey to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport, the main entry into Afghanistan.
According to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, security at the embassy in Kabul “would be beyond just what you would see in normal embassies.”
“You should expect that it'll be larger ... in keeping with the security situation in Afghanistan,” Kirby said.
Biden stated that the United States would remove all troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11—twenty years after it launched its longest war against the country.
BREAKING: About 650 U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after the main American military force completes its withdrawal, officials tell @AP. The withdrawal is set to be largely completed in the next two weeks. https://t.co/3IQfRQAFck
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 24, 2021
Under the pretext of the so-called war against terror, the US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001.
Washington has spent more than trillions of dollars waging war on Afghanistan, leaving thousands of Afghan civilians and American soldiers dead.
Although the U.S. military is nearing the end of withdrawing the roughly 3,500 remaining troops from Afghanistan, it is sending numerous long-range B-52 bombers and additional troops to Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced.
According to a February 2020 “peace” deal between the Taliban and the Trump administration, the United States vowed to withdraw all 3,500 US troops remaining in Afghanistan and in return, the Taliban agreed to cease attacks on U.S. troops.
Nonetheless, the Taliban says the that United States has broken its agreement with the group for the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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