NATO announced full Afghanistan retraction

The United States and NATO have announced the final departure of The Force from Afghanistan. The operation will begin on May 1 and will be completed by September 11, the day that exactly 20 years ago Al-Qaeda terrorists carried out aircraft attacks in the United States. The attacks were the prelude to what would be the longest war in the United States.

According to NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, it is now up to the Afghans to achieve lasting peace in their country. In his view, this requires a comprehensive peace treaty: “that puts an end to violence; that protects the human rights of all Afghans and especially women, children, minorities; that maintains the rule of law; and that Afghanistan will never again serve as a safe haven for terrorists.”

American president Joe Biden announced the American withdrawal by saying: “it is time to end the longest war in America. It’s time for our troops to come home.”Earlier he had been in contact with his predecessor George W. Bush who had sent the first military. It has gone on long enough, said Biden. “I am now the fourth US president to oversee the US military presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not transfer this responsibility to a fifth.”

Afghanistan must also receive support after the withdrawal, so that the security gains achieved over the past twenty years are not lost, said outgoing Foreign Minister Stef Blok on Wednesday at the additional NATO Council meeting, according to a report.

The minister said that after twenty years of NATO presence, Afghanistan is no longer a base for international terrorism. Countries should keep” attention ” to this, stressed Blok.

The US, like NATO, will begin the final withdrawal on 1 May. “It won’t be a rush to the exit. We will do it responsibly, thoughtfully and safely, and we will do it in full cooperation with our allies and partners, who now have more troops in Afghanistan than we do,” said Biden.

According to Biden, the departure from Afghanistan, where the brain behind the attacks Osama bin Laden had initially entrenched, does not mean the end of the fight against terrorism. The US will continue to work to ensure that it does not resurface there. Now America’s focus on terrorist threats is needed elsewhere. And an increasingly assertive China is also calling for extra attention, the president said.

However, Biden stressed that the US will continue to support the Afghan people through development projects, humanitarian aid and security support. Washington and NATO also warned the Taliban not to attack the international force.

The Taliban reject the schedule for the withdrawal of foreign soldiers from Afghanistan. The radical Islamic Movement is holding on to the date of May 1, which was agreed with the US last year, when all foreigners must be gone. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants the withdrawal of all foreign troops from our homeland on the date set in the Doha Agreement,” tweeted Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid Wednesday. He warned that if the Doha Agreement were to be broken, there would be consequences.

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani spoke on Wednesday before Biden’s speech reassuring words for the future. “The proud security and defense forces are fully capable of protecting the country and its people, something they have always done and for which the Afghan nation will always be grateful.”