US President Joe Biden has announced he will withdraw remaining US troops from Afghanistan on 11 September.
“It’s time to end the forever war,” Biden said in remarks from the White House’s Treaty Room.
His plan is to pull out all US forces – numbering 2,500 now – one the 20th anniversary of the 2001 terror attack that was coordinated from Afghanistan.
The US cannot continue to pour resources into an intractable war and expect different results, Biden said.
After his televised remarks, Biden went to Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery to visit the graves of US troops killed in Afghanistan.
“There’s no comforting distance in history in Section 60, the grief is raw.” he said. “It’s a visceral reminder of the living cost of war.”
The troop drawdown would begin rather than conclude by May 1, which has been the deadline for full withdrawal under a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.
The decision marks perhaps the most significant foreign policy decision for Biden so far in his presidency.
The president will then visit Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery to honour the sacrifice of those who died in recent American conflicts.
The US administration had originally planned to withdraw troops by May 1 as part of a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.
His plan sets a firm end to two decades of war that killed more than 2,200 US troops, wounded 20,000, and cost as much as €835bn ($1 trillion).
The conflict largely crippled al-Qaeda and led to the death of Osama bin Laden, the architect of the September 11 attacks.
It recently became clear that an orderly withdrawal of the remaining troops would be difficult and was unlikely by May 1.
No military solution
Defence officials and commanders had argued against the May 1 deadline, saying the US troop withdrawal should be based on security conditions in Afghanistan, including Taliban attacks and violence.
Officials have quietly acknowledged that there are hundreds more in Afghanistan than the official 2,500 number.
The president’s decision risks retaliation by the Taliban on US and Afghan forces, possibly escalating the 20-yea conflict.
It will also reignite political division over America’s involvement in what many have called the endless war.
The German Defence Minister also said NATO soldiers engaged in Afghanistan are likely to withdraw by September.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of defence and foreign ministers of NATO members on Wednesday, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said: “I am for an orderly withdrawal, which is why I suppose we will decide this today.”
During a videoconference the Alliance is expected to make a decision on whether the time is right to end the “Resolute Support” mission in Afghanistan which includes 9,600 troops from 36 countries.