The airlift set up in disaster on August 15, after the capture of Kabul by the Taliban, ended 24 hours ahead of the date set by President Joe Biden.
Washington correspondent
The last US military plane took off from Kabul airport on Monday evening, one minute before midnight local time, ending the longest war in US history. General Chris Donahue, commander of the 82e airborne division, was the last US soldier to board a US Air Force C-17. The airlift, set up in disaster after Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15, ended a few hours ahead of the date set by President Joe Biden.
1,200 people were evacuated during the day Monday, and some 123,000 people since the start of the operation. Taliban fighters watched the last American planes disappear into Afghan skies, before taking control of the airport, the last American enclave on Afghan soil. They celebrated their victory over the most powerful army in the world, driven out of one of the poorest countries, by shooting in the air. “The shots in Kabul are shots of joy after the withdrawal of American troops, and citizens are not worried One of the spokespersons for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, commented on Twitter. “The last American occupier has withdrawn and our country has gained full independence, praise and gratitude to God.” “Congratulations to Afghanistan (…) This victory is ours to all”, he added from Kabul airport. “We want to have good relations with the United States and the world. “
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General Frank McKenzie, head of Centcom, the operations staff, who had to negotiate with the Taliban to protect the perimeter of the airport, announced the end of the evacuation mission during a point surprise press at the Pentagon. “I am here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third country nationals and threatened Afghans”, said the general. “Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation, but also the end of a nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11, 2001. It is a mission that led to the deserved end of Osama bin Laden, as well as many of his al-Qaida accomplices. The mission came at a cost, with 2,461 American soldiers and civilians killed and more than 20,000 injured ”, also said the general.
“We didn’t get all the people we wanted out”, regretted General McKenzie, estimating that the American citizens remained in Afghanistan numbered less than a few hundred. “I can tell you that the Taliban were very pragmatic and very professional throughout this withdrawal”McKenzie also said. The Americans are also leaving behind at least 100,000 Afghans who may have qualified for an American visa, but who are now in an Afghanistan fully controlled by the Taliban. Many of them are former interpreters of the US military, whose special visa process is underway, but who fear reprisals from former insurgents.
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An Inglorious Intervention
The American operation in Afghanistan ends less than two weeks before the 20the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, and prompted the intervention. The fourth American president to wage this war, Joe Biden took up Donald Trump’s promise to end a ” endless war », According to the slogan of his predecessor.
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The long American intervention in Afghanistan ended inglorious and largely avoidable confusion, raising doubts as to the credibility of the United States, and its capacities of organization.
A congressional committee must examine the shortcomings and the unpreparedness of a withdrawal announced for months. The original plan was to keep the US Embassy in Kabul protected by a force of around 650 US troops, including a contingent tasked with protecting the airport. Washington planned to continue its aid to the Afghan government and its military. But the collapse of Afghan forces and the government of Ashraf Ghani, and the speed with which the Taliban took Kabul on August 15, forced the United States to change its plans. Forced to close their embassy, they had to urgently carry out an extraordinary airlift.
“20 years war”
Begun in confusion, with Afghans killed trying to cling to taking off planes, this evacuation was bloodied by a terrible bombing on August 26, when an Islamic State suicide bomber blew himself up in a gate to the airport compound, killing at least 169 Afghans and 13 Americans.
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Speaking shortly after that attack, Biden maintained that ending the war was the right decision, saying it was high time for the United States to focus on threats emanating from other parts of the world. ” Ladies and gentlemen, it was time to end a 20 years war Biden insisted. The other part of the US plan, aimed at preventing al-Qaida from re-establishing itself in Afghanistan and containing threats posed by other extremist groups such as the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, also seems a little compromised. While the Taliban are the enemies of the Islamic State, they retain close ties to al-Qaida. The 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks will coincide with the victory of the Taliban and their jihadist allies.
“I want to thank our commanders, and the men and women who serve under them, for carrying out the dangerous withdrawal from Afghanistan, in the early morning hours of August 31, Kabul time – with no further loss of American lives., a dit Biden. Over the past 17 days, our troops have flown the largest airlift in US history, evacuating more than 120,000 US, Allied and Afghan citizens. Now our 20 year military presence in Afghanistan has ended. “
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