The last US military plane took off shortly before midnight. After almost 20 years, the last US soldier left Afghanistan. Before the withdrawal, military equipment was rendered inoperable.
With the withdrawal of its last soldiers from Kabul airport, the US military operation in Afghanistan is over after almost 20 years. “I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan,” said US General Kenneth McKenzie, who heads US Centcom Central Command, on a video line with journalists in the Pentagon on Monday.
On board the last C-17 machine was, among others, the executive US ambassador to Afghanistan, Ross Wilson. This also ends the military mission to evacuate Americans, allies and Afghans seeking protection. The last US military plane took off from Kabul airport a minute before midnight. US President Joe Biden had set this Tuesday as the deadline for the US troop withdrawal.
Aircraft and vehicles left inoperable
Shortly before the withdrawal, the US troops disabled numerous aircraft and armored vehicles, as well as the missile defense system at Kabul airport, so that they would not fall into the hands of the Taliban or other Islamist groups. 27 Humvees and 70 armored MRAP vehicles – which can cost up to a million dollars each – have been rendered unusable, said the chief of the central command of the US armed forces, General Kenneth McKenzie, on Monday (local time). The vehicles “will never be used again by anyone”.
The US also left behind the C-RAM missile defense system, which was used to protect the airport from missile attacks. Among other things, the system contributed to repelling the fire with five rockets by the jihadist militia “Islamic State” on Monday morning. “We chose to keep these systems running until the last minute before the last US plane took off,” said McKenzie. “It is a complex and time-consuming process to dismantle these systems. So we demilitarize them so that they are never used again.”
Likewise, 73 aircraft that were already at Hamid Karzai International Airport were “demilitarized” or made inoperable by US troops, McKenzie said.
Biden pays tribute to commanders and soldiers
The Taliban responded with jubilation at the American withdrawal. Taliban spokesman Sabiullah Mujahid wrote on Twitter that the country has now achieved complete independence. The high-ranking Taliban member Anas Hakkani tweeted: “We are making history again. The 20-year occupation of Afghanistan by the US and NATO ended tonight. God is great.”
After the troop withdrawal was completed, US President Joe Biden thanked his military commanders and the soldiers involved. They had completed the “dangerous” withdrawal “with no further loss of American lives,” Biden said on Monday.
A US military plane takes off from Kabul Airport on Monday – one of the last flights. The last US soldiers left Afghanistan shortly before midnight. (Source: Wali Sabawoon / dpa)
The President also paid tribute to the large-scale evacuation mission of the past two and a half weeks with more than 120,000 people flown out. The soldiers acted in the “largest airlift in US history” with “courage, professionalism and determination” that are “unsurpassed”.
Blinken: Diplomatic mission relocated to Doha
“Our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has now come to an end,” said Biden. The president wants to address the public on Tuesday and explain, among other things, why he held on to a withdrawal from Afghanistan until August 31.
With the withdrawal of troops from Kabul, the US ended its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan. The diplomatic activities have been moved to the Qatari capital Doha, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday evening (local time). “In view of the uncertain security and political situation in Afghanistan, this was a prudent step.”
More US citizens in Afghanistan
After the last US soldiers have withdrawn from Kabul Airport, there are still around 100 American citizens in Afghanistan who are willing to leave the country. “We couldn’t get everyone out that we wanted to get out,” said US General Kenneth McKenzie, who heads the US Centcom Central Command, on Monday in a video link with journalists in the Pentagon. You had the opportunity to evacuate other US citizens until the last moment. But some wouldn’t have made it to the airport. McKenzie also assured: “Every single US soldier is out of Afghanistan now, I can say that with 100 percent certainty.”
“So the military phase of this operation is over,” he said. Now the diplomatic continuation begins. “I think that if we had stayed ten more days (…), we would not have taken out everyone we wanted to take out,” the general continued. In addition, not all Americans would have wanted to leave the country. The Foreign Ministry will now work to enable the remaining citizens to leave the country. McKenzie guessed it was a few hundred.
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