Biden on Afghanistan Withdrawal: Time to End America's Longest War

U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he is withdrawing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan before the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, affirming "it is time to end America’s longest war."

Following 20 years of the US military onslaught in Afghanistan, almost 2,400 US military and tens of thousands of Afghan deaths, Biden declared that U.S. will begin its final withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan on May 1 and it would be complete before Sept. 11.

“We will not conduct a hasty rush to the exit. We’ll do it responsibly, deliberately and safely,” Biden asserted. “And we’ll do it in full coordination with our allies and partners.”

“The war in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multi-generational undertaking,” Biden stressed. “It’s time to end the forever war.”

Moreover, the White house has released a readout of the President’s call with his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani earlier today.

“They discussed their continued commitment to a strong bilateral partnership following the departure of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and affirmed shared respect and gratitude for the sacrifices made by American forces, alongside NATO allies and operational partners, as well as by the Afghan people and Afghan service members over the past two decades,” according to the White House.

The U.S. President emphasized that the US will continue to support the Afghan people, including through continued development, humanitarian, and security assistance.

Both Leaders reaffirmed their shared conviction that every effort should be made to achieve a political settlement so that the Afghan people can live in peace, the White House added.

On his part, Ghani said he “respects” Biden’s decision to withdraw US troops, promising to help ensure a “smooth transition” as the drawdown begins.

“Afghanistan’s proud security and defense forces are fully capable of defending its people and country, which they have been doing all along, and for which the Afghan nation will forever remain grateful,” Ghani said on Twitter.