Kabul, MINA – The US troops pulled out of the main military base in Afghanistan on Friday. The Pentagon said the shift from guarding Bagram air base to Afghan security forces was an important milestone.
Despite the rapid withdrawal, the US military currently still has the authority to protect Afghan forces.
“That authority still exists,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, though he did not give a time limit for that authority to expire, thus quoted from Republika.
The US President Joe Biden said the withdrawal was on track. It’s just that some US troops will still be in Afghanistan until September as part of a rational withdrawal with the allies. An Afghan official said the base would be formally handed over with a ceremony on Saturday.
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US officials say most troops have left Afghanistan ahead of Biden’s schedule. The US president has promised they will return home on September 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks that brought them into Afghanistan.
Even so, Bagram’s withdrawal effectively ended the longest war in US history. The base an hour’s drive north of Kabul is where the US military coordinates its air warfare and logistical support for the entire Afghan mission. The Taliban thanked Washington for leaving.
“We consider this withdrawal as a positive step. Afghans can be closer to stability and peace with the full withdrawal of foreign troops,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Other Afghans are more cautious. “America must leave Afghanistan and there must be peace in this country,” said Kabul resident Javed Arman. (T/RE1)
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