All US troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by August 31. US President Joe Biden said so in his first comprehensive statement on the country’s future. Meanwhile, the advancing Taliban is said to have once again captured an important border post.
According to US President Biden, during the 20 years of its presence in Afghanistan, America has been successful in doing what Americans came to the country for. That goal was to eliminate al-Qaeda terrorists and thus prevent another 9/11.
“We didn’t go to Afghanistan to build a nation,” Biden said in his most comprehensive speech on Afghanistan since taking office. “It is the exclusive right and responsibility of the Afghan people to determine the future and how the country should be run.”
‘No possibility of unity government’
Biden called on countries in the region to help achieve a political balance between the various parties in the country. According to the president, the government should make an agreement with the Taliban that would allow everyone to live in peace. However, it is “very unlikely” that a unity government could be formed in Afghanistan that governs the entire country, finds Biden.
The president also announced that the US would help thousands of Afghan interpreters leave the country. Biden said he would be taken to third countries such as Qatar and the Emirates and that he could obtain a visa to the US if he wanted.
Taliban advance
By the end of last week, US troops had left their main base in Bagram. The Defense Department announced Tuesday that the evacuation was more than 90 percent complete. The departure of US troops also means the end of the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Taliban troops will advance into western Afghanistan. There they would have crossed an important border for Iran, among other things. Last week the Taliban also captured border posts with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China and Pakistan.
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