Withdrawal of US Troops from Afghanistan

On April 15, 2021, President Joe Biden announced the full withdrawal of US combat troops from Afghanistan. In his speech, he highlighted the 20 years of American involvement in Afghanistan, and the plan of full withdrawal by September 11, 2021, 20 years since the tragic 9/11. He held his announcement in the Roosevelt Treaty Room in White House, the exact location President George W. Bush announced the US involvement in Afghanistan. President Biden in his first minute of the announcement stated the United States’s objective of war in Afghanistan, “We went to Afghanistan in 2001 to root out Al-Qaeda, to prevent future terrorist attacks against the United States planned from Afghanistan.” President Biden claimed the objective to be complete and that the United States have no right to shape the future of Afghanistan, it is up to the Afghans themselves. However, on April 22, commander of U.S. Central Command Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie gave pessimistic comment on the full withdrawal of US combat troops, “I am concerned about the Afghan military’s ability to to hold on after we leave.” General McKenzie’s comments come after his hearing in Congress on Thursday, which diverges from the approach taken by President Biden. A plan suggested by President Donald Trump during his tenure was to withdraw combat troops from Afghanistan by May 1, which subsequently was turned into a beginning date of withdrawal under the Biden administration. President Trump claimed the news of US troops in Afghan withdrawal as ,”Wonderful and positive.” With President Biden’s plan set to be in place from May 1, all US troops deployed in Afghanistan could return home after the completion of full withdrawal by September 11, 2021.