2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
As part of the United States–Taliban deal, the Trump administration agreed to an initial reduction of US forces from 13,000 to 8,600 troops by July 2020, followed by a complete withdrawal by 1 May 2021, if the Taliban kept its commitments.On 12 August 2021, following continued Taliban victories across Afghanistan, the Biden administration announced that 3,000 US troops would be deployed to Kabul Airport to evacuate embassy personnel, US nationals and Special Immigrant Visa applicants.[28][29] On 28 and 29 September 2021, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and United States Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Gen. Frank McKenzie were among the numerous Defense Department officials who denied during congressional testimonies President Biden's previous claim that his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan was because of advice from senior US military leaders and stated that they had in fact advised him to keep some troops in Afghanistan.[40] The Washington Post reported on 30 August that the additional US forces for Afghanistan would likely include paratroopers as well as small Marine artillery detachments, composed of about 100 or so troops per unit, which were to be dispersed across the country to fill in gaps in air support.In October 2019, following an abrupt end to peace talks with the Taliban a month prior, General Miller announced that US forces had been reduced to 13,000 within a year as a result of a unilateral decision by the US command in Kabul.[77][78][79][80] US National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien issued a statement on behalf of President Trump that it was his hope the incoming Biden administration would have all US troops "come home safely, and in their entirety" by their previously agreed 1 May 2021 deadline.[79] Critics said that the Afghan withdrawal would undermine the fragile security situation in the region and that the troop reductions would hamper the ongoing peace talks between Taliban fighters and the government of Afghanistan.[84] In January 2021, incoming president Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US would review the peace agreement in order to effectively withdraw its remaining 2,500 soldiers from Afghanistan.Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said that although the Taliban stopped conducting attacks against the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, the violence was still "unacceptably high" and "not conducive to a diplomatic solution".[107] On 29 June, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Austin S. Miller, acknowledged that the Taliban's ongoing offensive was worrisome and cautioned that militias fighting in support of the Afghan army could lead the country into a civil war.[130][131][132] On 22 July 2021, the US House of Representatives voted 407–16 to pass the ALLIES Act, a bill that would improve and provide visas for Afghan interpreters who worked for American personnel during the war.[138] With Taliban fighters surrounding the city, the US embassy evacuated and retreated to Hamid Karzai International Airport, where fleeing Afghan forces had handed over control to NATO.[144] On 18 August, US House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY) called for Biden to delay the withdrawal, stating that the evacuations were a more important priority.A day prior, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, confirmed that a variety of air assets were flying similar overwatch missions across Afghanistan, including AC-130 gunships, MQ-9 Reaper drones, F-16C/D Viper fighter jets, B-52H bombers, and AV-8B Harrier jump jets, and that they were poised to provide close air support in case of contingencies, alongside other assets positioned in the region.[150][151] On 26 August, a suicide bombing occurred at Hamid Karzai International Airport, killing 11 Marines, one Army paratrooper, one Navy Corpsman and 170 Afghan citizens.[159] In the wake of the flawed Afghanistan withdrawal, Republican lawmakers criticized the Biden administration for not providing closure or accountability to Gold Star families of 13 U.S. service members killed on 26 August 2021.[166][167] On 16 August, President Biden announced the deployment of another thousand members of the 82nd Airborne soldiers and Marines, bringing the total number of troops to over 7,000 in the coming hours.[170] On 28 September 2021, U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Milley, CENTCOM Commander Gen. McKenzie and other U.S. Department of Defense officials contradicted during testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee President Biden's previous claim which he made in an interview with ABC News journalist George Stephanopolous in August 2021 that he withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan based on advice from senior military advisors.[30][171] Milley testified that he advised the president to accept Gen. Austin Miller's recommendation to keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and described Biden's withdrawal plan as a "strategic failure.[175] The Washington Post editorial board was critical of the withdrawal in an article dated 2 July 2021, saying the US was allowing its ally to fend for itself against the Taliban with insufficient resources, writing, "the descent from stalemate to defeat could be steep and grim.[177] A report from the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction released on 17 August 2021 found that the US had "struggled to develop and implement a coherent strategy" for the war and that "if the goal was to rebuild and leave a country that could sustain itself and pose little threat to US national security interests, the overall picture is bleak".[93][95] Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Jim Inhofe,[181] Mitt Romney,[182] Joni Ernst,[183] and Jeanne Shaheen[184] criticized the withdrawal, while Patrick Leahy, Barbara Lee, Elizabeth Warren,[185] Bernie Sanders, Ro Khanna,[186] Rand Paul[187] and Jack Reed[188] supported the decision.[193] Trump also reaffirmed his criticism of Biden's handling of the withdrawal in an interview with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, calling it "the dumbest move ever made in U.S. history" and claiming that his negotiation with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar accomplished more.[194] British conservative author and commentator Douglas Murray strongly criticized the withdrawal and the Biden White House attempting to portray it as a success.Jacoby argued the U.S. presence should have continued, citing accomplishments like successful suppression of the Taliban, halving of infant mortality, tripling access to electricity, a ten-fold increase in school attendance, and the inclusion of girls in education.Following the fall of Kabul and collapse of the Afghanistan government on 15 August 2021, the Biden administration's withdrawal plan received bipartisan domestic backlash.[204] Former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta, who oversaw the raid which successfully killed Osama bin Laden,[205] compared Biden's poor withdrawal planning to that of how former US president John F. Kennedy handled the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion."[210] In the UK, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab faced calls to resign after it was revealed he had gone on holiday to Greece just prior to the fall and had refused attempts to contact him as developments occurred.[221] ABC News reported Scheller's concerns that around 50 U.S.-trained former Afghan Air Force helicopter pilots were still trapped and left behind in Afghanistan and pleading for the United States government to evacuate them from the country, where they fear they face execution if found by the Taliban.[224] On September 24, 2024, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to recommend U.S. Secretary of State Blinken be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena seeking information about the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)Al Udeid Air BaseIslamic Republic of Afghanistan2021 Taliban offensiveTaliban captures KabulAmerican involvement in AfghanistanEvacuation of tens of thousands of civilians and military personnelTalibanIslamic Emirate of AfghanistanUnited StatesUnited KingdomFranceCanadaGermanyNorwayAustraliaAfghanistanuntil 15 August 2021Resolute Support MissionAustriaAzerbaijanBelgiumDenmarkFinlandNetherlandsPakistanSingaporeSwedenTurkeyUkraineQatar negotiating teamDonald TrumpJoe BidenZalmay KhalilzadLloyd AustinMark EsperAntony BlinkenMike PompeoMark MilleyKenneth F. McKenzie Jr.Austin S. MillerHibatullah AkhundzadaAbdul Ghani BaradarAbdul Hakim IshaqzaiSher Mohammad Abbas StanikzaicorpsmanHistoryTimelineInvasionCrescent WindMazar-i-SharifKunduzTarinkotKandaharQala-i-JangiShawali KowtSayyd Alma KalayTora BoraHelmand Province campaignEagle FuryLashkar GahMountain Thrust1st SanginMountain FuryNawzadAchillesMusa Qala IVolcanoKryptoniteSilverPickaxe-HandleHammerNasratMusa Qala IIGarmsirEagle's SummitRed DaggerShahi TandarDieselMar LewePanther's ClawStrike of the SwordDahanehCobra's AngerMoshtarakTor ShezadaBattle of SanginCamp BastionJanuary 2017 LashkargahSanginJune 2017 LashkargahCamp ShorabakGrishkKandahar Province2001 Kandahar bombingFall of KandaharTarnak FarmMongooseMedusaAvalanchePanjwaiiFalcon SummitHooverShah Wali Kot2008 KandaharSpin BoldakSarposaArghandabWech Baghtu2009 KandaharNadahanDragon StrikeBaawarBattle of KandaharKandahar massacre2017 Kandahar2020 KandaharHazar QadamAnacondaTakur GharWarrior SweepJacanaHaven DenialMountain ResolveTar HeelsKorangal valley