2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
| 2021 Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Afghanistan war | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Coalition: |
Insurgent groups: | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Lloyd Austin |
 Hibatullah Akhundzada | ||||||
The 2021 Withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan is the scheduled withdrawal of all US armed forces from Afghanistan by 1 May, 2021.
Previous efforts
In 2011 President Obama announced to the nation that the US would be withdrawaling from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.[1][2] While significant numbers of American troops were withdrawn by 2014 and NATO's International Security Assistance Force wound down, 9,800 American troops stayed deployed inside of Afghanistan and NATO began its successor the Resolute Support Mission began.
Peace treaty
On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha, Qatar, officially titled the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan.[3] The provisions of the deal include the withdrawal of all American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, a Taliban pledge to prevent al-Qaeda from operating in areas under Taliban control, and talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.[4] The United States agreed to an initial reduction of its force level from 13,000 to 8,600 by July 2020, followed by a full withdrawal by 1 May, 2021 if the Taliban keeps its commitments.[5]
The deal was supported by China, Russia and Pakistan.[6]
The U.S. completed its reduction of forces to 2,500 troops in January 2021. This was the lowest number of American soldiers in Afghanistan since 2001.[7] As of January 2021, there are more than seven contractors for each U.S. military service member remaining in Afghanistan, according to figures from U.S. Central Command.[8]
Reaction
Arizona Republican Congressman Andy Biggs has stated his support for sticking to the peace treaty.[9]
Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg has said that the Alliance has not made a decision on how to proceed regarding the withdrawal.[10][11]
Outcome
While President Biden supported the full 2014 withdrawal[12], there has been much speculation as to whether or not he will honor the 2020 peace treaty.[13][14][15]
President Biden′s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said in January 2021 that the United States would review the peace agreement to withdraw its remaining 2,500 soldiers from Afghanistan by May 2021.[16]
See also
References
- ^ DeYoung, Karen (23 June 2012). "Obama's drawdown in Afghanistan will shift tactics in war". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/asia/23prexy.html
- ^ Qazi, Shereena (29 February 2020). "Afghanistan's Taliban, US sign agreement aimed at ending war". Al-Jazeera. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "US and Taliban sign deal to end 18-year Afghan war". BBC News. 29 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ https://opedcolumn.news.blog/2020/03/21/us-taliban-deal-india-should-chalk-out-a-new-strategy/
- ^ Basu, Nayanima (12 September 2020). "India asserts Afghanistan's 'national sovereignty' as peace talks with Taliban start in Qatar". ThePrint.
- ^ Ali, Idrees (15 January 2021). "U.S. troops in Afghanistan now down to 2,500, lowest since 2001: Pentagon". Reuters. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Lawrence, J.P. (19 January 2021). "Troop levels are down, but US says over 18,000 contractors remain in Afghanistan". Stars & Stripes. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ https://www.theamericanconservative.com/state-of-the-union/rep-biggs-failure-to-withdraw-from-afghanistan-a-slippery-slope/
- ^ https://www.reuters.com/article/nato-afghanistan-int/no-decision-on-natos-afghanistan-withdrawal-stoltenberg-says-idUSKBN2AI2A7
- ^ https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/feb/18/no-final-decision-nato-deadlocked-afghanistan-miss/
- ^ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/26/joe-biden-withdrawal-iran-afghanistan
- ^ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/exclusive-taliban-warns-biden-going-back-on-afghanistan-deal-causes-problems/ar-BB1dWRae
- ^ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/biden-has-no-good-options-on-afghanistan-with-deadline-for-troop-withdrawal-looming/ar-BB1dFfX9
- ^ https://townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/2021/02/19/is-biden-prepared-to-lose-afghanistan-n2584979
- ^ "Biden administration will review deal with the Taliban: White House". news.yahoo.com. Reuters. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.