US troop pullout to be completed by end of August

KABUL (Pajhwok): All US troops would exit Afghanistan by the end of July, the Pentagon announced, confirming the transition of the Bagram airfield to Afghan forces.

President Joe Biden has set the September 11 deadline for the complete withdrawal of the remaining service members from the war-hit country.

Rejecting reports about the pullout completion within days, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the US military personnel would leave the country by the end of next month.

AFP quoted her as saying: “The president has long felt… that the war in Afghanistan was not one that can be won militarily.”

The United States would continue to give Afghanistan security and humanitarian assistance in the months ahead, she promised.

Also on Friday, the Pentagon indicated it could finish the drawdown earlier than the deadline set by Biden.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said: “A safe, orderly drawdown enables us to maintain an ongoing diplomatic presence, support the Afghan people and the government and prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists …”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had green-lighted a plan to transfer command authority for the US Forces Afghanistan from Gen. Austin Scott Miller to Gen. Frank McKenzie, he added.

Gen. Miller would stay in Afghanistan for a number of weeks, Kirby said, adding: “The idea is to have him there … to effect all this, the turnover responsibilities, and … make preparations for Gen. McKenzie to assume those responsibilities.”

He went on to confirm the full US military drawdown process from Afghanistan would come to an end by the “end of August.

Pan Monitor/mud

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