WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the US military mission in Afghanistan will end on August 31, nearly 20 years after it began.

The US military has "achieved" its goals in the country to degrade Al-Qaeda and prevent more attacks on the United States, Biden said in a speech.

"We are ending America's longest war," he added.

"The status quo is not an option," he said of staying in the country.

"I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan."

He said the United States "did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build."

"It is the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future."

Biden pledged to continue supporting the Afghan government and security forces and that thousands of Afghan translators who worked for US forces and face threats from the Taliban insurgents would be able to find refuge in the United States.

"There is a home for you in the United States, if you choose," he said. "We will stand with you, just as you stood with us."

Biden said he was confident the Afghan armed forces could stand up to the Taliban, who have made strong advances across the country since the beginning of the year.

He also said a takeover of the government by the Taliban is not inevitable.

"I trust the capacity of the Afghan military," Biden said.-AFP

Reuters adds: The United States last weekend abandoned Bagram air base, the longtime staging ground for US military operations in the country, effectively ending America's longest war. The Pentagon says the withdrawal of US forces is 90% complete.

Washington agreed to withdraw in a deal negotiated last year under Biden's Republican predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden overruled military leaders who wanted to keep a larger presence to assist Afghan security forces and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a staging ground for extremist groups.

Instead, the United States plans to leave 650 troops in Afghanistan to provide security for the US Embassy.

Biden's order in April to pull out US forces by Sept. 11 after 20 years of conflict has coincided with major gains by Taliban movement against overwhelmed Afghan forces after peace talks sputtered.

The commander of US troops in Afghanistan, General Austin Miller, warned last week that the country may be headed toward a civil war.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021