Sayed Amin Alemi
Press TV, Kabul
A US official says the country will remove all troops from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, ending America’s longest war around five months later than planned.
The phrase of “September eleven” revives the memory of terrorist attacks in the US that later in October 2001, brought the US and NATO troops in Afghanistan in the name of International Security Assistance Forces ISAF.
Now, a US official says President Biden is set to announce the US withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11 this year.
Earlier, in a joint press conference with NATO chief, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken said that the two sides would work together on a safe, deliberate and coordinated withdrawal of their forces from Afghanistan.
Officials in Kabul also say the decision would be later discussed by the presidents of Afghanistan and the US .
This comes as the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan was agreed between the Taliban and the US during negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha last year. With such change on Washington’s policy, the Taliban has also declared that it is not willing to attend Turkey summits until foreign troops are stationed in Afghanistan.
Government officials here believe the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan is not the main cause behind Taliban’s decision not to attend Turkey summit but it is a pretext for the militants to further wage the war in the country.
As the Taliban has become a serious headache for the US despite 20 years of fighting many here argue that there would be no win for no one via military ways . Therefore they want Taliban and other players to set aside their difference and reach a comprehensive agreement in order to lead this wounded part of the world to peace and stability.
However, the issue of withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan is not the only matter of concern for the Taliban as there are some other key factors that affects group’s look toward Turkey summit including the fate of political system in Afghanistan.
Some observers worry that with foreign troops gone, Afghanistan will witness a rise in violence. But that can’t be further than the truth, as Afghan forces are well-equipped to fight any security threat rapidly and effectively.