Last US Military Planes Leave Kabul, Hours Ahead of Aug. 31 Deadline
The United States’ military presence in Afghanistan has ended after nearly 20 years, the Associated Press (AP) just reported, as the last military plane, in what became a frantic, dangerous, airlift, carrying American troops and citizens has finally departed Kabul, the Pentagon just announced.
"I'm here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens," says Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. "The last C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30th, this afternoon, at 3:29 p.m. East Coast time, and the last manned aircraft is now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan."
“The last five planes departed last night, just after midnight,” Hermad Sherzad, a Taliban guard told the AP, although US officials have not yet confirmed the withdrawal of the 2,500 to 3,500 US forces who were in Afghanistan, before President Joe Biden started to evacuate them just weeks ago.
While Americans will surely celebrate the end of what was the country’s longest and most costly military engagement, the AP reported that in Kabul, Islamic State militants not only fired “celebratory gunfire” across the city, but they also launched a volley of rockets at Kabul’s rapidly emptying international airport yesterday, which was just hours before the Aug. 31 deadline President Biden had set as the time from which he wanted to evacuate all American citizens and troops from the country that is once again ruled by violent Muslim extremists.
Although President Biden had said the US, “was successful in creating a Democratic government in Afghanistan” which had been ruled by the Taliban and had been harboring many terrorists when the US invaded the country shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, that Democratic government collapsed just more than a week, after US troops started to leave.
President Biden has said that the US’s “mission was accomplished,” and that “we never would have been in Afghanistan in the first place had Osama bin Laden not been there at the time of 9/11.”
Despite the rocket attacks, which did not hurt anyone, US military cargo jets landed and took off from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, all day yesterday.
In a video that was shot from the Kabul airport, the Taliban said the Americans had removed or destroyed most of their equipment and that troop numbers were far lower.
“It looks like today will be the last day,” one of the unidentified fighters said.
The fate of those Americans, however left behind remains a mystery, as White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said today that a "small number" of Americans who want to leave, remain in Afghanistan.
Photo Credit: United States Marine Corps