- United States have decided to withdraw from Afghanistan and the entire NATO contingent will do the same, including Italy. Washington expects to finish the operation by the symbolic date ofSeptember 11th, the day of the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, which justified the sending of American and international troops to the Asian country.
“It is time to end this long war – said the American president, Joe Biden – Only Afghans have the right and responsibility to lead their country. The US achieved its goal in Afghanistan 10 years ago when al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by US commandos. After that, the reasons for staying there became less and less clear. The withdrawal from Afghanistan will be orderly, not hasty, and will be coordinated with the NATO allies”.
Biden told the Taliban to honor "their commitments" against terrorism, warning them that the US will hold them accountable for what will happen in Afghanistan.
"The allies have agreed that we will begin withdrawing forces from Afghanistan by May XNUMX," she confirmed NATO in a note.
“After twenty years, as NATO we have decided to leave Afghanistan. This is an epochal decision. Even our soldiers will return to their homeland”, added the Italian foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, with a post on Facebook.
the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, wrote on Twitter that his country "is fully capable" of defending itself: "Tonight I had a phone call with President Biden in which we discussed the US decision to withdraw their troops by early September - he added - The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan respects the American decision and will work with its partners to ensure a smooth transition. The Afghan security and its defense forces are fully capable of defending their people and their country."
