Washington: Roughly 650 US troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after the main American military force completes its withdrawal, which is set to be largely done in the next two weeks, US officials said. Moreover, several hundred additional American forces will remain at the Kabul airport, potentially until September. They’ll assist Turkish troops providing security, a temporary move until a more formal Turkey-led security operation is in place, the officials said.
Overall, officials said the US expects to have American and coalition military command, its leadership, and most troops out by July 4th, or shortly after that, meeting an aspirational deadline that commanders developed months ago. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
The departure of the bulk of the more than 4,000 troops that have been in the country in recent months is unfolding well before President Joe Biden’s September 11 deadline for withdrawal. And it comes amid accelerating Taliban battlefield gains, fuelling fears that the Afghan government and its military could collapse in a matter of months.
Secretary of state Antony Blinken noted the increased violence and cited “a real danger” that if the Taliban tries to take the country by force, “we’ll see a renewal of a war or possibly worse.” But, Blinken said, the Biden administration came to the conclusion that not removing US troops, as the Trump administration had promised the Taliban in February 2020, would have been a bad choice. The administration believes the Taliban would have resumed attacks on US forces. “Had we not announced that we were leaving, then that restraint, in terms of attacking our forces and attacking the capitals, would have ended,” he said.
US to move Afghans who aided troops
The Biden administration is preparing to relocate thousands of Afghan interpreters, drivers and others who worked with American forces to other countries in an effort to keep them safe while they apply for entry to the US, senior administration officials said. Administration officials started notifying lawmakers that they will soon begin what could be a wholesale move of tens of thousands of Afghans. Officials said the Afghans would be moved out of Afghanistan to third countries to await the processing of their visa requests to move to the US. The officials declined to say where the Afghans would wait, and it is not clear whether third countries have agreed to take them. The opportunity to move will be given to people who have already begun the application process.
More than 18,000 Afghans who have worked as interpreters, drivers, engineers, security guards, fixers and embassy clerks for the US during the war have been trapped in bureaucratic limbo after applying for special immigrant visas, available to people who face threats because of work for the US government. Those applicants have 53,000 family members, officials said. A senior administration official said that under the plan, family members of applicants would also be moved out of Afghanistan to a third country to await visa processing. Transportation out of Afghanistan will not come with any assurance that a visa to the US will be granted.
