![]() ![]() Since March, we reached out 19 times to Americans in Afghanistan, with multiple warnings and offers to help them leave Afghanistan - all the way back as far as March. It was designed to operate under severe stress and attack. personnel and our Allies.Īs a result, to safely extract American citizens before August 31st - as well as embassy personnel, Allies and partners, and those Afghans who had worked with us and fought alongside of us for 20 years - I had authorized 6,000 troops - American troops - to Kabul to help secure the airport.Īs General McKenzie said, this is the way the mission was designed. We were ready when they and the people of Afghanistan watched their own government collapse and their president flee amid the corruption and malfeasance, handing over the country to their enemy, the Taliban, and significantly increasing the risk to U.S. So, we were ready when the Afghan Security Forces - after two decades of fighting for their country and losing thousands of their own - did not hold on as long as anyone expected. That assumption - that the Afghan government would be able to hold on for a period of time beyond military drawdown - turned out not to be accurate.īut I still instructed our national security team to prepare for every eventuality - even that one. The assumption was that more than 300,000 Afghan National Security Forces that we had trained over the past two decades and equipped would be a strong adversary in their civil wars with the Taliban. As part of that decision, we set the date of August 31st for American troops to withdraw. In April, I made the decision to end this war. ![]() We owe them and their families a debt of gratitude we can never repay but we should never, ever, ever forget. I was just at Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer. Twenty servicemembers were wounded in the service of this mission. And they did it knowing ISIS-K terrorists - sworn enemies of the Taliban - were lurking in the midst of those crowds.Īnd still, the men and women of the United States military, our diplomatic corps, and intelligence professionals did their job and did it well, risking their lives not for professional gains but to serve others not in a mission of war but in a mission of mercy. And they did it facing a crush of enormous crowds seeking to leave the country. The extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery, and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals.įor weeks, they risked their lives to get American citizens, Afghans who helped us, citizens of our Allies and partners, and others onboard planes and out of the country. Only the United States had the capacity and the will and the ability to do it, and we did it today. No nation - no nation has ever done anything like it in all of history. That number is more than double what most experts thought were possible. We completed one of the biggest airlifts in history, with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety. THE PRESIDENT: Last night in Kabul, the United States ended 20 years of war in Afghanistan - the longest war in American history. Get Involved Show submenu for “Get Involved””. ![]() The White House Show submenu for “The White House””.Office of the United States Trade Representative.Office of Science and Technology Policy. ![]() Executive Offices Show submenu for “Executive Offices””.Administration Show submenu for “Administration””. ![]()
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