Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday for an unannounced visit to the country where US troops have fought for nearly two decades.
Blinken landed in Kabul less than 24 hours after the United States and the NATO coalition officially declared their withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan after nearly two decades.
Blinken attempted to emphasize, in remarks with Afghan political leaders, that although the US military presence on the ground was coming to an end, the US commitment to the people and the nation would not.
President Joe Biden declared on Wednesday that all US troops will begin to withdraw by May 1 – the deadline set out in the agreement negotiated by the Trump administration with the Taliban last year – and will be gone by September 11 – the 20th anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack on US soil that sparked America’s longest war.
The top US diplomat said he “wanted to show, with my visit, the ongoing dedication of the United States to the Islamic Republic and the people of Afghanistan” while meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
Ghani said he appreciated the United States’ decision and that Afghanistan was “adjusting our goals.”
President Joe Biden declared on Wednesday that all US troops will begin to withdraw by May 1 – the deadline set out in the agreement negotiated by the Trump administration with the Taliban last year – and will be gone by September 11 – the 20th anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack on US soil that sparked America’s longest war.
The top US diplomat said he “wanted to show, with my visit, the ongoing dedication of the United States to the Islamic Republic and the people of Afghanistan” while meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
Ghani said he appreciated the United States’ decision and that Afghanistan was “adjusting our goals.”
“I know this is a moment for many mixed emotions. These are hard choices, hard decisions,” he told them.
“The reason I’m here so quickly after the President’s speech last night is to demonstrate, by our presence, that we have an enduring, an ongoing commitment to Afghanistan,” Blinken said, according to the press pool accompanying him. “What you and your predecessors did over the last 20 years is extraordinary.”
According to the pool, the top US diplomat also met with representatives of Afghan civil society, mainly women, at the US Embassy.
In remarks at NATO headquarters in Brussels Wednesday, Blinken said the US would “continue support for the rights of Afghan women and girls, minorities advocating for their meaningful participation in the ongoing negotiations and their equal representation throughout society, and we’ll maintain significant humanitarian assistance to those in need.”
Despite these promises, many observers are concerned that the declaration of a complete US troop withdrawal would stymie ongoing intra-Afghan talks, and that leaving the country without a long-term solution will jeopardize civil society and women’s gains.
According to a US intelligence community assessment, “prospects for a peace deal will remain low during the next year.”
“The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield, and the Afghan Government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support,” the assessment said.
Blinken did not contest the assessment on Wednesday but did say that Biden took it into account and still decided that withdrawing was in the best interests of the US.
“I would say the Taliban has a choice to make. They say that they want international recognition, that they want international support. They’re part of Afghanistan’s governance. Of course, there are several other things that they want, including prisoner releases and delistings and so forth. And those things will, I think, will be significantly affected by the path that the Taliban chooses to take going forward,” Blinken said in Brussels.
“Besides, I think it’s in no one’s interest, including the Taliban’s, to plunge Afghanistan back into a long war, into a civil war that will do terrible damage to the country and to everyone,” he said. “So I think the assessment, again, is a realistic one, but there are, I think, a whole series of incentives and disincentives that will continue to shape what happens.”
