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President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that all U.S. troops in Afghanistan would be withdrawn before September 11, ending America’s longest war.
There are around 2,500 troops currently stationed in the country. The U.S. withdrawal will not be based on conditions on the ground, ABC News reports.
“We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago,” Biden said from the White House Treaty Room. “That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021.”
Biden acknowledged that it had been 10 years since Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden had been killed. And the goal of preventing Afghanistan from serving as a base for terrorist attacks had been reached. He said, “Since then, our reasons for remaining in Afghanistan become increasingly unclear…”
The president spoke to former presidents Bush and Obama about the withdrawal, and both agreed it was time. Obama said Biden “made the right decision” in a statement.
News of Biden’s announcement was met with criticism from both sides of the aisle. Mitch McConnell called it a “grave mistake.” But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the move as a better thought out plan than when Donald Trump arbitrarily announced that he would withdraw the troops.
At one point, there were 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, topping out in August 2010. Since October 2001, more than 20,000 troops have been injured, and 2,300 were killed.
