Biden sets Sept 11 target to pull forces from Afghanistan

Bloomberg

President Joe Biden will withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that precipitated the American invasion that ousted the country’s Taliban leadership, according to people familiar with the plan.
American forces, in conjunction with troops from Nato allies, will begin withdrawing before the end of this month, according to a senior administration official who briefed
reporters. The September deadline isn’t “conditions-based” and could be completed early, the official added.
After a review of US policy that Biden ordered after taking office, the administration concluded it could address any terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan from elsewhere. The official also said the US will work with other countries to protect gains made by women in the country, a major issue given Taliban barred women from education and employment when they were in power.
The new deadline means Biden will leave a few thousand troops in the war-torn country beyond a May 1 target set in an agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban last year. Biden had signaled he viewed that original deadline as a “tough” one to meet given continuing violence in the country and a lack of progress in peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The only US forces remaining in the country will be to protect US diplomats in Afghanistan, but the administration still hasn’t decided on the size and scope of its diplomatic presence — or the accompanying military footprint — the official said. The president’s decision, which was expected to announce on Wednesday, came after his administration undertook a review of US options in Afghanistan in consultation with allies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization also operating in the region. There are currently more than 2,500 US troops in the country, working alongside about 7,000 allied forces. In delaying the troop removal, Biden risks Taliban-led retaliation for breaking the ceasefire agreement struck during the Trump administration, and political fallout from an American public weary from the two-decade long war.