The United States of America (USA) on Monday completed the full withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan after 20-year of continuous conflict, the Pentagon said. The operation’s deadline was set for Tuesday by US President Joe Biden.
Joe Biden drew heavy criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike for his handling of the Afghanistan situation. US Intel forces predicted that it would take at least three months for the Taliban to capture Kabul. However, it took only a few days for the Taliban to take the majority of Afghanistan under its control.
Commander of the US Central Command General Frank McKenzie announced the withdrawal in a Pentagon briefing and said that the chief US diplomat in Afghanistan, Ross Wilson, was on the last C-17 flight out.
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Tuesday’s deadline, set by Biden, was achieved as part of a previous agreement between Taliban and Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.
However, McKenzie further said dozens of Americans were still left in Afghanistan as they could not get to the airport. Two US officials said "core" diplomatic staff was among 6,000 Americans to have left.
Until now, more than 1,22,000 people have been airlifted from Kabul since August 14. Many countries including India, France, and the UK carried out flight operations to rescue stranded Afghan citizens from the Kabul airport.
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"There's a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure. We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out. But I think if we'd stayed another 10 days, we wouldn't have gotten everybody out," McKenzie told reporters.
Havoc was created in the capital city where thousands of people were left stranded at Kabul airport after they refused to stay under the Taliban regime. Visuals made rounds on the internet showing the horrific faces of the Afghan people.
