America is on track to withdraw almost all of its troops from Afghanistan in the coming weeks, ending the nation s longest war.
But President Joe Biden was forced to defend his decision on Friday, as the Taliban moves in â threatening civil war.
After 20 years, a trillion US dollars spent on training and equipment, 2448 US troops killed and an estimated 50,000 Afghani lives lost, America s troop withdrawal is 90 per cent complete.
America is on track to withdraw almost all of its troops from Afghanistan in the coming weeks, ending the nation s longest war.(AP)
President Biden insists it s now up to the Afghan people to decide on their future.
Biden says US military operation in Afghanistan will end August 31
US President Joe Biden says the country s military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31 with speed is safety as he seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build, Mr Biden said in a speech to update his administration s ongoing efforts to wind down the US war. Afghan leaders have to come together and drive toward a future.
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President Joe Biden says the US war in Afghanistan will end on August 31.(Demetrius Freeman/Getty)
Mr Biden also amplified the justification of his decision to end US military operations even as the Taliban make rapid advances in significant swaths of the country. The administration in recent days has repeatedly sought to frame ending the conflict as a decision that Mr Biden made after concluding it s an unwinnable war and one that does not have a military solution.
By Clare Hymes, Justin Carissimo, Zoe Christen Jones
March 16, 2021 / 7:02 AM / CBS News 2 charged after officer died after Capitol riot
Two men have been arrested for assaulting Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after responding to the riots on January 6, the Department of Justice announced Monday. The details surrounding Sicknick s death remain unclear.
Julian Elie Khater, 32, of State College, Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of Morgantown, West Virginia, are accused of spraying police officers with a chemical spray. They face nine counts, including assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Kater and Tanios working together to assault law enforcement with the chemical spray and tear down bike rack barriers that were guarding the Capitol building.