WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and 60+ members of the U.S. House sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding answers to the deadly and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan one year ago today.
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The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the U.S. military has completed 90 percent of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the remaining 10 percent will be completed by the end of August, soon before President Biden s Sept. 11 deadline. The U.S. departure after nearly 20 years in Afghanistan has been swift and quiet, as epitomized by the unheralded handover of Bagram Air Base to Afghan forces last week.
So why is the last 10 percent going to take until the end of August?
Politico s Nightly newsletter.
First, Seligman reports, U.S. military leaders don t want to announce that the withdrawal has already effectively been completed for fear that the Taliban will use that news as an excuse to launch an even stronger offensive, and they want to keep some contractors around as long as possible to help out the Afghans protecting Kabul, its airport, and the crew maintaining the country s air force. Having the U.S. commander in country gives at least t
KABUL - The US military will hand over its main Bagram Air Base to Afghan forces in about 20 days, an official said Tuesday, as Washington carries out its final withdrawal after nearly two decades of war.
United States to hand Bagram base to Afghan forces in 20 days, says official
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Last Updated: Jun 02, 2021, 05:16 PM IST
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The vast base, built by the Soviets in the 1980s, is the biggest military facility used by US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, with tens of thousands of troops stationed there during the peak of America s military involvement in the violence-wracked country.
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An American F-16 fighter jet taxis down a runway at Bagram Air Field on September 5, 2017 in Bagram, Afghanistan
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The US military will hand over its main Bagram Air Base to Afghan forces in about 20 days, an official said Tuesday, as Washington carries out its final withdrawal after nearly two decades of war.