America ends its longest war and ends its withdrawal from Kabul

WASHINGTON – America’s longest war is over.

The United States ended its efforts to withdraw from Kabul airport, the Pentagon said Monday, ending a 20-year conflict that began shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The last C-17 military cargo plane left Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday afternoon, according to U.S. Marine Corps General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, who completed an effort massive evacuation that blew more than 116,000 people out of Afghanistan over the past two weeks. .

“While the military evacuation is complete, the diplomatic mission continues to secure additional U.S. citizens and eligible Afghans who want to leave,” added McKenzie, who oversees the U.S. military mission in the region.

Earlier Monday, U.S. and Allied forces evacuated 1,200 people from the Afghan capital on 26 military cargo plane flights over a 24-hour period, according to the latest White House figures. Since the mass evacuations began on August 14, approximately 116,700 people have been airlifted from Afghanistan.

Some 122,300 people have been evacuated since the end of July, including some 5,500 American citizens and their families. McKenzie said there have been no Americans in the last five flights leaving Kabul.

“We couldn’t get any Americans out, this activity probably ended about 12 hours before we left. Although we continue the outreach and we would have been prepared to carry them out until the last minute, but no d ‘they got to,’ McKenzie said.

Earlier Monday, up to five rockets were intercepted by U.S. missile defenses near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, the site where U.S. forces are running to conduct final evacuation flights from the

The Taliban gained control of the country two weeks ago.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that President Joe Biden was informed of the rocket attack and confirmed that commanders should prioritize the protection of U.S. forces over the terrain.

The Pentagon said Saturday it had begun its retrograde process: the withdrawal of members of the U.S. service. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said there are less than 5,000 service members left in Afghanistan, adding that the United States will stop providing an exact number due to security conditions.

On Monday, Kirby said the U.S. is communicating with the Taliban about the evacuation mission.

“Our field commanders continue to communicate with Taliban leaders around the airfield to clear up and avoid miscalculations and misunderstandings, and so far this communication has been effective,” Kirby said during a Pentagon briefing.

When asked about the security situation, Kirby described the threats as dynamic, but added that the U.S. “will maintain the ability to protect and defend us as we continue to complete the retrograde.”

A State Department spokesman said Saturday that about 250 Americans are still seeking evacuation.

Over the weekend, the United States carried out two known drone attacks on ISIS-K members believed to be involved in planning attacks against U.S. forces in Kabul. The strikes followed a suicide attack that killed 13 members of the US service.

The Pentagon said Sunday it was evaluating the results of the drone attacks, after reporting civilian casualties.

“We are aware of reports of civilian casualties following our strike against a vehicle in Kabul today,” U.S. Navy Captain Bill Urban, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement.

“We would be deeply saddened by any possible loss of innocent lives,” he added.

The Pentagon on Saturday released the names of 13 members of the US service killed after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the gates of Kabul airport.

The August 26 attack on the gates of Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 11 Marines, a Navy sailor and an army soldier, is being investigated.

On Sunday, President and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Dover Air Force Base to meet privately with the families of the fallen before observing the dignified transfer of cases covered by a U.S. flag from a C-17 military cargo plane to a vehicle.

The remains were moved from Kabul to Kuwait and then to Germany before reaching Dover.

A dignified transfer is a solemn process in which the remains of fallen service members are transported from a plane to a waiting vehicle. It is held for all members of the U.S. service killed in action.

It was the first time Biden had witnessed a dignified move since he became president.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Mark Milley also attended the dignified transfer, along with U.S. Marine Corps Commander General David Berger, the U.S. Chief of Staff. U.S. Army, General James McConville, Chief of Naval Operations Administration, Michael Gilday. and U.S. Air Force Colonel Chip Hollinger, who oversaw the military logistics of the transfer.

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