U.S. Central Command announced Tuesday that up to 12% of the withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete since President Joe Biden ordered troop levels to reach zero by Sept. 11, but a report indicates that European allies have asked the United States to slow down its exit.
Biden, on April 14, publicly announced his intention to end the war in Afghanistan, saying the goal of killing Osama bin Laden had been achieved, and the threat from al Qaeda had been “degraded.” Security analysts and some GOP members of Congress said the Taliban has not complied with a February 2020 peace deal struck under the Trump administration, calling for a complete break with al Qaeda and reduced levels of violence. Meanwhile, European allies reportedly asked Biden to slow the withdrawal in order to protect their exiting forces.
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“Since the President’s decision, the U.S. has retrograded the equivalent of approximately 104 C-17 loads of material out of Afghanistan,” Centcom said in a statement, using military jargon to say that large amounts of American military cargo has been taken out of the troubled country.
The Tampa-based command overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also said 1,800 pieces of equipment had been turned over to the Defense Logistics Agency for destruction. The New Antonik base in Helmand province was turned over recently to the Afghan Armed Forces.
The U.S. troop level in Afghanistan stands at roughly 3,000, including an undisclosed number of special forces brought in to provide protection during the withdrawal. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also ordered the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower to remain nearby and flew in six B-52 bombers and a dozen F-18 fighters for protection.
Still, a European official recently told the Wall Street Journal that Germany and other European allies have asked the U.S. to delay its withdrawal by several weeks, which the newspaper indicated was working on a July 4 timeline to beat Biden’s September deadline.
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“We have our marching orders from President Biden and that is to complete the retrograde by early September,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday. “We’re in touch with our allies and partners, and we remain supportive of helping them as they conduct retrograde of their forces.”
Asked if increased violence in the country would hasten a withdrawal, Kirby added: “There hasn’t been activity that has degraded our ability to continue the retrograde at pace.”
