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An Afghan policewoman in Herat
Photo: JALIL REZAYEE / EPA
A good 20 years after the start of the war in Afghanistan, the USA is pressing ahead with the withdrawal of its troops.
According to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, faster than initially planned.
"As you know, the President has instructed us to withdraw our forces by the beginning of September," said Austin on Thursday at a hearing of the US Congress on the budget proposal for the coming year.
"I can tell you today that the withdrawal is going according to plan, in fact a little faster than planned."
US President Joe Biden announced in mid-April that American troops would withdraw by September 11th at the latest.
This also ends the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
"We did the job our troops were sent to Afghanistan to do," Austin said.
He is proud of the "brave men and women who made this possible and of those who gave their lives for this mission."
The US armed forces announced on Tuesday that the withdrawal from Afghanistan was "between 16 percent and 25 percent" complete.
Taliban capture dozens of military posts
The Biden government argues that the aim of the operation was to end the threat posed by the Al-Qaeda terrorist network in Afghanistan. September 11th marks the 20th anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington, attributed to al-Qaeda, which triggered the invasion of Afghanistan by US-led forces. Within a few weeks, the military operation led to the overthrow of the Taliban regime, which had refused to extradite Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed by a US special command in Pakistan in May 2011.
However, it is questionable whether the country is safe after the withdrawal.
According to research by the New York Times, the Taliban are already on the rise again.
Since the beginning of May, the Islamists have captured at least 26 posts and military bases of the Afghan army in four provinces.
The Afghan soldiers gave up positions in Laghman, Baghlan, Wardak and Ghazni after threats, regional officials report.
Accordingly, the Taliban had sent village elders to the military posts, which gave the soldiers the choice: evacuate the camp or die.
mrc / dpa