US troops evicted the main military base in Afghanistan on Friday, leaving behind a piece of the World Trace Center that they buried 20 years ago, in a country that according to the top US commander will fall into a civil war without Washington’s support.
“All US soldiers and members of the NATO forces have left Bagram air base,” a senior security official said on condition of anonymity.
Although some other military personnel have yet to withdraw from another base in Kabul in the coming days, the eviction from Bagram in effect marks the end of the longest war the United States has ever fought.
However, President Joe Biden on Friday ruled out that the United States foresees an imminent withdrawal of the last American troops in Afghanistan, amid growing speculation that the remaining contingents could leave earlier than scheduled.
Asked by journalists at the White House if the exit will take place soon, he replied: “No. We are exactly on the planned path.”
The United States has set the deadline for the departure of its last troops from Afghanistan on September 11, after 20 years of war.
But the handover of the Bragram base, which has been the main rear base for all US military operations in Afghanistan, has raised questions about the acceleration of the schedule.
The base, located an hour’s drive from Kabul, was used by the US military to coordinate air raids and forge logistical support for the entire mission in Afghanistan. The Taliban welcomed the withdrawal.
“We regard this withdrawal as a positive step. Afghans can move closer to stability and peace with the total withdrawal of foreign forces,” a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told Reuters.
Other Afghans were more circumspect. “The Americans must leave Afghanistan and there should be peace in this country,” said Javed Arman, a Kabul resident. However, he added that “we are in a difficult situation. Most of the people have fled their districts and more districts have fallen.”
For international forces, which have lost more than 3,500 troops in Afghanistan, the farewell was not surrounded by pomp. A Western diplomat in Kabul said Washington and its NATO allies “won many battles, but lost the Afghan war.”
It was here, on a Soviet-built airstrip on a plain surrounded by snowy Hindu Kush mountains, that New York City firefighters and police traveled to bury a piece of the World Trade Center in December 2001, days after for the Taliban to be overthrown for harboring Osama bin Laden.
It was also here that the CIA ran a “hidden” detention center for terror suspects and subjected them to abuses that former President Barack Obama later recognized as torture practices.
Later, Bagram became a fortified headquarters for a huge international military force, with fast food outlets, gyms, and a cafe serving bowls of a concoction called “the mother of all coffees.”
Two runways roared perpetually. The presidents traveled to the base and gave speeches, many celebrities visited as well.
An Afghan official said the base would be officially handed over to the Afghan government in a ceremony on Saturday.
Biden estimated that the Afghan government should now “be able by itself” to ensure, in particular, the security of the capital, Kabul, located about 50 kilometers from the airport.
However, according to press reports, the Americans would maintain a presence of almost 600 soldiers there to protect their embassy.
The US defense official said that General Austin Miller, the top US commander in Afghanistan, “still retains all authority and control to protect the remaining forces” in the capital, Kabul.
Earlier this week, Miller told reporters in Kabul that a civil war in Afghanistan is “certainly a path that can be visualized,” as Taliban fighters are rampaging through districts around the country as foreign troops make their way back to home.
With information from Reuters and AFP
