2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

{{Further|Taliban insurgency}}

{{Further|Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2011–2016)}}

In 2014, U.S. president Barack Obama announced that the US would withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, concluding Operation Enduring Freedom.{{cite news|last=DeYoung|first=Karen|title=Obama's drawdown in Afghanistan will shift tactics in war|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/obamas-drawdown-in-afghanistan-will-shift-tactics-in-war/2011/06/22/AGsVJagH_story.html|access-date=4 September 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=23 June 2011|archive-date=13 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213091014/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/obamas-drawdown-in-afghanistan-will-shift-tactics-in-war/2011/06/22/AGsVJagH_story.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Landler |first1=Mark |last2=Cooper |first2=Helene |title=Obama Will Speed Pullout From War in Afghanistan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/asia/23prexy.html |access-date=21 March 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=22 June 2011 |archive-date=1 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201074114/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/asia/23prexy.html |url-status=live }} Although significant numbers of U.S. troops were withdrawn by 2014 and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had concluded, 9,800 US soldiers remained deployed inside of Afghanistan during Operation Freedom's Sentinel, a part of NATO's subsequent Resolute Support Mission (RSM).{{cite news|url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/12/29/amid-confusion-dod-names-new-mission-operation-freedoms.html|title=Amid Confusion, DoD Names New Mission 'Operation Freedom's Sentinel'|last=Sisk|first=Richard|work=Military.com|date=29 December 2014}} General John F. Campbell requested an additional 1,000 US troops in light of the new military operation.

File:President Donald J. Trump and President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan at the United Nations General Assembly (36747065014).jpg and Afghan president Ashraf Ghani at the United Nations General Assembly, 2 October 2017]]

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan was initially described in April 2017 as "an increase in special operations forces to train, advise and assist Afghan forces; a more robust plan to go after elements in Pakistan that aid the Taliban; the deployment of more air power and artillery; and a political commitment to the survival of the current government in Kabul".{{cite news|first=Eli |last=Lake |author-link=Eli Lake |title=Without plan, Trump allows more troops for Afghanistan |url=https://www.kansas.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article156508114.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 August 2017|agency=WP Bloomberg|newspaper=The Wichita Eagle|date=16 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825055916/http://www.kansas.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article156508114.html|archive-date=25 August 2017}}

In July 2017, when the official number of U.S. troops operating in Afghanistan was 8,400,{{cite web|url=https://www.defensenews.com/2017/07/21/mattis-authority-delegated-by-trump-in-afghanistan-is-tactical-not-strategic/|title=Mattis: Authority delegated by Trump in Afghanistan is tactical, not strategic|last1=Copp|first1=Tara|date=21 July 2017|work=Military Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170824164655/https://www.defensenews.com/2017/07/21/mattis-authority-delegated-by-trump-in-afghanistan-is-tactical-not-strategic/|archive-date=24 August 2017|access-date=24 August 2017}} President Trump gave the US military decision-making authority to increase troop numbers for military operations in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan without first seeking formal approval from the White House.{{cite news|author1=Nicole Gaouette|title=Trump delegates troop decisions, to praise and concern|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/16/politics/trump-military-troops-afghanistan-mattis/index.html|access-date=24 August 2017 |work=CNN |date=17 June 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170824160855/http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/16/politics/trump-military-troops-afghanistan-mattis/index.html|archive-date=24 August 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Gordon|first1=Michael R.|title=Trump Gives Mattis Authority to Send More Troops to Afghanistan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/world/asia/mattis-afghanistan-military.html |access-date=24 August 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170614064253/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/world/asia/mattis-afghanistan-military.html |archive-date=14 June 2017}} U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said: "Our overall mission in Afghanistan remains the same."{{cite news |first1=Barbara |last1=Starr |first2=Ryan|last2=Browne|title=Mattis confirms White House has given him authority to set Afghanistan troop levels |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/13/politics/pentagon-afghanistan-troop-levels/index.html |access-date=24 August 2017 |work=CNN |date=14 June 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170824161756/http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/13/politics/pentagon-afghanistan-troop-levels/index.html|archive-date=24 August 2017|url-status=live}}

On 21 August 2017, President Trump unveiled his administration's official strategy for Afghanistan, saying "victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), crushing al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over the country, and stopping mass terror attacks against Americans before they emerge".{{cite news |first1=Julie |last1=Hirschfeld Davis |first2=Mark |last2=Landler |title=Trump Outlines New Afghanistan War Strategy With Few Details |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/world/asia/afghanistan-troops-trump.html |date=August 21, 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=24 August 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824132249/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/world/asia/afghanistan-troops-trump.html |archive-date=24 August 2017}} On 24 August, the commander for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John W. Nicholson Jr., confirmed that troop levels, strategy, and conditions for success were dependent on the momentum of the war effort and on-the-ground conditions, not "arbitrary timelines".{{cite news |author1=Mashal |first=Mujib |date=24 August 2017 |title=U.S. Troop Increase in Afghanistan Is Underway, General Says |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/world/asia/afghanistan-troop-increase-trump-taliban.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812231043/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/world/asia/afghanistan-troop-increase-trump-taliban.html |archive-date=12 August 2021}} Trump did not specify the number of troops to be committed under his new open-ended strategy, but congressional officials were told an additional 4,000 troops were to be deployed.{{cite news |last1=Nakamura |first1=David |last2=Phillip |first2=Abby |date=21 August 2017 |title=Politics Trump announces new strategy for Afghanistan that calls for a troop increase |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-expected-to-announce-small-troop-increase-in-afghanistan-in-prime-time-address/2017/08/21/eb3a513e-868a-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 August 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170825055254/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-expected-to-announce-small-troop-increase-in-afghanistan-in-prime-time-address/2017/08/21/eb3a513e-868a-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html |archive-date=25 August 2017}} The Washington Post reported on 30 August that the additional US forces for Afghanistan would likely include paratroopers as well as small Marine artillery detachments, composed of about 100 or so troops per unit, which were to be dispersed across the country to fill in gaps in air support. According to the report, air support in the form of more F-16 fighters, A-10 ground attack aircraft and additional B-52 bomber support, or a combination of all three, were likely to be used. The newspaper also stated: "The additional US forces will allow Americans to advise Afghan troops in more locations and closer to the fighting, US officials in Kabul said [...]. With more units farther away from the country's biggest bases, additional air support and artillery will be needed to cover those forces." The New York Times added that "the American military will be able to advise select Afghan brigades in the field instead of trying to mentor them from more distant headquarters. They can step up the effort to train special operations forces and, thus, substantially increase the number of Afghan commandos. This will allow American war commanders and service members to call in air and artillery strikes on behalf of more Afghan units."

On 30 August 2017, the Department of Defense disclosed that there were more troops in Afghanistan than previously acknowledged. The Pentagon stated the actual "total force" number was closer to 11,000 rather than the previously stated 8,400, with the larger number including covert as well as temporary units.{{cite news|last1=Cooper|first1=Helene|title=U.S. Says It Has 11,000 Troops in Afghanistan, More Than Formerly Disclosed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/world/asia/afghanistan-troop-totals.html |access-date=31 August 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816224202/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/world/asia/afghanistan-troop-totals.html |archive-date=16 August 2021}}{{cite news|author1=Thomas Gibbons-Neff|title=Checkpoint: Afghan troop surge likely to include thousands of paratroopers, Marines and heavy bombers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/08/30/afghan-troop-surge-likely-to-include-thousands-of-paratroopers-marines-and-heavy-bombers/|access-date=31 August 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=30 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831212303/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/08/30/afghan-troop-surge-likely-to-include-thousands-of-paratroopers-marines-and-heavy-bombers/|archive-date=31 August 2017}} The lower troop-level estimate was a result of misleading accounting measures and red tape.{{cite news |first=Lolita C. |last=Baldor |title=Pentagon: US troop total in Afghanistan larger than reported|url=https://apnews.com/article/north-america-syria-ap-top-news-iraq-afghanistan-3b1272b658d54bd988fff9cf84a5c6c0 |date=August 30, 2017 |access-date=31 August 2017|agency=Associated Press }}

File:General Austin S. Miller.jpg became commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan in September 2018 and oversaw the withdrawal until July 2021.]]

In September 2017, the Trump administration began deploying more than 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of US forces in Afghanistan to more than 14,000.{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Ellen |newspaper=The Hill |title=Mattis: US to send 3,000 more troops to Afghanistan |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/351222-mattis-us-to-send-3000-more-troops-to-afghanistan/ |access-date=18 October 2017|date=18 September 2017|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018193100/http://thehill.com/policy/defense/351222-mattis-us-to-send-3000-more-troops-to-afghanistan|archive-date=18 October 2017}}{{cite news|title=Mattis says over 3,000 additional U.S. troops will deploy to Afghanistan|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mattis-says-over-3000-additional-u-s-troops-will-deploy-to-afghanistan/ |url-status=live |access-date=18 October 2017|work=CBS News|date=18 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018193747/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mattis-says-over-3000-additional-u-s-troops-will-deploy-to-afghanistan/|archive-date=18 October 2017}}{{cite web|title=US sends 3,000 more troops to Afghanistan|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41314428 |work=BBC News US & Canada|access-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018193454/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41314428|archive-date=18 October 2017|date=18 September 2017 |url-status=live }} When General Austin "Scott" Miller took command of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan in September 2018, there were 15,000 US troops deployed. In October 2019, following an abrupt end to peace talks with the Taliban a month prior, General Miller announced that US forces had been reduced to 13,000 within a year as a result of a unilateral decision by the US command in Kabul. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper commented on the troop decrease, saying "General Miller is doing exactly what I asked all our commanders to do when I entered office ... to look where they can free up time, money and manpower," as part of the National Defense Strategy to gradually shift global US military strategy from prioritizing counter-terrorism to also countering Russian and Chinese power projection.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-has-begun-reducing-troops-in-afghanistan-commander-says/2019/10/21/d17a9e30-f3f1-11e9-8cf0-4cc99f74d127_story.html|title=U.S. has begun reducing troops in Afghanistan, commander says|last=George|first=Susannah|date=21 October 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=22 October 2019|archive-date=21 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021210354/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-has-begun-reducing-troops-in-afghanistan-commander-says/2019/10/21/d17a9e30-f3f1-11e9-8cf0-4cc99f74d127_story.html|url-status=live}} In December 2019, the Afghanistan Papers revealed that high-ranking military and government officials were generally of the opinion that the war in Afghanistan was unwinnable, but kept this hidden from the public.{{cite news |author=Whitlock |first=Craig |date=9 December 2019 |title=Confidential documents reveal U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/ |url-status=live |access-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602135802/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/ |archive-date=2 June 2021}}{{cite web |author=Pickrell |first=Ryan |date=9 December 2019 |title=Top US officials knew the Afghanistan war was unwinnable and 'lied' — even as costs rose to $1 trillion and 2,351 American troop's lives |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/us-officials-lied-about-afghan-war-failures-documents-reveal-2019-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023020752/https://www.businessinsider.com/us-officials-lied-about-afghan-war-failures-documents-reveal-2019-12 |archive-date=23 October 2020 |access-date=5 June 2021 |website=Business Insider}} By the end of 2019, nearly 2,400 Americans had died in the war, with more than 20,000 wounded.

{{main|US–Taliban deal}}

On 29 February 2020, the US, represented by diplomatic envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, and the Taliban signed the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, commonly known as the US–Taliban deal,{{cite web|date=29 February 2020 |title=Afghan conflict: US and Taliban sign deal to end 18-year war |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51689443 |access-date=September 2, 2021 |work=BBC News }}{{cite web|last1=Lee|first1=Matthew|last2=Gannon|first2=Kathy|date=29 February 2020 |title=US and Taliban sign deal aimed at ending war in Afghanistan |url=https://apnews.com/article/491544713df4879f399d0ff5523d369e |agency=Associated Press}} that provided for the withdrawal from Afghanistan of "all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners, including all non-diplomatic civilian personnel, private security contractors, trainers, advisors, and supporting services personnel" within 14 months (i.e., by 1 May 2021). At the time, there were about 13,000 US troops in the country. The withdrawal was conditional on the Taliban upholding the terms of the agreement that included "not to allow al-Qaeda or any other extremist group to operate in the areas they control". The US was to reduce its forces in Afghanistan by about 5,000 troops to 8,600 within 135 days.{{cite web |last1=Greenfield|first1=Charlotte|last2=Shalizi|first2=Hamid |title=U.S. to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 14 months if Taliban conditions met |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-taliban-military-idUSKBN20N0K2 |agency=Reuters |access-date=29 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301185344/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-taliban-military-idUSKBN20N0K2 |url-status=live |archive-date=1 March 2020 |date=29 February 2020}}{{cite news |author1=Mashal |first=Mujib |date=29 February 2020 |title=Taliban and U.S. Strike Deal to Withdraw American Troops From Afghanistan |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/world/asia/us-taliban-deal.html |access-date=29 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229235609/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/world/asia/us-taliban-deal.html |archive-date=29 February 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Mashal |first1=Mujib |last2=Goldman |first2=Russell |date=29 February 2020 |title=4 Takeaways From the U.S. Deal With the Taliban |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/world/asia/us-taliban-afghanistan.html |access-date=1 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301000422/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/29/world/asia/us-taliban-afghanistan.html |archive-date=1 March 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Brook |first1=Tom Vanden |last2=Shesgreen |first2=Deirdre |date=29 February 2020 |title=Historic peace deal in Afghanistan reached with Taliban, allowing withdrawal of US troops |work=USA Today |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/29/u-s-taliban-sign-deal-peace-talks-begin-u-s-troops-withdraw/4738736002/ |access-date=1 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301001435/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/29/u-s-taliban-sign-deal-peace-talks-begin-u-s-troops-withdraw/4738736002/ |archive-date=1 March 2020}}{{cite news |author1=Hansler |first=Jennifer |date=29 February 2020 |title=US and Taliban sign historic agreement |work=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/29/politics/us-taliban-deal-signing/index.html |access-date=1 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301004545/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/29/politics/us-taliban-deal-signing/ |archive-date=1 March 2020}} NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pledged to initially reduce NATO's numbers from roughly 16,000 troops to about 12,000.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-taliban-idUSKBN20N06R |title=U.S. and Taliban sign troop withdrawal deal; now comes the hard part |agency=Reuters |date=February 29, 2020 |first1=Abdul Qadir |last1=Sediqi |first2=Alexander |last2=Cornwell |access-date=1 September 2021 }}

In the meantime, intra-Afghan peace talks, comprising the Taliban and the Afghan government, were to work out a more concrete power-sharing settlement. That time frame would give the Afghan government the cover of US military protection while negotiating. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the remaining US troops would serve as leverage to ensure the Taliban lived up to its promises.

On 1 March 2020, the intra-Afghan talks hit a major snag when President Ashraf Ghani stated during a press conference that the Afghan government, which was not a party to the deal, would reject the US–Taliban deal's call for conducting a prisoner exchange with the Taliban by the proposed start of intra-Afghan negotiations on 10 March 2020, even stating that "[t]he government of Afghanistan has made no commitment to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners", that "an agreement that is signed behind closed doors will have basic problems in its implementation tomorrow", and that "[t]he release of prisoners is not the United States authority, but it is the authority of the government of Afghanistan".{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-ap-top-news-afghanistan-kabul-ashraf-ghani-8cfce4344ad386697c78b033a3cb3dc6 |date=March 1, 2020 |title=Afghan peace deal hits first snag over prisoner releases |agency=Associated Press |access-date=1 March 2020 |first=Kathy |last=Gannon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824144745/https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-ap-top-news-afghanistan-kabul-ashraf-ghani-8cfce4344ad386697c78b033a3cb3dc6 |archive-date=2021-08-24 }}{{Cite web |first=Siyar |last=Sirat |title=Ghani: No Commitment to Release Taliban Prisoners |work=TOLOnews |date=1 March 2020 |access-date=1 March 2020| url = https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/ghani-no-commitment-release-taliban-prisoners |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403062215/https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/ghani-no-commitment-release-taliban-prisoners|archive-date=3 April 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/3/1/president-ghani-rejects-peace-deals-prisoner-swap-with-taliban |url-status=live |title=President Ghani rejects peace deal's prisoner swap with Taliban |work=Al Jazeera |date=1 March 2020|access-date=1 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404193450/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/president-ghani-rejects-peace-deal-prisoner-swap-taliban-200301082216180.html|archive-date=4 April 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/01/810949474/afghan-president-rejects-timeline-for-prisoner-swap-proposed-in-us-taliban-peace|title=Afghan President Rejects Timeline For Prisoner Swap Proposed In US-Taliban Peace Deal |first=Cat |last=Schuknecht |work=NPR |date=1 March 2020|access-date=1 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411202634/https://www.npr.org/2020/03/01/810949474/afghan-president-rejects-timeline-for-prisoner-swap-proposed-in-us-taliban-peace|archive-date=11 April 2020}} Ghani also stated that any prisoner exchange "cannot be a prerequisite for talks" but must be a part of the negotiations.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51695370|title=Afghan conflict: President Ashraf Ghani rejects Taliban prisoner release|work=BBC News|date=1 March 2020|access-date=1 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421043856/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51695370 |url-status=live |archive-date=21 April 2020}}

File:Secretary Pompeo Meets With the Taliban Delegation (50333305012).jpg, US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meet with Taliban representatives Abdul Ghani Baradar, Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai and Suhail Shaheen in Doha, Qatar, on 12 September 2020]]

Some US troops withdrew from Afghanistan on 9 March 2020, as stipulated in the US–Taliban deal.{{cite news |last1=Baldor |first1=Lolita C. |title=US begins troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, official says |url=https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/03/09/us-begins-troop-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-official-says/ |access-date=25 April 2020 |agency=Associated Press |work=The Military Times |date=9 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324014456/https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/03/09/us-begins-troop-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-official-says/ |archive-date=24 March 2020}}{{cite news |author=Gannon |first1=Kathy |last2=Faiez |first2=Rahim |date=10 March 2020 |title=US starts troop pullout, seeks end to Afghan leaders' feud |agency=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/2ac6e6ae6d805a5d067da8f36d3052d7 |access-date=25 April 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200425184307/https://apnews.com/2ac6e6ae6d805a5d067da8f36d3052d7 |archive-date=25 April 2020}} On 10 March 2020, US Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected reports that the US military had developed a plan to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan. General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., chief of CENTCOM, stated that the plan was to reduce the number of US troops in Afghanistan to 8,600 over a 14-month period.{{cite news |title=CENTCOM boss says military plans for withdrawal from Afghanistan not developed yet |url=https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2020/03/10/centcom-boss-say-military-plans-for-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-not-developed-yet/ |first=Shawn |last=Snow |access-date=25 April 2020 |work=Military Times |date=10 March 2020 }} The US Army later confirmed that more troops would be sent to Afghanistan in the summer of 2020.{{cite web |last1=Vandiver |first1=John |title=Army announces summer troop moves to Europe, Iraq and Afghanistan |url=https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/army-announces-summer-troop-moves-to-europe-iraq-and-afghanistan-1.627236 |website=Stars and Stripes |access-date=25 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425182238/https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/army-announces-summer-troop-moves-to-europe-iraq-and-afghanistan-1.627236 |archive-date=25 April 2020 |date=24 April 2020}} According to CENTCOM, the US had reduced its Afghan troop numbers to 8,600 by 18 June 2020, in accordance with the US–Taliban deal.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/world/asia/afghanistan-us-troop-withdrawal.html|title=U.S. Troops in Afghanistan Reduced to 8,600, General Says|access-date=19 June 2020|website=The New York Times|date=19 June 2020|last1=Mashal|first1=Mujib|archive-date=19 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619080801/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/world/asia/afghanistan-us-troop-withdrawal.html|url-status=live}} On 1 July 2020, following media reports of Taliban participation in an alleged Russian bounty program to target US troops, the US House Armed Services Committee voted for a National Defense Authorization Act amendment to set additional conditions to be met before President Trump could continue the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, including requiring an assessment on whether any country has offered incentives for the Taliban to attack US and coalition troops, along with prohibiting funding to reduce troop numbers to below 8,000, and again at 4,000, unless the administration certified that doing so would not compromise American interests in Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=House panel votes to constrain Afghan drawdown, ask for assessment on 'incentives' to attack US troops |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/505568-house-panel-votes-to-constrain-afghan-drawdown-ask-for-assessment-on/ |access-date=September 2, 2021 |first=Rebecca |last=Kheel |work=The Hill |date=1 July 2020}}{{cite news |title=House Democrats, Working With Liz Cheney, Restrict Trump's Planned Withdrawal of Troops From Afghanistan and Germany |url=https://theintercept.com/2020/07/02/house-democrats-working-with-liz-cheney-restrict-trumps-planned-withdrawal-of-troops-from-afghanistan-and-germany/ |work=The Intercept |date=2 July 2020 |access-date=5 June 2021 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121210750/https://theintercept.com/2020/07/02/house-democrats-working-with-liz-cheney-restrict-trumps-planned-withdrawal-of-troops-from-afghanistan-and-germany/ |first=Glenn |last=Greenwald |url-status=live }} The US Senate rejected an attempt by Senator Rand Paul's amendment to the NDAA, which would have required the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan within a year and bring an end to the 19-year war.{{cite news |title=Senate rejects Paul proposal on withdrawing troops from Afghanistan |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/505555-senate-rejects-paul-proposal-on-withdrawing-troops-from-afghanistan/ |work=The Hill |date=1 June 2020 |access-date=5 June 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605150936/https://thehill.com/policy/defense/505555-senate-rejects-paul-proposal-on-withdrawing-troops-from-afghanistan |first=Jordain |last=Carney |url-status=live }}

In August 2020, US intelligence officials reportedly assessed that the Iranian government had also offered bounties for American soldiers in Afghanistan.{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Zachary |date=17 August 2020 |title=US intelligence indicates Iran paid bounties to Taliban for targeting American troops in Afghanistan |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/17/politics/iran-taliban-bounties-us-intelligence/index.html |website=CNN}} Iran was accused of having made payments to the Haqqani network that were linked to at least six attacks in 2019, including the sophisticated attack on Bagram Air Base on 11 December 2019. According to CNN, the Trump administration "never mentioned Iran's connection to the bombing, an omission current and former officials said was connected to the broader prioritization" of the US–Taliban deal and withdrawal from Afghanistan. The alleged Iran-Taliban ties were cited as part of the justification for the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.{{cite news |last=Budryk |first=Zack |date=August 17, 2020 |title=Iran paid bounties for targeting US troops, intelligence reportedly suggests |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/512273-iran-paid-bounties-for-targeting-us-troops-intelligence-reportedly-suggests/}}{{cite news |title=US intelligence indicates Iran paid bounties to Taliban for targeting American troops in Afghanistan |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/17/politics/iran-taliban-bounties-us-intelligence/index.html |work=CNN |first=Zachary |last=Cohen |date=17 August 2020 |access-date=5 June 2021 |archive-date=15 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215040830/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/17/politics/iran-taliban-bounties-us-intelligence/index.html |url-status=live }} On 8 August, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that the United States would reduce troop levels to below 5,000 by the end of November 2020.{{cite web| title = Mark Esper says US troop levels in Afghanistan to go below 5,000 by end of November| work = CNN| access-date = 9 August 2020| url = https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/08/politics/mark-esper-afghanistan-troop-levels/index.html |first1=Ryan |last1=Browne |first2=Jamie |last2=Crawford |archive-date = 9 August 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200809051145/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/08/politics/mark-esper-afghanistan-troop-levels/index.html |date=August 9, 2020 |url-status=live }}

On 17 November 2020, acting US Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller announced further withdrawals of troops by 15 January 2021, leaving 2,500 troops across both Afghanistan and Iraq, down from the previous amount of 4,500 and 3,000, respectively.{{cite news |title=Donald Trump: US announces plans to cut troop levels in Afghanistan, Iraq |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/17/pentagon-announces-drawdown-of-us-troops-in-afghanistan |url-status=live |access-date=17 November 2020 |work=Al Jazeera |date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117201251/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/17/pentagon-announces-drawdown-of-us-troops-in-afghanistan |archive-date=17 November 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Faizi|first1=Fatima|last2=Gibbons-Neff|first2=Thomas|last3=Rahim|first3=Najim|title=U.S. Troops Are Packing Up, Ready or Not |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/world/asia/afghanistan-troop-withdrawal.html |access-date=18 November 2020 |date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118074857/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/world/asia/afghanistan-troop-withdrawal.html |archive-date=18 November 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Browne|first1=Ryan|last2=Cohen|first2=Zachary|last3=Starr|first3=Barbara |title=US announces further drawdown of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq before Biden takes office |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/17/politics/afghanistan-iraq-withdrawal-pentagon/index.html |access-date=18 November 2020 |agency=CNN |date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118061259/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/17/politics/afghanistan-iraq-withdrawal-pentagon/index.html |archive-date=18 November 2020}} US National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien issued a statement on behalf of President Trump that it was his hope the incoming Biden administration would have all US troops "come home safely, and in their entirety" by their previously agreed 1 May 2021 deadline. Joe Biden had previously signaled his support for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan during his presidential campaign,{{cite web|last=Ward|first=Alex|date=21 September 2020|title=Trump and Biden want you to believe they're more anti-war than they are|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21439556/2020-election-trump-biden-peace-war |access-date=11 September 2021 |work=Vox}} although he left room for the possibility that the US would be "open to maintaining a small number of troops in the country whose mission would focus solely on counterterrorism operations".{{cite web|last=Peters|first=Cameron|date=25 April 2021|title=The US military is finally withdrawing from Afghanistan|url=https://www.vox.com/2021/4/25/22402539/afghanistan-military-withdrawal-final-biden-september-11th |access-date=September 2, 2021 |work=Vox}} O'Brien added that the remaining troops in Afghanistan were to defend American diplomats, the American embassy, and other agencies of the US government operating in Afghanistan. The announcement was criticized by United States Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned in a statement that "the price for leaving too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high". Critics said that the Afghan withdrawal would undermine the fragile security situation in the region and that the troop reductions would hamper the ongoing peace talks between Taliban fighters and the government of Afghanistan. According to a senior defense official the conditions used to measure the drawdown were based on whether national security would be threatened by a reduction in Afghanistan to 2,500 troops. "We do not feel that it is," said the official. The other condition was, "can we maintain a force posture in Afghanistan that permits us to carry out our mission with our allies and partners?"{{cite news |last1=Martinez |first1=Luis |title=Pentagon announces troop reductions in Afghanistan and Iraq |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pentagon-announces-troop-reductions-afghanistan-iraq/story?id=74254056 |access-date=18 November 2020 |agency=ABC News |date=18 November 2020 |archive-date=17 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117204809/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pentagon-announces-troop-reductions-afghanistan-iraq/story?id=74254056}} The announcement created anxiety in Afghanistan because there was a fear of a Taliban resurgence and US troops were considered a hedge against the group. Atiqullah Amarkhel, a retired Afghan Army general and military analyst, told The New York Times that the Taliban "are stronger than in the past, and if the Americans leave and don't support and assist the Afghan Army they won't resist long, and the Taliban will take over."

The Trump administration completed its reduction of forces to 2,500 troops in January 2021, the lowest number of American soldiers in Afghanistan since 2001.{{cite news| last = Ali| first = Idrees| title = U.S. troops in Afghanistan now down to 2,500, lowest since 2001: Pentagon| work = Reuters| access-date = 6 February 2021| date = 15 January 2021| url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-military-idUSKBN29K229| archive-date = 18 March 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210318045325/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-military-idUSKBN29K229| url-status = live}} By January 2021, there were more than seven contractors for each US military service member remaining in Afghanistan, amounting to over 18,000 contractors, according to figures from US Central Command.{{cite news|last=Lawrence|first=J. P.|date=19 January 2021|title=Troop levels are down, but US says over 18,000 contractors remain in Afghanistan|work=Stars & Stripes|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/troop-levels-are-down-but-us-says-over-18-000-contractors-remain-in-afghanistan-1.659040|url-status=live|access-date=22 February 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414115023/https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/troop-levels-are-down-but-us-says-over-18-000-contractors-remain-in-afghanistan-1.659040}}

File:210321-D-BN624-1081 (51058752833).jpg alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Afghanistan, March 2021]]

In January 2021, incoming president Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US would review the peace agreement in order to effectively withdraw its remaining 2,500 soldiers from Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=Biden administration will review deal with the Taliban: White House |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-idUSKBN29R2NG |access-date=January 22, 2021 |agency=Reuters |first=Eric |last=Beech |date=January 22, 2021}} Biden previously supported a full withdrawal in 2014{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/26/joe-biden-withdrawal-iran-afghanistan |title=Joe Biden: withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan allows military to refocus |date=26 May 2012 |website=The Guardian |access-date=22 March 2021|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308130648/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/26/joe-biden-withdrawal-iran-afghanistan |first=Matt |last=Williams |url-status=live}} but it was initially unclear as to whether he would uphold Trump's May 2021 withdrawal deadline.{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/taliban-warns-us-going-back-deal-causes-problems-1571373 |title=Exclusive: Taliban Warns Biden Going Back on Afghanistan Deal 'Causes Problems' |first=Tom |last=O'Connor |website=Newsweek |access-date=24 February 2021|archive-date=23 February 2021 |date=23 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223185445/https://www.newsweek.com/taliban-warns-us-going-back-deal-causes-problems-1571373 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/14/politics/biden-afghanistan-deadline-looming/index.html |first1=Oren |last1=Liebermann |first2=Zachary |last2=Cohen |first3=Kylie |last3=Atwood |title=Biden has no good options on Afghanistan with deadline for troop withdrawal looming |website=CNN |date=February 14, 2021 |access-date=24 February 2021 }}{{cite news |last1=Buchanan |first1=Pat |title=Is Biden Prepared to Lose Afghanistan? |url=https://townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/2021/02/19/is-biden-prepared-to-lose-afghanistan-n2584979 |access-date=21 March 2021 |work=Town Hall |date=19 February 2021 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306061312/https://townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/2021/02/19/is-biden-prepared-to-lose-afghanistan-n2584979 |url-status=live }}

On 18 February 2021, Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO had not made a decision on how to proceed regarding the withdrawal.{{cite news |last1=Emmott |first1=Robin |last2=Siebold |first2=Sabine |title=No decision on any NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, Stoltenberg says |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/nato-afghanistan-int/no-decision-on-natos-afghanistan-withdrawal-stoltenberg-says-idUSKBN2AI2A7 |access-date=21 March 2021 |agency=Reuters |date=18 February 2021 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415032552/https://www.reuters.com/article/nato-afghanistan-int/no-decision-on-natos-afghanistan-withdrawal-stoltenberg-says-idUSKBN2AI2A7 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/feb/18/no-final-decision-nato-deadlocked-afghanistan-miss/|title='No final decision:' NATO deadlocked on Afghanistan mission as May 1 deadline looms |first=Ben|last=Wolfgang|website=The Washington Times|date=18 February 2021|access-date=24 February 2021|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224074323/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/feb/18/no-final-decision-nato-deadlocked-afghanistan-miss/ |url-status=live}} Britain was expected to withdraw its remaining 750 Resolute Support Mission troops at the same time as the US{{cite news|date=14 April 2021|title=UK troops expected to leave Afghanistan by September|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56744265|access-date=14 April 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414113836/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56744265|url-status=live}} and NATO troops would also follow the same withdrawal timeline. In April 2021, the US indicated that some troops (the exact number had not yet been decided) would remain in the country to provide diplomatic security, and it remained unclear what would happen to the several hundred US special operations forces working for the CIA on counter-terrorism missions.{{cite news|last=Lawrence|first=J. P.|date=19 January 2021|title=Troop levels are down, but US says over 18,000 contractors remain in Afghanistan|work=Stars & Stripes|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/troop-levels-are-down-but-us-says-over-18-000-contractors-remain-in-afghanistan-1.659040|access-date=22 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420194751/https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/troop-levels-are-down-but-us-says-over-18-000-contractors-remain-in-afghanistan-1.659040|archive-date=20 April 2021}} CIA Director William J. Burns told the US Senate Intelligence Committee on 14 April 2021, that {{Nowrap|"[t]here}} is a significant risk once the US military and the coalition militaries withdraw" but added that the US would retain "a suite of capabilities". The Biden administration reportedly intended to use a broad array of foreign policy tools ranging from military occupation to total abandonment.

In March 2021, news reports stated that President Biden was potentially considering keeping US forces in Afghanistan until November 2021.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-weighs-keeping-u-s-troops-afghanistan-until-november-n1261433|title=Biden weighs keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan until November|publisher=NBC News|access-date=21 March 2021|date=18 March 2021|archive-date=20 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320234018/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-weighs-keeping-u-s-troops-afghanistan-until-november-n1261433 |first1=Carol E. |last1=Lee |first2=Dan |last2=De Luce |url-status=live}} However, on 14 April 2021, Biden announced his intention to withdraw all regular US troops by 11 September 2021, the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and four months after the 1 May deadline negotiated prior.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/13/politics/biden-afghanistan-withdrawal/index.html |first1=Kevin |last1=Liptak |first2=Jeremy |last2=Herb |first3=Barbara |last3=Starr |first4=Kylie |last4=Atwood |title=Biden to announce withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by September 11|website=CNN|date=13 April 2021|access-date=13 April 2021|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413160722/https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/13/politics/biden-afghanistan-withdrawal/index.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|date=13 April 2021|title=Biden plans to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, missing May deadline, reports say|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/biden-plans-to-withdraw-us-forces-from-afghanistan-by-sept-11.html |first=Amanda |last=Macias |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413155730/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/biden-plans-to-withdraw-us-forces-from-afghanistan-by-sept-11.html|archive-date=13 April 2021|access-date=13 April 2021|website=MSNBC}}{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/04/14/986955659/biden-to-announce-he-will-end-americas-longest-war-in-afghanistan |first1=Alana |last1=Wise |first2=Jason |last2=Breslow |first3=Jaclyn |last3=Diaz |title=Biden to announce he will end americas longest war in afghanistan |access-date=27 August 2021 |publisher=NPR |date=15 April 2021}}{{cite news |last1=De Luce |first1=Dan |title=U.S. envoy's years of peace negotiations go up in flames in Afghanistan. What went wrong? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-envoy-touted-peace-afghanistan-18-months-later-peace-n1276811 |access-date=16 August 2021 |publisher=NBC |date=13 August 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Hadid |first1=Diaa |title=U.S. Unconditional Withdrawal Rattles Afghanistan's Shaky Peace Talks |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/04/28/990160846/u-s-unconditional-withdrawal-rattles-afghanistans-shaky-peace-talks |access-date=16 August 2021 |publisher=NPR |date=29 April 2021}} The day before the announcement, Biden called former US presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama regarding his decision to withdraw.{{cite web|last=Colson|first=Thomas|title=Biden called George W. Bush before he announced his Afghanistan troop withdrawal plan — but neither said whether Bush supported it|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-called-bush-before-announcing-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-plan-2021-4|access-date=10 May 2021|website=Business Insider|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510141222/https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-called-bush-before-announcing-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-plan-2021-4 |date=April 15, 2021 |url-status=live}} US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the decision was made in order to refocus resources on countering China and the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news|date=18 April 2021|title=U.S. Focus Shifting to China From Afghanistan, Blinken Says|agency=Bloomberg|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-18/afghan-pullout-fits-with-u-s-shift-to-china-focus-blinken-says |first=Tony |last=Czuczka |access-date=19 April 2021|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418141617/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-18/afghan-pullout-fits-with-u-s-shift-to-china-focus-blinken-says|url-status=live}} Following withdrawal, the US was reportedly considering options for redeploying troops in the region, such as relocating to US Navy vessels, countries in the Middle East, or Central Asian countries like Tajikistan.{{cite news|last1=Lubold|first1=Gordon|last2=Salama|first2=Vivian|title=Afghan Pullout Leaves U.S. Looking for Other Places to Station Its Troops|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghan-pullout-leaves-u-s-looking-for-other-places-to-station-its-troops-11620482659|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=8 May 2021|access-date=9 May 2021|archive-date=9 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509184953/https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghan-pullout-leaves-u-s-looking-for-other-places-to-station-its-troops-11620482659|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Putz |first1=Catherine |title=Biden Announces Plan for US Exit from Afghan War, Urges Attention to Future Challenges |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/biden-announces-plan-for-us-exit-from-afghan-war-urges-attention-to-future-challenges/ |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=The Diplomat |date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419155542/https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/biden-announces-plan-for-us-exit-from-afghan-war-urges-attention-to-future-challenges/ |archive-date=19 April 2021}}

Biden said that after nearly 20 years of war, it was clear that the US military could not transform Afghanistan into a modern democracy.{{Cite news|title=The U.S. War in Afghanistan: How It Started, and How It Ended| newspaper=The New York Times | date=7 October 2021 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/afghanistan-war-us.html| last1=Zucchino | first1=David }}

File:US Forces Afghanistan Retrograde 2021.jpg load a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter unto a C-17 Globemaster III for departure from Bagram Airfield, 16 June 2021]]

Resultant of the US–Taliban deal, the US greatly reduced military support of Afghan Armed Forces offensive operations and pressured them into a defensive posture. The terms of the Doha agreement were not widely known due to classified annexes, verbal agreements, and poor communication. In particular, uncertainty surrounding US air strike rules of engagement fueled anxiety among the Afghan forces. The Taliban spread propaganda and disinformation on the agreement, further degrading morale of the defenders. Disinformation, bribery, and the use of tribal elders as negotiators led to cascading capitulation in many areas.{{cite report |author= |date=May 2022 |title=Collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: An Assessment of the Factors That Led to Its Demise |url=https://www.sigar.mil/Portals/147/Files/Reports/Audits-and-Inspections/Evaluation/SIGAR-22-22-IP.pdf |location=Arlington, VA |publisher=US Government |access-date=Jan 30, 2025}}

The reduction in offensive operations emboldened the Taliban. In the 45 days after the agreement (between 1 March and 15 April 2020), the Taliban conducted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, an increase of more than 70% compared to the same period in the previous year. More than 900 Afghan security forces were killed in the period, up from about 520 in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, Taliban casualties dropped to 610 in the period down from about 1,660 in the same period a year earlier. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said that although the Taliban stopped conducting attacks against the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, the violence was still "unacceptably high" and "not conducive to a diplomatic solution". He added: "We have continued to do defensive attacks to help defend our partners in the area and we will continue to do that."{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-afghanistan-taliba/taliban-step-up-attacks-on-afghan-forces-since-signing-u-s-deal-data-idUSKBN22D5S7 |access-date=September 11, 2021 |first1=Hamid |last1=Shalizi |first2=Abdul Qadir |last2=Sediqi |first3=Rupam |last3=Jain |title=Taliban step up attacks on Afghan forces since signing U.S. deal: data |date=May 1, 2020 |agency=Reuters }}

On 1 May 2021, the Taliban launched a major offensive, making quick advances against the retreating US-trained Afghan military. The Taliban overran Afghan security forces and captured entire districts, threatening provincial capitals.{{cite news|last=Trofimov|first=Yaroslav|date=2021-08-14|title=How the Taliban Overran the Afghan Army, Built by the U.S. Over 20 Years|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistan-army-collapse-taliban-11628958253|access-date=2021-10-22|issn=0099-9660}} On 29 June, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Austin S. Miller, acknowledged that the Taliban's ongoing offensive was worrisome and cautioned that militias fighting in support of the Afghan army could lead the country into a civil war. He cited troop fatigue and low morale among the reasons for Afghan losses and urged Afghan forces to consolidate and defend strategic areas. He added that US forces maintained their capability to support Afghan military and security forces, but did not want to "speculate what that (support) looks like in the future."{{cite news|url=https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2021/06/29/top-us-general-says-security-in-afghanistan-deteriorating/|title=Top US general says security in Afghanistan deteriorating|date=29 June 2021|access-date=14 November 2023|work=Military Times}}

On 2 July, Germany and Italy withdrew their troops from Afghanistan.{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/south-central-asia_germany-italy-complete-troop-exit-afghanistan/6207646.html|title=Germany, Italy Complete Troop Exit From Afghanistan|work=Voice of America|date=2 July 2021|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=2 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702130954/https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/germany-italy-complete-troop-exit-afghanistan|url-status=live}} On the same day, American forces vacated Bagram Airfield, a strategic logistics hub that was long seen as both the operational and symbolic heart of US operations in the country. Afghan officials complained that the Americans had left the base without notifying the new Afghan commander until more than two hours after abandoning the base. As a result, the base was ransacked by looters before they could take control of the airfield.{{cite web|date=5 July 2021|title=US left Bagram without telling new commander: Afghan officials|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/5/us-left-bagram-airfield-without-notice-afghan-officials-say|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708100755/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/5/us-left-bagram-airfield-without-notice-afghan-officials-say|archive-date=8 July 2021|access-date=10 July 2021|work=Al Jazeera}}{{cite magazine|date=6 July 2021|title=U.S. Pulls Out of Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield in the Middle of the Night—Without Telling the New Commander|url=https://time.com/6078038/bagram-airfield-afghanistan/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708200133/https://time.com/6078038/bagram-airfield-afghanistan/|archive-date=8 July 2021|access-date=10 July 2021|magazine=Time}}{{cite news|date=2 July 2021|title=Bagram: Last US and Nato forces leave key Afghanistan base|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57692303|url-status=live|access-date=10 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182442/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57692303|archive-date=9 July 2021}} A ceremony for transferring control of the base from US to Afghan troops was reportedly held on 3 July, to little fanfare.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/02/us-troops-leave-afghanistans-bagram-air-base-after-nearly-20-years|title=US troops leave Afghanistan's Bagram airbase after nearly 20 years|date=2 July 2021|access-date=14 November 2023|work=The Guardian}} Reuters called the American departure from Bagram "an effective end to the longest war in US history."{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-vacates-main-airbase-afghanistan-officials-2021-07-02/|work=Reuters|title=Era ends, uncertainty looms as U.S. forces quit main Afghanistan base|date=2 July 2021|access-date=14 November 2023}}{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/01/politics/us-military-bagram-airfield-afghanistan/index.html|work=CNN|title=All US forces have left Bagram Air Base, as US withdrawal from Afghanistan nears completion|date=2 July 2021|access-date=14 November 2023}} Meanwhile, fighting raged between the Taliban and Afghan government forces, with analysts from Al Jazeera saying that the Taliban was "at the door of Kabul".{{cite news|date=2 July 2021|title=US forces leave Afghanistan's Bagram airbase after 20 years|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/2/us-bagram-airbase-afghanistan-taliban|access-date=2 July 2021 |work=Al Jazeera |archive-date=2 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702070425/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/2/us-bagram-airbase-afghanistan-taliban|url-status=live}}

On 8 July 2021, President Biden announced that the official conclusion to the war in Afghanistan would be on 31 August 2021. Biden defended the withdrawal of US troops, saying to trust "the capacity of the Afghan military, who is better trained, better equipped and ... more competent in terms of conducting war"{{cite news |last1=Khan |first1=Wajahat |title=Biden defends Afghanistan pullout as Taliban gain ground |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Biden-defends-Afghanistan-pullout-as-Taliban-gain-ground|work=Nikkei Asia |date=9 July 2021}} but the Afghan army was easily overwhelmed by the Taliban's advance in a matter of weeks.{{Cite web|title=Exploring the Cost of the War in Afghanistan|url=https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2021/08/16/exploring-cost-war-afghanistan?}} By 12 July 2021, the Taliban had seized 139 districts from the Afghan National Army. According to a US intelligence report, the Afghan government was expected to collapse within six months of the withdrawal,{{cite news|title=Afghan government could fall within six months of U.S. military withdrawal, new intelligence assessment says|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/afghan-government-could-fall-within-six-months-of-us-military-withdrawal-new-intelligence-assessment-says/2021/06/24/42375b14-d52c-11eb-baed-4abcfa380a17_story.html |date=June 24, 2021 |first1=Dan |last1=Lamothe |first2=Shane |last2=Harris |access-date=14 July 2021|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite news|last=Trofimov|first=Gordon Lubold and Yaroslav|date=23 June 2021 |title=Afghan Government Could Collapse Six Months After U.S. Withdrawal, New Intelligence Assessment Says|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghan-government-could-collapse-six-months-after-u-s-withdrawal-new-intelligence-assessment-says-11624466743}} however the US military later revised the assessment stating the collapse would occur much sooner.{{cite news |title=U.S. officials warn collapse of Afghan capital could come sooner than expected |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/08/10/afghanistan-intelligence-assessment/ |first1=Dan |last1=Lamothe |first2=John |last2=Hudson |first3=Shane |last3=Harris |first4=Anne |last4=Gearan |access-date=16 August 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=10 August 2021}}

File:2021 Taliban Offensive.png]]

Also on 12 July 2021, Gen. Austin Miller stepped down from his post as commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/commander-u-s-nato-forces-afghanistan-stepping-down-n1273665 |date=July 12, 2021 |title=Commander of U.S., NATO forces in Afghanistan is stepping down|first=Kourtney |last=Kube|publisher=NBC News|access-date=12 July 2021}}

Spokesmen for the Taliban, including Suhail Shaheen and Mohammad Naeem, issued statements that all foreign forces should withdraw from Afghanistan. The Taliban (self-styled the "Islamic Emirate") refused to participate in any talks until all foreign forces had withdrawn from the country.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57714808|title=Afghanistan: All foreign troops must leave by deadline - Taliban|agency=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=5 July 2021|access-date=6 July 2021|archive-date=5 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705235048/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57714808|url-status=live}} Local militias in the north of the country had reportedly engaged in combat against the Taliban.{{Cite news|title=Militias in Afghanistan's north are taking up the fight against the Taliban|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghanistan-militias-taliban/2021/06/22/f8fa35c0-d34b-11eb-b39f-05a2d776b1f4_story.html |date=June 22, 2021 |first1=Pamela |last1=Constable |author-link=Pamela Constable |first2=Ezzatullah |last2=Mehrdad |access-date=14 July 2021|issn=0190-8286}} Footage taken on 16 June and released on 13 July showed Taliban gunmen executing 22 Afghan servicemen who had been attempting to surrender.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/13/asia/afghanistan-taliban-commandos-killed-intl-hnk/index.html|title=Taliban fighters execute 22 Afghan commandos as they try to surrender|first1=Anna|last1=Coren|first2=Sandi|last2=Sidhu|first3=Tim|last3=Lister|first4=Abdul|last4=Basir Bina|publisher=CNN|date=14 July 2021}}

Australia had 1,500 troops in Afghanistan before the American-led withdrawal. That number was further reduced to 80{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/all-australian-troops-have-now-been-withdrawn-from-afghanistan/293c98c3-fba2-4a47-838c-d1027fd54eec|title=All Australian troops have now been withdrawn from Afghanistan|website=SBS News |date=July 11, 2021 |access-date=September 2, 2021 }} before Australian forces were completely withdrawn on 15 July.{{cite news |url=https://www.australiandefence.com.au/defence/general/adf-completes-withdrawal-from-afghanistan |title=ADF completes withdrawal from Afghanistan |work=Australian Defence Magazine |date=15 July 2021 |access-date=September 1, 2021 |first=Ewen |last=Levick }}

On 21 July, the highest-ranking US military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, reported that half of all districts in Afghanistan were under Taliban control and that momentum was "sort of" on the side with the Taliban.{{cite news |last1=Ali |first1=Idrees |last2=Stewart |first2=Phil |title=Half of all Afghan district centers under Taliban control - U.S. general |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/half-all-afghan-district-centers-under-taliban-control-us-general-2021-07-21/ |work=Reuters |date=21 July 2021}} On 21 July 2021, the US Air Force launched airstrikes against Taliban positions in Afghanistan.

{{Cite web|last=Macias|first=Amanda|date=22 July 2021|title=U.S. launched overnight airstrikes on the Taliban to support Afghan forces|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/22/us-launched-overnight-airstrikes-on-the-taliban-to-support-afghan-forces.html|access-date=13 August 2021|website=CNBC|language=en}}

It was reported by the UN Security Council in July 2021 that members of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) are still present in as many as 15 Afghan provinces, and that they are operating under Taliban protection in Kandahar, Helmand and Nimroz provinces in violation of the US–Taliban deal.{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/al-qaida-present-in-at-least-15-afghan-provinces-report/articleshow/84680961.cms |first=Indrani |last=Bagchi |date=July 23, 2021 |title=Al-Qaida present in at least 15 Afghan provinces: report|website=The Times of India |access-date=September 11, 2021 }}{{Cite web|url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-173699 |access-date=September 11, 2021 |title=UN Warns of Expanding Threat from Daesh, al Qaeda in Afghanistan|date=24 July 2021|website=TOLOnews}}{{cite web |title=Experts react: The Taliban has taken Kabul. Now what? |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/experts-react-the-taliban-has-taken-kabul-now-what/ |website=Atlantic Council |date=15 August 2021 |access-date=16 August 2021}}

{{Main|Operation Allies Refuge}}

File:Afghanistan withdrawal Image 3 of 7.jpg evacuating US embassy staff at Kabul Airport, 15 August 2021]]

File:2021 Operation Allies Refuge Run way troops.jpg soldiers guarding Kabul Airport on 17 August 2021]]

File:Evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport; Image 3 of 16.jpg

File:RAF C-17 at Kabul Airport.jpg

File:C-RAM at Kabul Airport August 2021.jpg intercepting a rocket attack on Kabul Airport, 30 August 2021]]

File:Last American Soldier leaves Afghanistan.jpg boarding a C-17 at Kabul Airport as the final American soldier to depart Afghanistan, 30 August 2021]]

On 22 July 2021, the US House of Representatives voted 407–16 to pass the ALLIES Act, a bill that would improve and provide visas for Afghan interpreters who worked for American personnel during the war.{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-government-and-politics-fc8ae4f5eafdd2d8de7a1a5e11a2d0c7 |first=Ellen |last=Knickmeyer |title=House votes to evacuate more Afghan allies as US war ends |website=Associated Press |date=22 July 2021 }}{{cite web |work=congress.gov |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3985/text?r=1&s=1 |date=June 17, 2021 |access-date=2 September 2021 |title=H.R.3985 - Averting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs Act of 2021 }} The initiative aimed to bring in Afghans under a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), which would allow them to bring their families and establish work in the United States. The SIV program was first created in 2006 by Congress, for Iraq and Afghan interpreters, with an estimated 50,000 or more individuals qualifying for the program.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} The first flight of the program arrived on 30 July 2021, with individuals who had qualified for the SIV and family members. While the majority of arrivals were to be relocated either to the United States, US facilities abroad or other countries to finish out the visa applications, the first group were to complete their visa applications at Fort Lee, Virginia, due to prior background checks and security screening.{{Cite web|date=2021-07-30|title=Statement of President Joe Biden on the Arrival of the First Flight of Operation Allies Refuge|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/30/statement-of-president-joe-biden-on-the-arrival-of-the-first-flight-of-operation-allies-refuge/|access-date=2021-08-18|website=The White House|language=en-US}}

In August 2021, as the Taliban captured city after city including Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, where the elite forces of the Afghan government were deployed, the Biden Administration continued to defend the withdrawal and their support for the "political process" in Afghanistan, saying it was up to Afghan leaders to "show political will at this point to push back". In the words of the president, "Afghan leaders have to come together".

News from within the Canadian government released on 12 August 2021 confirmed the country sent a small but undisclosed number of special forces to assist the evacuation effort in Kabul and secure the country's embassy.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/afghanistan-kabul-kandahar-herat-special-forces-1.6139450|title=Canadian special forces ready to evacuate embassy after Kandahar falls to the Taliban|first=Murray|last=Brewster|publisher=CBC News|date=12 August 2021|access-date=17 August 2021}} The next day, on 13 August 2021, the Canadian government announced a plan to resettle 20,000 displaced Afghans in Canada.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/canada-accept-20000-vulnerable-afghans-such-women-leaders-human-rights-workers-2021-08-13/|title=Canada to accept 20,000 vulnerable Afghans such as women leaders, human rights workers|first=Stephane|last=Mahe|publisher=Reuters|date=13 August 2021|access-date=17 August 2021}}

{{Further|2021 Kabul airlift|Fall of Kabul (2021)}}

On 15 August 2021, the Taliban seized the capital city of Kabul as the Afghan government under President Ashraf Ghani dissolved, the speed of which surprised the US government.{{cite news |first1=Zeke |last1=Miller |first2=Jonathan |last2=Lemire |first3=Josh |last3=Boak |url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-afghanistan-taliban-5934ef05b0094d0189b5d900d2380179|title=Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan|date=15 August 2021|access-date=19 August 2021|work=Associated Press}} With Taliban fighters surrounding the city, the US embassy evacuated and retreated to Hamid Karzai International Airport, where fleeing Afghan forces had handed over control to NATO. As the security situation in the city deteriorated, other countries began to shutter and evacuate their respective embassies to the airport, where it became the center of the withdrawal for all US and NATO personnel as it became the only secure route out of Afghanistan.{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/08/15/1027806863/the-taliban-seize-jalalabad-cutting-off-kabul-to-the-east |title=Taliban Fighters Enter Kabul As Helicopters Land At U.S. Embassy |website=NPR |date=15 August 2021 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=15 August 2021|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815113718/https://www.npr.org/2021/08/15/1027806863/the-taliban-seize-jalalabad-cutting-off-kabul-to-the-east|url-status=live}} 5,000 US troops and some NATO troops, including British, Italian, Turkish, and Spanish personnel, remained in the city as thousands of fleeing Afghan civilians rushed the airport, overrunning the runway and forcing US troops to conduct crowd control.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/taliban-enters-kabul-u-s-evacuation-efforts-continue-n1276855 |title=Afghan president flees country as U.S. rushes to exit with Taliban on brink of power |work=NBC News|first1=Ahmed|last1=Mengli|first2=Mushtaq|last2=Yusufzai|first3=Rhea|last3=Mogul|first4=Andrea|last4=Mitchell |date=15 August 2021 |access-date=15 August 2021 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815183655/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/taliban-enters-kabul-u-s-evacuation-efforts-continue-n1276855 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nato-maintains-diplomatic-presence-kabul-despite-taliban-advances-2021-08-15/ |title=NATO says it is helping keep Kabul airport open for evacuations |publisher=Reuters |date=15 August 2021 |access-date=15 August 2021 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815160948/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nato-maintains-diplomatic-presence-kabul-despite-taliban-advances-2021-08-15/ |first=Sabine |last=Siebold |url-status=live }} The US government later authorized the deployment of 1,000 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne to the airport, increasing troop presence in Kabul to 6,000 to facilitate the evacuations.{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/567952-pentagon-authorizes-sending-additional-1000-troops-to-afghanistan/|title=Pentagon authorizes sending additional 1,000 troops to Afghanistan|first=Myhael|last=Schnell |work=The Hill |date=15 August 2021|access-date=15 August 2021|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815210436/https://thehill.com/policy/defense/567952-pentagon-authorizes-sending-additional-1000-troops-to-afghanistan|url-status=live}} With the fall of Kabul, the military withdrawal evolved into an airlift of all of NATO's diplomatic staff, at-risk Afghan and Western nationals, and eligible refugees able to enter the surrounded Kabul Airport, prompting Western countries to send in additional troops to facilitate the evacuations.

On 16 August, the United Kingdom agreed to send 200 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of British troops in the country to 900.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58228190#:~:text=About%20600%20British%20troops%20have,by%2031%20August%20or%20sooner.|title=UK confident it can get Britons out of Afghanistan, Ben Wallace says|first=Becky|last=Morton|publisher=BBC News|date=16 August 2021|access-date=16 August 2021}}

Also on 16 August, following the chaotic start of the Kabul Airport airlifts, President Biden held a press conference in which he justified the reasons for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, affirming his view that following through on the withdrawal was the correct decision.{{cite AV media |people=President Biden |date=16 August 2021 |title=In full: Biden defiant on decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan |medium=Television production |language=en |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUrivUGaATM |location=United States |publisher=Sky News |via=YouTube |access-date=16 August 2021}} On 18 August, US House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY) called for Biden to delay the withdrawal, stating that the evacuations were a more important priority.{{cite news|url=https://www.amny.com/nation/evacuations-more-important-than-u-s-afghanistan-withdrawal-date-house-panel-chairman/|title=Evacuations more important than U.S. Afghanistan withdrawal date -House panel chairman |work=AM New York Metro |date=18 August 2021|access-date=18 August 2021}}

About 650 US troops were in Afghanistan in early August 2021. With the rapid advance of the Taliban in the provinces, on 14 August the US increased its troop commitment to 5,000. On 15 August, with the fall of Kabul, another 1,000 troops were deployed, and on 16 August, another 1,000 troops were deployed, bringing the total number of troops to 7,000.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

During some evacuation incidents at the Kabul Airport, the Taliban fired crowd control gunshots and blocked efforts which were made by Britain to carry out evacuations.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/19/several-reported-killed-taliban-shoot-crowds-waving-afghan-flag|title=Several reported killed as Taliban shoot at crowds waving Afghan flag|first1=Hannah|last1=Ellis-Petersen|first2=Dan|last2=Sabbagh|work=The Guardian|date=August 19, 2021|access-date=August 23, 2021}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taliban-impose-some-order-around-kabul-airport-witnesses-2021-08-22/ |first1=Rupam |last1=Jain |first2=Raju |last2=Gopalakrishnan |first3=Clarence |last3=Fernandez |title=Taliban fire in the air to control crowd at Kabul airport |agency=Reuters |date=22 August 2021|access-date=August 23, 2021}}

On 19 August, the US Navy confirmed that F/A-18E/F Super Hornets from the USS Ronald Reagan—which was sailing in the North Arabian Sea—had been conducting armed overwatch sorties over Kabul, but denied that any low passes, shows of force, or airstrikes had been conducted. This contradicted previous social media reports by journalists and local sources that there had been fighter jets flying low over the city. A day prior, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, confirmed that a variety of air assets were flying similar overwatch missions across Afghanistan, including AC-130 gunships, MQ-9 Reaper drones, F-16C/D Viper fighter jets, B-52H bombers, and AV-8B Harrier jump jets, and that they were poised to provide close air support in case of contingencies, alongside other assets positioned in the region.{{cite news|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42065/navy-fighters-are-flying-armed-overwatch-missions-over-kabul|title=Navy Fighters Are Flying Armed Overwatch Missions Over Kabul|work=The Drive|date=19 August 2021|access-date=13 September 2021}}

On 20 August, President Biden promised Americans stuck in Afghanistan that the US government would bring them home. He stated that the government did not know the exact number of Americans still in Afghanistan and how many of them wanted to return to the United States.{{Cite web|last=Olson|first=Tyler|date=2021-08-20|title=Biden says 'we will get you home' to Americans trapped in Afghanistan exit, but not sure how many still there|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-we-will-get-you-home-afghanistan-americans-not-sure-number|access-date=2021-08-21|website=Fox News|language=en-US}}

On 23 August, at Biden's direction, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director William J. Burns reportedly held a secret meeting in Kabul with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, who had returned to Afghanistan from exile in Qatar to discuss the withdrawal's 31 August deadline. The Qataris helped facilitate the meeting, described by a US official as "an exchange of views on what needs to happen to be done". The Qatari government, the CIA, and the White House did not initially comment on the reports.{{cite news |title=CIA director met Taliban leader in Afghanistan on Monday -sources |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/cia-director-met-taliban-leader-kabul-monday-washington-post-reports-2021-08-24/ |first1=Idrees |last1=Ali |first2=Mark |last2=Hosenball |first3=Trevor |last3=Hunnicut |work=Reuters |date=24 August 2021}}{{cite news |title=CIA chief secretly met with Taliban leader in Kabul: Report |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/24/cia-chief-held-secret-meeting-with-taliban-in-kabul-report |access-date=2 September 2021 |work=Al Jazeera |date=24 August 2021}}

On 26 August, a suicide bombing occurred at Hamid Karzai International Airport, killing 11 Marines, one Army paratrooper, one Navy Corpsman and 170 Afghan citizens.{{Cite web|title=13 US military personnel killed in attacks at Kabul airport|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/26/us-military-personnel-in-bomb-attacks-at-kabul-airport |date=August 26, 2021 |access-date=2021-08-28 |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/afghanistan-news-taliban-refugees-08-26-21-intl/h_e493e5df7688d2adb3025e4f90d77fbc |first1=Rob |last1=Picheta |first2=Meg |last2=Wagner |first3=Melissa |last3=Mahtani |first4=Melissa |last4=Macaya |first5=Veronica |last5=Rocha |first6=Fernando III |last6=Alfonso |work=CNN |title=Officials: Explosion at Kabul airport appears to be a suicide attack|date=2021-08-26|access-date=2021-08-26}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/26/asia/afghanistan-kabul-airport-blast-intl/index.html |first1=Ivana |last1=Kottasová |first2=Barbara |last2=Starr |first3=Kylie |last3=Atwood |first4=Nick Paton |last4=Walsh |first5=Sam |last5=Kiley |first6=Zachary |last6=Cohen |first7=Jennifer |last7=Hansler |first8=Tim |last8=Lister |title=Blast reported outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul|website=CNN |date=2021-08-26|access-date=2021-08-26}}

The final British flight from Kabul took place on 28 August.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58372437 |first1=George |last1=Bowden |first2=Katie |last2=Wright |title=Afghanistan: British ambassador home as last UK troops leave |work=BBC News |date=28 August 2021 |access-date=1 September 2021 }}

In the early morning hours of 30 August, a US counter rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) defense system operated by 1st Battalion, 101st Field Artillery Regiment intercepted five rockets launched at the airport, with no reports of casualties. ISIL-K claimed responsibility.{{cite news|url=https://voi.id/en/news/80262/c-ram-defense-system-intercepts-five-rockets-fired-at-kabul-airport-us-officials-no-casualties|title=C-RAM Defense System Intercepts Five Rockets Fired At Kabul Airport, US Officials: No Casualties|date=30 August 2021|access-date=26 October 2021|work=VOI}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/407945/massachusetts-national-guard-unit-impacts-final-days-afghanistan-mission|work=DVIDS|title=Massachusetts National Guard Unit Impacts Final Days of Afghanistan Mission|date=25 October 2021|access-date=26 October 2021}}

The last US military planes left Afghanistan on 30 August. Lieutenant General Christopher T. Donahue was the final American soldier to leave Afghanistan.{{Cite web|title=Last American Soldier leaves Afghanistan|url=https://www.dvidshub.net/image/6810419/last-american-soldier-leaves-afghanistan |date=30 August 2021 |access-date=2021-08-31|website=DVIDS |language=en}} Following the last US flight, Taliban soldiers entered the airport and declared victory.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2021/08/30/afghanistan-live-updates/5645806001 |title=Afghanistan latest: Taliban leaders walk across airport runway to mark triumph; US finishes withdrawal |first1=Tom |last1=Vanden Brook |first2=Matthew |last2=Brown |date=2021-08-30 |access-date=2021-09-02}}

In the wake of the flawed Afghanistan withdrawal, Republican lawmakers criticized the Biden administration for not providing closure or accountability to Gold Star families of 13 U.S. service members killed on 26 August 2021. Families shared their stories in a public forum organized by Rep. Darrell Issa, demanding recognition, answers, and responsibility for the tragedy.{{Cite news |last=Dyer |first= Andrew |date=2023-08-08 |title= Families of fallen troops call for accountability in chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal |language=en |work=KPBS |url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2023/08/08/families-of-fallen-troops-call-for-accountability-in-chaotic-afghanistan-withdrawal |access-date=2023-08-16}}

File:Marines monitor air traffic at Hamid Karzai International Airport.webm

About 650 US troops remained on the ground in Afghanistan in early August 2021, keeping to a schedule made months earlier. They were tasked with protecting the airport and embassy. By 12 August, however, as the Taliban had—within just a few days—captured 18 of 34 provincial capitals including Herat and Kandahar, the US and UK said they would send more troops to evacuate embassy staff, other US and UK nationals, and their local translators. For this purpose, the US planned to send 3,000 troops and the UK planned to send 600 troops{{Cite web|date=12 August 2021|title=Taliban reportedly captures city which housed Australian forces as US, UK, Canada prepare to send troops to extract civilians|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-13/afghanistan-united-states-troops-evacuate-embassy-kabul/100373520 |access-date=13 August 2021|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |language=en-AU}} as part of US Forces Afghanistan Forward.{{cite web|url=https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/08/12/about-8000-us-troops-are-deploying-to-secure-evacuations-from-kabul/|title=About 8,000 US troops are deploying to secure evacuations from Kabul|first1=Meghann|last1=Myers|first2=Robert|last2=Burns|first3=Matthew|last3=Lee|first4=Ellen|last4=Knickmeyer|date=12 August 2021|work=Military Times|access-date=13 August 2021}} Mazar-i-Sharif was taken by the Taliban on 14 August; on this day, the US increased its troop commitment to 5,000.{{Cite web|last1=Burns|first1=Robert|last2=Boak|first2=Josh|date=14 August 2021|title=Biden Orders 1,000 More U.S. Troops For 'Orderly' Afghanistan Departure|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-afghanistan-troops-departure_n_61185e48e4b07c140315a2a3|access-date=15 August 2021|website=HuffPost|language=en}} On 15 August, the Taliban seized Kabul and overthrew the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country;{{Cite web|title=Afghan President Flees the Country as Taliban Move on Kabul|url=https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-kabul-bagram-e1ed33fe0c665ee67ba132c51b8e32a5 |access-date=15 August 2021|agency=Associated Press |first1=Ahmad |last1=Seir |first2=Rahim |last2=Faiez |first3=Tameem |last3=Akhgar |first4=Jon |last4=Gambrell |date=15 August 2021 }} after which the Taliban took the presidential palace.{{Cite web|last=LeBlanc|first=Paul|date=15 August 2021|title=Chaos is unfolding in Afghanistan. Here's what you need to know.|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/15/politics/taliban-kabul-afghanistan-explainer/index.html|access-date=16 August 2021|website=CNN}} However, 5,000 US troops still remained in Kabul, and NATO troops were still present at the Hamid Karzai International Airport. The same day, the US government ordered the deployment of 1,000 additional troops from the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of US troops in Kabul to 6,000.{{cite news |date=15 August 2021 |title=Biden Sends 1,000 More US Troops To Kabul To Aid Evacuations: Pentagon |publisher=Barron's |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/biden-sends-1-000-more-us-troops-to-kabul-to-aid-evacuations-pentagon-01629060306 |access-date=15 August 2021}}{{cite news|last=Schnell|first=Myhael|date=15 August 2021|title=Pentagon authorizes sending additional 1,000 troops to Afghanistan |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/567952-pentagon-authorizes-sending-additional-1000-troops-to-afghanistan/|access-date=2021-08-15}} On 16 August, President Biden announced the deployment of another thousand members of the 82nd Airborne soldiers and Marines, bringing the total number of troops to over 7,000 in the coming hours.{{Cite web|last=Perchick|first=Michael|date=2021-08-15|title=Another 1,000 82nd Airborne troops heading to Kabul to assist in evacuations, U.S. officials say|url=https://abc11.com/10953480/|access-date=2021-08-16|website=ABC11 Raleigh-Durham|language=en}} The Navy deployed the {{USS|Essex|LHD-2|6|USS Essex}} amphibious readiness group consisting of the landing ships USS Pearl Harbor and USS Portland, who were tasked to bring a special unit of Recon Marines and to load 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit military equipment out of middle-east.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Officially, the purpose of the mission was to:{{cite web |last=Dominguez |first=Gabriel |date=5 July 2021 |title=Washington approves establishment of 'US Forces Afghanistan Forward' command |url=https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/washington-approves-establishment-of-us-forces-afghanistan-forward-command |access-date=August 13, 2021 |publisher=Janes}}

• Protect the US diplomatic presence (Embassy in Kabul) in the country
• Support security requirements at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul
• Provide continued advice and assistance to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF)
• Support US counter-terrorism effort

{{One source section

| date = June 2022

}}

{{See also|2021 Taliban offensive#Equipment losses}}

The United States provided billions of dollars of American military hardware to Afghanistan over 20 years of Military Aid. Over the course of the war in Afghanistan, the federal government spent $89.2 billion to strengthen Afghan security forces. The figure reportedly includes money spent on military equipment and training. Taliban fighters captured much of this equipment from the collapsing Afghan National Army.{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=Mary Lou |date=January 1, 2022 |title=Taliban a 'major U.S. arms dealer' after weaponry captured in Afghanistan, watchdog warns |url=https://justthenews.com/accountability/waste-fraud-and-abuse/taliban-major-us-arms-dealer-after-weaponry-left-behind |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=Just The News |language=en}} Around 650,000 weapons were captured from the ANA in Afghanistan. This includes 350,000 M4 and M16 rifles, 65,000 machine guns, 25,000 grenade launchers and 2,500 mortars and howitzers.

According to the last CENTCOM update on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States had retrograded "984 C-17 loads of material out of Afghanistan and have turned nearly 17,074 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition." However, a large number of American made weaponry and a considerable number of aircraft were in the hands of the Afghan security forces. When the Taliban began to sweep through the country's districts, before eventually taking over Kabul, they seized much of this material.

File:SECDEF, CJCS and CENTCOM House Armed Services Committee Hearing on Afghanistan 210929-D-TT977-0159.jpg, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and CENTCOM commander General Frank McKenzie testifying before Congress on the withdrawal from Afghanistan on 29 September 2021]]

On 28 September 2021, U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Milley, CENTCOM Commander Gen. McKenzie and other U.S. Department of Defense officials contradicted during testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee President Biden's previous claim which he made in an interview with ABC News journalist George Stephanopolous in August 2021 that he withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan based on advice from senior military advisors.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/top-generals-contradict-bidens-decision-withdraw-troops-80288988|title=Top generals contradict Biden's decision to withdraw all troops|publisher=ABC News|date=28 September 2021|access-date=29 September 2021}} Milley testified that he advised the president to accept Gen. Austin Miller's recommendation to keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and described Biden's withdrawal plan as a "strategic failure." McKenzie stated that he recommended to President Biden that 2,500 U.S. troops should maintain a presence in Afghanistan and that he also previously recommended to the Trump Administration in the fall of 2020 to keep 4,500 troops at that time.{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/09/28/1040877300/austin-milley-mckenzie-senate-hearing-afghanistan|title=Generals Say They Recommended Keeping U.S. Troops In Afghanistan|first=Barbara|last=Sprunt|publisher=NPR|date=28 September 2021|access-date=29 September 2021}} The next day, Austin, Milley and McKenzie would further criticize Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal when they testified before U.S. House Armed Services Committee.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/us/politics/house-hearing-milley-austin-afghanistan.html|title=Milley, Austin and McKenzie Face House Panel, a Day After Senate Testimony|first1=Helene|last1=Cooper|first2=Eric|last2=Schmitt|work=The New York Times|date=29 September 2021|access-date=29 September 2021}}

According to some media analysts, such as Alexander Nazaryan of Yahoo! News, the withdrawal was included among other actions that Biden broke with both Obama and Trump on, and was seen as maintaining the promise Biden made prior to becoming president that his term would not be "a third Obama term" because "President Trump has changed the landscape". Princeton professor Julian E. Zelizer claimed Biden "clearly learned a great deal from his time in the Obama presidency". The Washington Post journalist Steven Levingston wrote, "Obama listened to military leaders who advised him that withdrawal would be a mistake. Biden, meanwhile, was the top administration official arguing for a much more limited role for American forces in Afghanistan. Later, Biden would go on to say that he could tell by Obama's 'body language' that he agreed with that assessment—even though he ultimately rejected it." Harvard historian James Kloppenberg stated, "Only a fool would have been confident he knew all the answers [when it came to Afghanistan]. Obama was no fool."{{cite news|last=Nazaryan|first=Alexander|date=14 April 2021|url=https://news.yahoo.com/biden-breaks-with-obama-as-well-as-trump-on-everything-from-afghanistan-to-spending-211954060.html|title=Biden breaks with Obama, as well as Trump, on everything from Afghanistan to spending|agency=Yahoo!|access-date=5 July 2021|archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426222205/https://news.yahoo.com/biden-breaks-with-obama-as-well-as-trump-on-everything-from-afghanistan-to-spending-211954060.html|url-status=live}}

The Diplomat reported on 17 April 2021, about the internal and external challenges for Afghanistan following the US troop withdrawal from the perspective of Afghanistan's civil society.{{cite news |first1=Ritu|last1=Mahendru|first2=Inshah|last2=Malik |title=The US Exit: Views From Afghanistan's Civil Society |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/the-us-exit-the-view-from-afghanistan/ |access-date=23 April 2021 |website=The Diplomat |date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423211437/https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/the-us-exit-the-view-from-afghanistan/ |archive-date=23 April 2021}}

The Washington Post editorial board was critical of the withdrawal in an article dated 2 July 2021, saying the US was allowing its ally to fend for itself against the Taliban with insufficient resources, writing, "the descent from stalemate to defeat could be steep and grim. We wonder whether [Biden] has fully considered the consequences."{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/02/bidens-cold-response-afghanistans-collapse-will-have-far-reaching-consequences/|title=Opinion: Biden's cold response to Afghanistan's collapse will have far-reaching consequences|author=Editorial Board|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2 July 2021}}

David E. Sanger, a correspondent for The New York Times, analyzed the decision to leave Afghanistan by Joe Biden, and consequently the manner of the fall of Kabul, as the result of four basic assumptions, or miscalculations: that there was enough time before the Afghan government collapsed for the US to withdraw, that the Afghan forces had "the same drive" to win as the Taliban did, that there was "a well-planned system for evacuating the embassy" and Afghans who had helped the US and their families, and that if the Taliban made it to Kabul, that there would be a "bloody block-by-block civil war" taking place in its streets.{{Cite podcast|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/podcasts/the-daily/afghanistan-taliban-joe-biden-kabul.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/podcasts/the-daily/afghanistan-taliban-joe-biden-kabul.html |archive-date=2021-12-28 |url-access=limited|title=America's Miscalculations, Afghanistan's Collapse|work=The Daily |host=Michael Barbaro|date=August 17, 2021|author-link=Michael Barbaro|access-date=August 18, 2021}}{{cbignore}} A report from the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction released on 17 August 2021 found that the US had "struggled to develop and implement a coherent strategy" for the war and that "if the goal was to rebuild and leave a country that could sustain itself and pose little threat to US national security interests, the overall picture is bleak". The report also found that the US prioritised internal political interests instead of Afghan interests, that it had demonstrated ignorance of local context, and had wasted billions of dollars on unsustainable and bureaucratic projects.{{Cite news|date=17 August 2021|title=Watchdog describes litany of US failures in Afghanistan mission|work=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/17/watchdog-describes-litany-of-us-failures-in-afghanistan-mission|access-date=18 August 2021}}

On 22 August 2021, The Daily Telegraph reported that "President Joe Biden's aides were 'too scared' to question him on key decisions made in the run-up to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, sources close to the administration have told The Telegraph."{{cite news|title=Joe Biden's aides 'too afraid' to tell him he was wrong on Afghanistan, say White House insiders |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=22 August 2021}}

File:P20210708AS-0744 (51360857092).jpg stated that, "The likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely."{{cite news |title=The Afghan government's collapse is a humiliation for the US and Joe Biden |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2021/08/afghan-government-s-collapse-humiliation-united-states-and-joe-biden |access-date=August 18, 2021 |work=New Statesman |date=August 15, 2021 |first=Ido |last=Vock }}]]

The Biden administration's initial announcement of a full withdrawal of troops by 11 September 2021, generated both criticism and praise within the US. Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Jim Inhofe,{{cite web|last=Teh|first=Cheryl|title=Top GOP hawks come out in full force against an Afghanistan withdrawal by September 11|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/top-republicans-object-to-bidens-afghanistan-pullout-2021-4|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419194735/https://www.businessinsider.com/top-republicans-object-to-bidens-afghanistan-pullout-2021-4|archive-date=19 April 2021|access-date=19 April 2021|website=Business Insider}} Mitt Romney,{{cite news |last=Romboy |first=Dennis |date=21 April 2021 |title=Utah Sen. Mitt Romney opposes Biden plan to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan |work=Deseret News |url=https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/4/21/22395800/utah-sen-mitt-romney-opposes-biden-plan-to-pull-u-s-troops-from-afghanistan}} Joni Ernst,{{cite web |last=Danielson |first=Dar |date=14 July 2021 |title=Senator Ernst: President not considering consequences of Afghanistan withdrawal |url=https://www.radioiowa.com/2021/07/14/senator-ernst-president-not-considering-consequences-of-afghanistan-withdrawal/ |access-date=17 July 2021 |website=Radio Iowa}} and Jeanne Shaheen{{cite web |last=Sexton |first=Adam |date=16 July 2021 |title=Shaheen says she has reservations about U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan |url=https://www.wmur.com/article/shaheen-says-she-has-reservations-about-us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/37052515 |access-date=17 July 2021 |website=WMUR TV}} criticized the withdrawal, while Patrick Leahy, Barbara Lee, Elizabeth Warren,{{cite news |last1=Carney |first1=Jordain |last2=Kheel |first2=Rebecca |date=13 April 2021 |title=Biden sparks bipartisan backlash on Afghanistan withdrawal |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/548007-biden-sparks-bipartisan-backlash-on-afghanistan-withdrawal/}} Bernie Sanders, Ro Khanna,{{cite news |last1=Sanders |first1=Bernie |last2=Khanna |first2=Ro |date=15 April 2021 |title=Opinion: Withdrawing from Afghanistan is a courageous step. Here's what must come next |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/04/15/bernie-sanders-afghanistan-withdrawal-right-decision-ro-khanna/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324232855/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/04/15/bernie-sanders-afghanistan-withdrawal-right-decision-ro-khanna/ |archive-date=24 March 2023}} Rand Paul{{cite web|title=Senator Rand Paul supports pulling troops from Afghanistan|url=https://www.14news.com/2021/04/15/senator-rand-paul-supports-pulling-troops-afghanistan/|access-date=17 July 2021|website=14 News|date=15 April 2021 }} and Jack Reed{{cite web|title=Biden picked 'best of many poor choices' in Afghanistan says Senate Armed Services chair|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/biden-picked-best-many-poor-choices-afghanistan-says-senate-armed-n1273644 |first=Ben |last=Kamisar |date=July 11, 2021 |access-date=17 July 2021|website=NBC News}} supported the decision. Former president Donald Trump, while maintaining that withdrawal was "a wonderful and positive thing to do," criticized Biden for choosing 11 September as the day of the withdrawal, criticizing the deadline extension as "we can and should get out earlier," calling for the US to withdraw "as close" to 1 May as possible, and that 11 September "should remain a day of reflection and remembrance honoring those great souls we lost."{{cite web|last1=Hoffman|first1=Jason|last2=Cole|first2=Devan|date=18 April 2021|title=Trump calls Afghanistan withdrawal 'a wonderful and positive thing to do' and criticizes Biden's timeline|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/18/politics/trump-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420112141/https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/18/politics/trump-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal/index.html|archive-date=20 April 2021|access-date=21 April 2021|website=CNN}}{{cite web|last=Saric|first=Ivana|title=Trump calls Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal "wonderful" and "positive"|url=https://www.axios.com/trump-praises-biden-afghanistan-withdrawal-5f4c2449-0725-40b7-b0c3-7892e6146344.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421141842/https://www.axios.com/trump-praises-biden-afghanistan-withdrawal-5f4c2449-0725-40b7-b0c3-7892e6146344.html |date=April 18, 2021 |archive-date=21 April 2021|access-date=21 April 2021|website=Axios}} Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that there were "consequences both foreseen and unintended of staying and of leaving"; one of these consequences, she expressed, was a potential collapse of the Afghan government, resulting in a takeover by the Taliban and a fresh civil war.{{cite news|date=3 May 2021|title=Hillary Clinton warns of 'huge consequences' in Afghan US troop withdrawal|publisher=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56966473|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503172001/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56966473|archive-date=3 May 2021|access-date=3 May 2021}} Former president George W. Bush, who oversaw the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, said the withdrawal made him "concerned" and that he believed it had the potential to "create a vacuum, and into that vacuum is likely to come people who treat women as second class citizens."{{cite web|last=Singman|first=Brooke|date=20 May 2021|title=Former President George W. Bush 'deeply concerned' Afghanistan troop withdrawal will 'create a vacuum'|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bush-concerned-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan-vacuum|publisher=Fox News}} During an interview with Deutsche Welle on 14 July 2021, Bush reaffirmed his opposition to the troop withdrawal.Sonmez, Felicia. [https://archive.today/20210714174003/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/afghanistan-war-bush-biden/2021/07/14/a8f3df36-e499-11eb-a41e-c8442c213fa8_story.html "George W. Bush says ending U.S. military mission in Afghanistan is a mistake."]The Washington Post (July 14, 2021). Archived from [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/afghanistan-war-bush-biden/2021/07/14/a8f3df36-e499-11eb-a41e-c8442c213fa8_story.html the original.] Trump also reaffirmed his criticism of Biden's handling of the withdrawal in an interview with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, calling it "the dumbest move ever made in U.S. history" and claiming that his negotiation with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar accomplished more.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-biden-afghan-crisis-dumbest-move|title=Trump: Biden's Afghan crisis 'the dumbest move ever made in US history'|first=Charles|last=Creitz|publisher=Fox News|access-date=28 August 2021}} British conservative author and commentator Douglas Murray strongly criticized the withdrawal and the Biden White House attempting to portray it as a success.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-25 |title=Douglas Murray: Anyone who sees Afghanistan as an American triumph is in 'absolute la-la-land' |url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/afghanistan-triumph-douglas-murray-taliban-biden |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}

The Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby criticised{{Cite web |last=Jacoby |first=Jeff |date=August 17, 2021 |title=The myth that Afghanistan was a 'forever' war |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/17/opinion/myth-that-afghanistan-was-forever-war/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324233307/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/17/opinion/myth-that-afghanistan-was-forever-war/ |archive-date=24 March 2023 |website=The Boston Globe}} the idea that the 2,500 troops in Afghanistan constituted a "forever war" that needed to end, pointing out that U.S. troops have been in Germany since 1945, with 35,000 there in 2021, and more troops currently in Korea, Djibouti, Bahrain, and Spain than Afghanistan. Jacoby argued the U.S. presence should have continued, citing accomplishments like successful suppression of the Taliban, halving of infant mortality, tripling access to electricity, a ten-fold increase in school attendance, and the inclusion of girls in education.

Following the fall of Kabul and collapse of the Afghanistan government on 15 August 2021, the Biden administration's withdrawal plan received bipartisan domestic backlash.{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/08/16/1028081817/congressional-reaction-to-bidens-afghanistan-withdrawal-has-been-scathing|title=There's A Bipartisan Backlash To How Biden Handled The Withdrawal From Afghanistan|first=Barbara|last=Sprunt|publisher=NPR|date=17 August 2021|access-date=18 August 2021}}{{Cite news|title="Move heaven and earth" pressure on Biden to speed up visas for Afghans who helped US|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/19/afghanistan-us-military-interpreters-visas-siv|last=Strauss|first=Daniel|date=August 20, 2021|access-date=August 21, 2021|work=The Guardian}}{{Cite news|title=Joe Biden's botched Afghanistan exit is a disaster at home and abroad long in the making|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/16/politics/afghanistan-joe-biden-donald-trump-kabul-politics/index.html|last=Collinson|first=Stephen|date=August 16, 2021|access-date=August 21, 2021|work=CNN}}{{Cite news|title=As US "abandons" Afghans, military veterans feel anger, confusion|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/20/as-us-abandons-afghans-veterans-feel-anger-confusion|last=Roberts|first=Williams|date=August 20, 2021|access-date=August 21, 2021 |work=Al Jazeera }}{{Cite news|title=Biden finds few Capitol Hill allies amid Afghanistan backlash|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/568297-biden-finds-few-capitol-hill-allies-amid-afghanistan-backlash/|last=Carney|first=Jordan|date=August 18, 2021|access-date=August 21, 2021 |work=The Hill }} President Biden's approval rating dropped to 41% and only 26% of Americans said they supported Biden's handling of the situation in Afghanistan.{{cite news |title=Exclusive: Americans' harsh judgment on Afghanistan costs Biden's approval, down to 41% |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/08/24/afghanistan-woes-sink-bidens-approval-41-usa-today-suffolk-poll/8244854002/ |first1=Susan |last1=Page |first2=Matthew |last2=Brown |first3=Mabinty |last3=Quarshie |work=USA Today |date=24 August 2021}} Some Republicans, including Senator Josh Hawley, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, and former Ambassador Nikki Haley, called on Biden to resign.{{Cite news |last=Dorman |first=Sam |date=August 26, 2021 |title=Haley, Blackburn, other Republicans call for Biden's resignation or impeachment after attack at Kabul airport |work=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-resignation-impeachment-calls}} Numerous fellow Democrats in Congress, including chairs of some important congressional committees, also criticized Biden's handling of the withdrawal.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/17/democrats-offer-some-harsh-reviews-biden-afghanistan/|title=Democrats offer some harsh reviews of Biden on Afghanistan|first=Aaron|last=Blake|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=17 August 2021|access-date=18 August 2021}} Former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta, who oversaw the raid which successfully killed Osama bin Laden,{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/10/15/leon-panetta-defends-osama-bin-laden-raid-crn-vpx.cnn|title=Leon Panetta defends bin Laden raid after Trump ignites conspiracy|first=Brianna|last=Keilar|publisher=CNN|date=15 October 2020|access-date=18 August 2021}} compared Biden's poor withdrawal planning to that of how former US president John F. Kennedy handled the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion.{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/568028-leon-panetta-compares-fall-of-afghanistan-to-bay-of-pigs/|title=Leon Panetta compares fall of Afghanistan to Bay of Pigs|first=Dominick|last=Mastrangelo |work=The Hill |date=16 August 2021|access-date=18 August 2021}} Jordain Carney of The Hill wrote on 18 August 2021 that Biden now had "few Capitol Hill allies" amid the Afghanistan backlash.{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/568297-biden-finds-few-capitol-hill-allies-amid-afghanistan-backlash/|title=Biden finds few Capitol Hill allies amid Afghanistan backlash|first=Jordain|last=Carney |work=The Hill |date=18 August 2021|access-date=18 August 2021}} During an interview with ABC News, Biden defended his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, and insisted that chaos during the withdrawal was an inevitability.{{Cite web|last=Kolinovsky |first=Sarah |title=Biden says he did not see a way to withdraw from Afghanistan without 'chaos ensuing'|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-withdraw-afghanistan-chaos-ensuing/story?id=79507930 |date=18 August 2021 |access-date=2021-08-20|website=ABC News|language=en}}

File:SPMAGTF-CR HKIA Ramp Ceremony 2.jpg, 27 August 2021]]

Former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, each of whom had overseen significant developments in the war, also faced criticism after the fall of Kabul.{{Cite magazine|title=Joe Biden's Disastrous Afghanistan Exit is in Keeping with American Tradition|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/08/joe-bidens-disastrous-afghanistan-exit-is-in-keeping-with-american-tradition|last=Lutz|first=Eric|date=August 16, 2021|access-date=August 21, 2021|magazine=Vanity Fair}} Former Trump Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller criticized Biden's choice of sticking to a withdrawal date, stating in an interview with CNN anchor Chris Cuomo that while the Trump administration was leaning towards a withdrawal, no date was fixed, stating "We felt we had the ability to move the goal posts if we needed to on that one, in a way."{{cite news|url=https://www.axios.com/us-afghan-troop-withdrawal-trump-miller-date-flexible-3489ac29-c9bc-4867-a88a-b7359e44694f.html|title=Former Trump Pentagon chief says U.S. troop withdrawal date was never fixed|first=Rebecca|last=Faulconer|publisher=Axios|date=24 August 2021|access-date=28 August 2021}} In the UK, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab faced calls to resign after it was revealed he had gone on holiday to Greece just prior to the fall and had refused attempts to contact him as developments occurred.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/19/utterly-shameful-labour-asks-if-dominic-raab-should-stay-after-afghanistan-delays|title=Dominic Raab 'refused to be contacted' in days before Afghanistan fell|work=The Guardian|first1=Aubrey|last1=Allegretti|first2=Jessica|last2=Elgot|first3=Peter|last3=Walker|first4=Matthew|last4=Weaver|date=19 August 2021|access-date=19 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820001831/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/19/utterly-shameful-labour-asks-if-dominic-raab-should-stay-after-afghanistan-delays|archive-date=20 August 2021|url-status=live}}

Some white nationalists and related extremists celebrated the Taliban takeover and American withdrawal on social media. White nationalist Nick Fuentes posted on the Telegram messaging service, "The Taliban is a conservative, religious force, the US is godless and liberal. The defeat of the US government in Afghanistan is unequivocally a positive development." Some experts warned American extremists would use events in Afghanistan to push disinformation, organize and recruit.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/live-afghanistan-taliban-news|title=Neo-Nazis, White Nationalists Celebrate Taliban Takeover|first=Rachael|last=Levy|date=August 17, 2021|work=The Wall Street Journal}}{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Christopher |date=August 19, 2021 |title=America's Far-Right Extremists Are Drawing Inspiration From The Taliban's Victory In Afghanistan |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/us-far-right-extremists-inspiration-afghanistan-taliban |website=BuzzFeed News}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/01/politics/far-right-groups-praise-taliban-takeover/index.html|title=White supremacist praise of the Taliban takeover concerns US officials|first=Geneva|last=Sands|website=CNN|date=September 1, 2021}}

Stuart Scheller Jr., a United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, was relieved of command after asking for his superiors to take responsibility for murdering innocents for profit and leaving his fellow troops and innocents behind in Afghanistan. He posted a video to Facebook demanding U.S. military leadership take responsibility after the 2021 Fall of Kabul, and was placed in the brig after refusing to take down his social media posts.{{Cite web |last1=LeBlanc |first1=Paul |last2=Liebermann |first2=Oren |last3=Rokus |first3=Brian |date=28 August 2021 |title=US Marine officer relieved of command after criticizing military leaders about Afghanistan withdrawal |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/28/politics/stuart-scheller-marine-relieved-afghanistan/index.html |website=CNN}}{{cite news |last1=Westfall |first1=Sammy |last2=Villegas |first2=Paulina |date=August 29, 2021 |title=A Marine officer posted a video calling out senior leaders in Afghanistan. He was relieved of command. |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/27/marine-batallion-commander-video/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020142739/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/27/marine-batallion-commander-video/ |archive-date=20 October 2021}}{{cite web |last=Pengelly |first=Martin |date=27 August 2021 |title=US Marines officer relieved of duties after video seeking 'accountability' over Afghanistan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/27/us-marines-stuart-scheller-video |website=TheGuardian.com}} His calls for accountability were replayed by major TV hosts and outlets such as Tucker Carlson and CBS News. His imprisonment was reported by media including Fox News, The Independent, Daily Mail, and New York Post. Republican members of Congress called for his release from pretrial confinement.{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Michael |date=27 September 2021 |title=Outspoken Marine officer who went viral blasting military leaders over Afghanistan is jailed: Report |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/outspoken-marine-officer-went-viral-blasting-military-leaders-afghanistan-jailed |website=Fox News}} Scheller was released from confinement on 5 October 2021.{{cite web |author=Endale |first1=Brook |last2=Shomaker |first2=Calvin |date=October 5, 2021 |title=Marine from Anderson Township who criticized Afghan withdrawal released from military prison |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/10/05/marine-who-criticized-afghan-withdrawal-released-military-prison/6012360001/ |access-date=October 5, 2021 |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer}}{{Cite web |last=Toropin |first=Konstantin |date=5 October 2021 |title=Marine Officer Scheller Freed from Brig as Legal Struggles Continue over Viral Videos |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/10/05/marine-officer-scheller-freed-brig-legal-struggles-continue-over-viral-videos.html |website=Military.com}}

On October 14, 2021, Scheller pleaded guilty to all six misdemeanor-level charges. On 15 October, he was issued a letter of reprimand and a forfeiture of $5,000 of pay. The judge stated he did not condone Scheller's offenses, but noted Scheller's 17-year United States Marine Corps career as an officer with an outstanding record.{{Cite web |last1=Honeycutt |first1=Jordan |last2=Nelson |first2=Lucy |date=2021-10-15 |title=Marine gets letter of reprimand, docked $5,000 in pay for posting critical videos |url=https://wcti12.com/news/local/marine-gets-letter-of-reprimand-docked-5000-in-pay-for-posting-critical-videos |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=WCTI |language=en}} ABC News reported Scheller's concerns that around 50 U.S.-trained former Afghan Air Force helicopter pilots were still trapped and left behind in Afghanistan and pleading for the United States government to evacuate them from the country, where they fear they face execution if found by the Taliban.{{Cite web |last=Reevell |first=Patrick |date=December 18, 2021 |title=Afghan Air Force pilots trapped in Afghanistan plead for evacuation |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/afghan-air-force-pilots-trapped-afghanistan-plead-evacuation/story?id=81793796 |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=ABC News |language=en}}

On April 6, 2023, the Biden White House put out its report{{cite web |title=U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan |url=https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23743452/summary-pentagon-review-of-afghanistan-withdrawal.pdf |website=s3.documentcloud.org |publisher=White House |access-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407054634/https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23743452/summary-pentagon-review-of-afghanistan-withdrawal.pdf |archive-date=April 7, 2023 |language=en |date=6 April 2023 |url-status=live}} on the August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. The 12 page report was compiled by the National Security Council based on the after-action reviews conducted by the State Department and the Defense Department.{{cite web |title=U.S. report on Afghanistan evacuation blames intelligence failures, Trump administration |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/u-s-report-on-afghanistan-evacuation-blames-intelligence-failures-trump-administration |website=PBS.org |date=6 April 2023 |publisher=PBS NewsHour |access-date=8 April 2023}}

On September 24, 2024, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to recommend U.S. Secretary of State Blinken be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena seeking information about the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.{{cite web |last1=Zengerle |first1=Patricia |title=US House committee recommends contempt charge for Blinken |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-committee-recommends-contempt-charge-blinken-2024-09-24/ |publisher=Reuters |access-date=28 September 2024 |date=24 September 2024}}

On September 25, 2024, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the Biden-Harris Administration for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The resolution passed 219 - 194, with 10 Democrats and all Republicans voting in favor.{{cite web |last1=Groves |first1=Stephen |title=House approves GOP resolution condemning Biden and Harris over Afghanistan withdrawal |url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-harris-afghanistan-house-republicans-794de9e0a7685dbf7d9f2175728f4d51 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=27 September 2024 |date=25 September 2024}}

File:President Joe Biden with President Ashraf Ghani and Chairman Abdullah Abdullah.jpg meeting with Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and Chairman Abdullah Abdullah, 25 June 2021]]

On 25 May 2021, Australia closed its embassy in Kabul due to security concerns.{{cite news|last=Akhgar|first=Tameer|date=21 May 2021|title=Australia closes its embassy in Kabul, others scale back|publisher=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/article/kabul-australia-ebfe7a3f7ce96a54b5bfb2fb91552f3e|url-status=live|access-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190534/https://apnews.com/article/kabul-australia-ebfe7a3f7ce96a54b5bfb2fb91552f3e|archive-date=9 July 2021}} Belgium and France withdrew their diplomats.{{cite news |last=Doucet |first=Lyse |date=6 July 2021 |title=Echoes of 1989 as foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57724652 |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708201412/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57724652 |archive-date=8 July 2021}} On 10 May, France began evacuating Afghans working for the country.{{Cite news|date=2021-05-14|title=Paris accorde le droit d'asile aux Afghans qui ont travaillé pour la France|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/05/14/paris-accorde-le-droit-d-asile-aux-afghans-qui-ont-travaille-pour-la-france_6080180_3210.html |first=Jacques |last=Follorou |access-date=2021-09-02}} The Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan issued a travel warning on 19 June, urging Chinese citizens to "leave Afghanistan as soon as possible" and demanding Chinese organizations to "take extra precautions and strengthen their emergency preparedness as the situation deteriorated" in the country.{{cite news|last=Zheng|first=Sarah|date=21 June 2021|title=China tells its nationals to leave Afghanistan urgently as violence spirals|publisher=South China Morning Post|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3138127/china-tells-its-nationals-leave-afghanistan-urgently-violence|url-status=live|access-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707132224/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3138127/china-tells-its-nationals-leave-afghanistan-urgently-violence|archive-date=7 July 2021}} The Chinese government dispatched a charter-flight operated by XiamenAir to evacuate 210 Chinese nationals from Kabul on 2 July.{{cite news|date=8 July 2021|title=China evacuates more than 200 citizens from Afghanistan|publisher=Anadolu Agency|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/china-evacuates-more-than-200-citizens-from-afghanistan/2298196 |first= Riyaz ul |last=Khaliq |url-status=live|access-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708140113/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/china-evacuates-more-than-200-citizens-from-afghanistan/2298196|archive-date=8 July 2021}}

The two presidents of Afghanistan after the 2001 invasion, Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, both criticized the "abrupt" withdrawal of US troops from the country as giving momentum to the Taliban advance, with Karzai calling on the United States to "end this failed mission".{{cite news|last1=Crawford|first1=Alex|last2=Sheppard|first2=Kevin|date=6 July 2021|title=Afghanistan: 'End this failed mission' says former Afghan president Hamid Karzai as he blames US and its allies for rise in terrorism|work=Sky News|url=https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-end-this-failed-mission-says-former-afghan-president-hamid-karzai-as-he-blames-us-and-its-allies-for-rise-in-terrorism-12349017|access-date=16 August 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Oundjian |first1=Taline |last2=Gaffney |first2=Sharon |date=2 August 2021 |title=Afghanistan's Ghani blames 'abrupt' US withdrawal for worsening security |work=France24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20210802-afghanistan-s-ghani-blames-abrupt-us-withdrawal-for-worsening-security |access-date=16 August 2021}} At the 2021 Raisina Dialogue, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of Iran, said that the withdrawal was a welcome move, adding that foreign troops could not bring peace in Afghanistan.{{cite web|last=Basu|first=Nayanima|date=16 April 2021|title=US withdrawal from Afghanistan welcome, foreign forces can't bring peace in this region: Iran|url=https://theprint.in/diplomacy/us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-welcome-foreign-forces-cant-bring-peace-in-this-region-iran/641142/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416162033/https://theprint.in/diplomacy/us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-welcome-foreign-forces-cant-bring-peace-in-this-region-iran/641142/|archive-date=16 April 2021|access-date=16 April 2021|website=The Print}}

British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace said the US put Britain in a "very difficult position" following the withdrawal, though they subsequently followed suit.{{cite news|last=Hui|first=Sylvia|date=8 July 2021|title=Johnson confirms most British troops have left Afghanistan|agency=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-europe-government-and-politics-c0cec98b6a2d2279548cfb9e1bcdc499|access-date=16 July 2021}} The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan had a negative impact on United Kingdom–United States relations,{{cite news |last=Lawless |first=Jill |date=23 August 2021 |title=UK struggles for influence as Afghan crisis strains US ties |agency=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/europe-kabul-g-7-summit-a8967ceee9223ccc5915ed43a5527902}} with the British government briefing media against the American government.{{Cite news |date=2021-08-22 |title=Nosedive in UK-US relations is another casualty of Afghanistan's fall |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/22/nosedive-in-uk-us-relations-is-another-casualty-of-afghanistans-fall |first=Dan |last=Sabbagh |access-date=2021-08-23 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} The fall of Afghanistan also had a negative impact on United States–European Union relations.{{cite news |last=Amaro |first=Silvia |date=24 August 2021 |title=U.S. and German relations at a crossroads as Afghanistan crisis unfolds |work=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/24/us-and-germany-at-crossroads-with-afghanistan-travel-ban-trade-tariffs.html}}{{cite news |title=Disbelief and betrayal: Europe reacts to Biden's Afghanistan 'miscalculation' |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-reacts-bidens-afghanistan-withdrawal/ |first= Matthew |last=Karnitschnig |work=Politico |date=17 August 2021}} Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, condemned the US withdrawal, stating that the US' decision to leave was "political" rather than "strategic". In an article on the website of Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, he wrote, "The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours."{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/08/22/tony-blair-leaving-afghanistan-is-tragic-dangerous-and-unnecessary|title=Tony Blair: Afghanistan withdrawal is 'tragic, dangerous, and unnecessary'|access-date=22 August 2021 |website=Euronews |date=22 August 2021}} Blair further accused Biden of being "in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending 'the forever wars'," and warned that "The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics."{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-europe-middle-east-tony-blair-4ee456473a928eb97163fc080c40ed31|title=Imbecilic': Ex-UK leader Tony Blair slams Afghan withdrawal|first=Pan|last=Pylas|publisher=Associated Press|date=22 August 2021|access-date= 22 August 2021}}

File:Putin Patrushev.jpg's national security adviser Nikolai Patrushev came to the conclusion that "the United States would abandon its allies in Ukraine, just as it abandoned its allies in Afghanistan."]]

Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Security Council of Russia, told the Izvestia newspaper that the United States abandoned its Afghan allies, saying that the reason for the military victory of the Taliban was the incompetent work of the intelligence services of the United States, Britain and other NATO countries and the typical misplaced belief of the West in the rightness of its decisions. He predicted that the United States would also abandon its allies in Ukraine, saying that "...Kyiv is obsequiously serving the interests of its overseas patrons, striving to get into NATO. But was the ousted pro-American regime in Kabul saved by the fact that Afghanistan had the status of a principal U.S. ally outside NATO? (No). A similar situation awaits supporters of the American choice in Ukraine."{{cite news |title=Senior Russian security official questions U.S. commitment to Ukraine after Afghan exit |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/senior-russian-security-official-questions-us-commitment-ukraine-after-afghan-2021-08-19/ |work=Reuters |date=19 August 2021}}

{{Donald Trump series}}

• Coalition casualties in Afghanistan
• Fall of Saigon
• Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan
• Withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq (2020–2021)

{{reflist}}

• {{cite episode|title=America and the Taliban|series=Frontline|series-link=Frontline (American TV program)|network=PBS|station=WGBH|date=April 4, 2023|season=41|number=12|url= https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/america-and-the-taliban/|access-date=October 6, 2023}}

{{Afghanistan–United States relations}}

{{Taliban}}

{{Donald Trump}}

{{First presidency of Donald Trump}}

{{Joe Biden}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan 2020-2021}}

Category:Aftermath of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Category:Fall of Kabul (2021)

Category:2020 in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Category:2021 in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Category:International Security Assistance Force

Category:Taliban

Category:Afghanistan–United States relations

Category:First presidency of Donald Trump

Category:Presidency of Joe Biden

Category:Military withdrawals

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